All the smart chargers recommended will work. I would go with one of at least 6 amps but you will only be using it to top up your battery. Dont ever let that old one get away, most of the smart chargers listed will not even start charging if the battery is too low, they will flash an error light or replace battery light at you. You can use the old one to bring the battery up to 11 v or so and then switch it out for the smart charger to safely finish the job. I have collected several of the old manual types from friends and family that "upgraded" and were going to throw the old one away. Several of them have gone back to the original owner when the smart charger refused to even start charging.
Battery charger recommendation
- Thread starter Leo99
- Start date
Leo99,
I can't tell for certain from the photo, but your charger looks like it may be the SE-1010 model. With that in mind, I have attached a link to the owners manual for the SE-1010 model in case you don't have it. Based on what the manual says, charging your battery until the amperage meter tapers down to about 5 amps should get your battery near a full charge. Hopefully this helps you out until you are able to purchase your new charger.
Belker
http://www.batterysales.com/downloads/MC-1.pdf
I can't tell for certain from the photo, but your charger looks like it may be the SE-1010 model. With that in mind, I have attached a link to the owners manual for the SE-1010 model in case you don't have it. Based on what the manual says, charging your battery until the amperage meter tapers down to about 5 amps should get your battery near a full charge. Hopefully this helps you out until you are able to purchase your new charger.
Belker
http://www.batterysales.com/downloads/MC-1.pdf
Hold on to that old analog charger - it will be valuable if you get something really dead that an automatic smart charger won't startup on.
The cteks, optimate 6, pro logix, all pretty great stuff.
Pat attention to the following parameters
Lowest AH battery it will charge
Highest AH battery it will charge
Lowest voltage it will start recovery (reason to keep the analog unit)
Ripple
wether it has a temp sensor and if so what kind.
Total amps and ability to step
size and type of
length of cord and connectors included.
water resistance.
UD
The cteks, optimate 6, pro logix, all pretty great stuff.
Pat attention to the following parameters
Lowest AH battery it will charge
Highest AH battery it will charge
Lowest voltage it will start recovery (reason to keep the analog unit)
Ripple
wether it has a temp sensor and if so what kind.
Total amps and ability to step
size and type of
length of cord and connectors included.
water resistance.
UD
Originally Posted by samven
All the smart chargers recommended will work. I would go with one of at least 6 amps but you will only be using it to top up your battery. Dont ever let that old one get away, most of the smart chargers listed will not even start charging if the battery is too low, they will flash an error light or replace battery light at you. You can use the old one to bring the battery up to 11 v or so and then switch it out for the smart charger to safely finish the job. I have collected several of the old manual types from friends and family that "upgraded" and were going to throw the old one away. Several of them have gone back to the original owner when the smart charger refused to even start charging.
Very good point. If battery is totally dead my Stanley won't recognize a battery is attached and won't charge so use my old one for that occasionally
All the smart chargers recommended will work. I would go with one of at least 6 amps but you will only be using it to top up your battery. Dont ever let that old one get away, most of the smart chargers listed will not even start charging if the battery is too low, they will flash an error light or replace battery light at you. You can use the old one to bring the battery up to 11 v or so and then switch it out for the smart charger to safely finish the job. I have collected several of the old manual types from friends and family that "upgraded" and were going to throw the old one away. Several of them have gone back to the original owner when the smart charger refused to even start charging.
Very good point. If battery is totally dead my Stanley won't recognize a battery is attached and won't charge so use my old one for that occasionally
Originally Posted by spk2000
Originally Posted by samven
All the smart chargers recommended will work. I would go with one of at least 6 amps but you will only be using it to top up your battery. Dont ever let that old one get away, most of the smart chargers listed will not even start charging if the battery is too low, they will flash an error light or replace battery light at you. You can use the old one to bring the battery up to 11 v or so and then switch it out for the smart charger to safely finish the job. I have collected several of the old manual types from friends and family that "upgraded" and were going to throw the old one away. Several of them have gone back to the original owner when the smart charger refused to even start charging.
Very good point. If battery is totally dead my Stanley won't recognize a battery is attached and won't charge so use my old one for that occasionally
This one (there are others) will charge from 0 volts. 0 volts and a dead battery are not the same thing:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3QT226
Originally Posted by samven
All the smart chargers recommended will work. I would go with one of at least 6 amps but you will only be using it to top up your battery. Dont ever let that old one get away, most of the smart chargers listed will not even start charging if the battery is too low, they will flash an error light or replace battery light at you. You can use the old one to bring the battery up to 11 v or so and then switch it out for the smart charger to safely finish the job. I have collected several of the old manual types from friends and family that "upgraded" and were going to throw the old one away. Several of them have gone back to the original owner when the smart charger refused to even start charging.
