Battery charger

[fuzzy2308]

I was wondering what the go with different priced battery chargers was.
I only need to use it once (i hope) as my battery is only 8 months old.
Ive been looking around at different chargers and noticed that the prices very from $25-300 and wondering what the differences aswell as the pro's and con's between the lower priced chargers and the higher priced chargers.
some battery charges charged the battery quicker is there any other differences or thing i should be looking out for?

[wraith]

Some charge faster. Some are smarter as in they will charge the battery and make sure it doesn't overcharge. I find it's better to spend the coin on a better battery charger to begin with then cheaping out and spending more down the track.

[Darren_L]

the cheap ones don't tend to last. I had 2 cheapo's stuff up within 12 months of purchasing them and I didn't use them that often.

Spend around $100-$150 and you should get a decent one. Don't need to spend a fortune. If you can try and get one with an amp/charge rate meter and low/high charge rates. It's good to have the choice to switch between high & low. Trickle charge is best if you have the time, whereas high rate charge is good for emergency starts. My charger also has a short protected 12v cigarette lighter style power outlet which is handy for testing stuff

[greenacc]

bought a $25 2.5 Amp MECO ( rebadged Arlec ) charger close to 15 years ago at Repco and it still does a grand job whenever i need to use it.
As above its quite slow, takes about 48 hours to fully charge a commodore battery but it will charge one enough to start in just a few hours. Great for prepping boat batteries for fishing trips when you know you'll be going out on a given weekend.

[ari666]

the more expensive ones have a fancy negative pulse function which helps revive dead batterys. im not sure even slightly how it works, but it does. i have a 150 buck one from burson and if you leave the battery on charge for a few days, they actually revive. im talking DEAD batterys, i.e. where the cells are warped to shit. they do some negative ion blah which helps clean the cell somehow? i duuno.

if you just wanna charge your battery once every 6 months, then get the cheapo

[ClairBear]

bought a $25 2.5 Amp MECO ( rebadged Arlec ) charger close to 15 years ago at Repco and it still does a grand job whenever i need to use it.
As above its quite slow, takes about 48 hours to fully charge a commodore battery but it will charge one enough to start in just a few hours. Great for prepping boat batteries for fishing trips when you know you'll be going out on a given weekend.

+1 I have one also and have had it for many years. Has charged a few batteries in it's time and still going strong.

[DevilDRake]

I have 1/2/4Amp ones at work, trickle chargers are mint, so useful for not over-charging. 4amp will revive it from dead pretty much. 1amp just to top it up and maintain it.. Only cost like $90, Zylux chargers. Sell plenty of them.

[Lumps of cheese]

Ctek charger for $100. An excellent charger for the $$$ and fits in your glovebox for convenience

[Jxw]

the more expensive ones have a fancy negative pulse function which helps revive dead batterys. im not sure even slightly how it works, but it does. i have a 150 buck one from burson and if you leave the battery on charge for a few days, they actually revive. im talking DEAD batterys, i.e. where the cells are warped to shit. they do some negative ion blah which helps clean the cell somehow? i duuno.

if you just wanna charge your battery once every 6 months, then get the cheapo

won't revive all dead batteries, if a battery is left flat or in storage and not topped up on charge for long periods the plates sulfate (all the good stuff in the acid forms a layer on the plates and they will no longer accept charge, bit more technical but that explanation works). The charges pulse the voltage at that setting (instead of straight direct current like a normal charger) which essentially blows all the stuff off the plates and back into the electrolyte.

This will not/can not revive an old battery that is simply worn out from age with cracked open circuit or shorted plates (the main causes of failure in a battery)


Now what charger to buy depends on what battery you'll be recharging, if you have a silver calcium battery then you'll need a more expensive charger designed for these batteries as they require a slightly different charging method, using the wrong charger on these can damage the battery reducing it's lifespan.