Very good point. If battery is totally dead my Stanley won't recognize a battery is attached and won't charge so use my old one for that occasionally
This one (there are others) will charge from 0 volts. 0 volts and a dead battery are not the same thing:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3QT226
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Originally Posted by JHZR2
For a 10A charger, currently I'd recommend the NoCo genius second gen 10A charger. It will boost flat (0v) batteries, has a power supply mode, and, most importantly, is temperature compensated.
Very well, I'll get two, one for my Mercedes Benz Maybach Exelero and one for the Bugatti Divo. The Rolls Royce Sweptail doesn't really need one yet as it's my daily driver.
For a 10A charger, currently I'd recommend the NoCo genius second gen 10A charger. It will boost flat (0v) batteries, has a power supply mode, and, most importantly, is temperature compensated.
Very well, I'll get two, one for my Mercedes Benz Maybach Exelero and one for the Bugatti Divo. The Rolls Royce Sweptail doesn't really need one yet as it's my daily driver.
According to nocos website the 2nd gen 10 amp charger will initiate recharge at 1 volt.
https://no.co/genius10 "Charges dead batteries as low as 1-volt"
The optimate 6 is better going down to .5 volt.
They dont state a min battery size I can find but state it can go "up to 230 AH."
Optimate 6 is better ranging from 3-240.
Optimate 6 is less powerful but more versatile as a throw down around the farm/ shop/ house/
I could care less how fast a single battery charges on a maintainer/ smart charger, as far as Im concerned the min amount needed in 24 hours is best slowing down heat buildup with singles -I clamp/ plug it in and walk away.
When I get to a "bank" now I start to care about that -and at that level, there needs to be a temp sensor that isnt simply "ambient" but one thats remote or built into the positive clamp.
The noco does lithium, but I dont use non dedicated lithium chargers for a couple of reasons.
1. they typically need to be put into a lithium mode - this brings rise to a chance of some other than me making a mistake
2. unknown behavior when booting up from a power failure.
For lithium needs I stick to dedicated lithium units.
UD
https://no.co/genius10 "Charges dead batteries as low as 1-volt"
The optimate 6 is better going down to .5 volt.
They dont state a min battery size I can find but state it can go "up to 230 AH."
Optimate 6 is better ranging from 3-240.
Optimate 6 is less powerful but more versatile as a throw down around the farm/ shop/ house/
I could care less how fast a single battery charges on a maintainer/ smart charger, as far as Im concerned the min amount needed in 24 hours is best slowing down heat buildup with singles -I clamp/ plug it in and walk away.
When I get to a "bank" now I start to care about that -and at that level, there needs to be a temp sensor that isnt simply "ambient" but one thats remote or built into the positive clamp.
The noco does lithium, but I dont use non dedicated lithium chargers for a couple of reasons.
1. they typically need to be put into a lithium mode - this brings rise to a chance of some other than me making a mistake
2. unknown behavior when booting up from a power failure.
For lithium needs I stick to dedicated lithium units.
UD
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Originally Posted by user52165
From the NoCo website:
"Charge dead batteries - Charges batteries as low as 1-volt. Or use the all-new Force Mode that allows you to take control and manually begin charging dead batteries down to zero volts."
They need to change the spec sheet to say something like "automatic" charging to 1V - Manual charging to 0
I guess they are with a load of marketing flair on the site - but this is all missing from the data sheet.
Does the force charging mode engage when its hooked up to existing electronics or does the battery need to be removed to engage the mode?
How many volts/ amps is force mode ? I see its timed for 5 min (kida cool) but could it fry an engine computer ?
UD
From the NoCo website:
"Charge dead batteries - Charges batteries as low as 1-volt. Or use the all-new Force Mode that allows you to take control and manually begin charging dead batteries down to zero volts."
They need to change the spec sheet to say something like "automatic" charging to 1V - Manual charging to 0
I guess they are with a load of marketing flair on the site - but this is all missing from the data sheet.
Does the force charging mode engage when its hooked up to existing electronics or does the battery need to be removed to engage the mode?
How many volts/ amps is force mode ? I see its timed for 5 min (kida cool) but could it fry an engine computer ?
UD
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After looking at the noco manual it is not clear to me that the output control is modulated beyond on an off - 10 amps or nothing.
The optimate senses the battery size and decides on the output current from anything from .2 to the full 5 amps of the unit which is why it can work down to a battery as small as 3 amps and not boil it out.
CTEK, and Optimate list the battery range each charger can address on the bottom and top.
The CTEK 7002 is 14-225Ah
The optimate 6 is 3-240
The optimate senses the battery size and decides on the output current from anything from .2 to the full 5 amps of the unit which is why it can work down to a battery as small as 3 amps and not boil it out.
CTEK, and Optimate list the battery range each charger can address on the bottom and top.
The CTEK 7002 is 14-225Ah
The optimate 6 is 3-240
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted by UncleDave
After looking at the noco manual it is not clear to me that the output control is modulated beyond on an off - 10 amps or nothing.
The optimate senses the battery size and decides on the output current from anything from .2 to the full 5 amps of the unit which is why it can work down to a battery as small as 3 amps and not boil it out.
CTEK, and Optimate list the battery range each charger can address on the bottom and top.
The CTEK 7002 is 14-225Ah
The optimate 6 is 3-240
Sorry, but this is silly. Unless the scaler has a measuring tape, barcode scanner, and/or digital camera, it can't.
It can tell the battery's impedance simply by knowing what voltage it must output to get the battery to take a certain level of current, but beyond that, there's not much else a cheap (were not talking pricy EIS probes) can do.
These correlations may or may not be right. Usually larger batteries have lower impedance, it's just that simple.
How the optimate, as a 6A charger, claims that it can do a 3Ah battery is unclear to me, what I do know is it takes a lot more time thinking, and is very slow to start charging, even once it enters a charge mode. So it may be counting coulombs and identifying voltage changes, to help understand what the Ah rating is, in order to set a charge current. Most will just start driving current in by ramping up to a target voltage level, the optimate seems a bit more deliberate.
I have a 25A ctek charger, and it just start going. Great for getting something charged quick of course...
There is in reality something to be said about the user needing to match the right size charger to the battery...
After looking at the noco manual it is not clear to me that the output control is modulated beyond on an off - 10 amps or nothing.
The optimate senses the battery size and decides on the output current from anything from .2 to the full 5 amps of the unit which is why it can work down to a battery as small as 3 amps and not boil it out.
CTEK, and Optimate list the battery range each charger can address on the bottom and top.
The CTEK 7002 is 14-225Ah
The optimate 6 is 3-240
Sorry, but this is silly. Unless the scaler has a measuring tape, barcode scanner, and/or digital camera, it can't.
It can tell the battery's impedance simply by knowing what voltage it must output to get the battery to take a certain level of current, but beyond that, there's not much else a cheap (were not talking pricy EIS probes) can do.
These correlations may or may not be right. Usually larger batteries have lower impedance, it's just that simple.
How the optimate, as a 6A charger, claims that it can do a 3Ah battery is unclear to me, what I do know is it takes a lot more time thinking, and is very slow to start charging, even once it enters a charge mode. So it may be counting coulombs and identifying voltage changes, to help understand what the Ah rating is, in order to set a charge current. Most will just start driving current in by ramping up to a target voltage level, the optimate seems a bit more deliberate.
I have a 25A ctek charger, and it just start going. Great for getting something charged quick of course...
There is in reality something to be said about the user needing to match the right size charger to the battery...
Originally Posted by E365
I've been using a Viking brand automatic/smart charger from Harbor Freight for multiple years now. Works just as well as the Schumacher units I have.
Does it float and hold the voltage around 13v when it's done charging or just go into monitoring mode and kick back on when the voltage drops?
I've been using a Viking brand automatic/smart charger from Harbor Freight for multiple years now. Works just as well as the Schumacher units I have.
Does it float and hold the voltage around 13v when it's done charging or just go into monitoring mode and kick back on when the voltage drops?
I have a battery tender jr (.75 amp) that I bought in 2012 I think, it's still going strong. It's slow but reliable. The last 2-3 years it has stayed plugged in constantly maintaining 2 smaller seldom used batteries. I have put it on large deep cycle batteries and left it charging for multiple days at a time, eventually it will charge a large battery and then float at 13.04 Volts. I also have a 1.5 amp Schumacher maintainer that I don't like as good that I leave on stuff I don't care about, it doesn't float like the battery tender does, it just charges and then monitors. When the voltage drops down a little it kicks back on and charges it back to about 13.5 volts and then goes back to monitoring. It actually works pretty well, I just don't trust it as much. One good thing I'll say about Schumacher, had a 1.5 amp maintainer die on me a few months after I bought it and Schumacher sent me another no questions asked.
I also have a 3,5,30 amp automatic Schumacher charger, it goes into maintain mode after it charges and hold the batteries at about 13.3 volts. If you put it on a dead battery it will usually charge for a while and then display an error code and stop charging. If you disconnect it and reconnect it will resume charging for a while, usually 2-3 cycles of stopping and starting will get the battery charged up and it will go into maintain/float mode. I don't like it much, I think it's kind of hard on batteries, it will push them up to around 16 volts at times and you can hear them gassing. It does have a std, gel and AGM charging settings but I can't tell that they augment the charging process much if at all. It's sort of a smart charger in that it won't just fry your batteries if you leave them hooked up overnight, but it charges more like an old school dumb charger in my opinion.
I really like my Battery Tender Jr and it has lasted a long time, but I've been having an itch to try a Viking 4 amp charger from HF. I'm conflicted on that though, I want a maintainer for my Duramax but I don't know that I should trust a $34 ($22 w/ coupon) charger/maintainer on an newer and very expensive vehicle with a lot of sensitive electronics.
I also have a 3,5,30 amp automatic Schumacher charger, it goes into maintain mode after it charges and hold the batteries at about 13.3 volts. If you put it on a dead battery it will usually charge for a while and then display an error code and stop charging. If you disconnect it and reconnect it will resume charging for a while, usually 2-3 cycles of stopping and starting will get the battery charged up and it will go into maintain/float mode. I don't like it much, I think it's kind of hard on batteries, it will push them up to around 16 volts at times and you can hear them gassing. It does have a std, gel and AGM charging settings but I can't tell that they augment the charging process much if at all. It's sort of a smart charger in that it won't just fry your batteries if you leave them hooked up overnight, but it charges more like an old school dumb charger in my opinion.
I really like my Battery Tender Jr and it has lasted a long time, but I've been having an itch to try a Viking 4 amp charger from HF. I'm conflicted on that though, I want a maintainer for my Duramax but I don't know that I should trust a $34 ($22 w/ coupon) charger/maintainer on an newer and very expensive vehicle with a lot of sensitive electronics.
Originally Posted by Char Baby
I'd just buy a BatteryTender or any decent maintainer and this way you can connect it to your battery(permanently if you'd like) and leave it on all night if you want. And still hold on to your old Schumacher for completely dead batteries. Tenders/maintainers won't bring up a battery that is run down too low the way your Schumacher charger will.
This works well for me too.
Twelve or more years ago I "invested" in a battery maintainer at Harbor Freight , $12 or 15 bucks.
It was designed so it could be mounted under the hood of a classic or antique car so its always there and you just add the three-prong cord to power it up.
I had just returned to motorcycling and wanted a set and forget back up plan to keep the bike at-the-ready year round since winter mild temps and dry roads are not a rarity in CO. This off-brand 'tender' has been perfect charging as needed and a yellow indicator that shows it's 100% topped off.
Occasionally, I'll think to hook it up to either car for an overnight refresher thinking it can't hurt and do this maybe twice a year.
I still consider the bigger gizmo or high amp chargers with multiple settings thinking I need a reason or excuse to buy one but that idea has been floating for 20 years or more. It just hasn't proven to be needed.
If voltage at the battery just above idle or 1500 to 2000 rpm's is 14.7 V or so , the vehicle alternator / charging system is doing it's job and you have no worries there.
I'd just buy a BatteryTender or any decent maintainer and this way you can connect it to your battery(permanently if you'd like) and leave it on all night if you want. And still hold on to your old Schumacher for completely dead batteries. Tenders/maintainers won't bring up a battery that is run down too low the way your Schumacher charger will.
This works well for me too.
Twelve or more years ago I "invested" in a battery maintainer at Harbor Freight , $12 or 15 bucks.
I had just returned to motorcycling and wanted a set and forget back up plan to keep the bike at-the-ready year round since winter mild temps and dry roads are not a rarity in CO. This off-brand 'tender' has been perfect charging as needed and a yellow indicator that shows it's 100% topped off.
Occasionally, I'll think to hook it up to either car for an overnight refresher thinking it can't hurt and do this maybe twice a year.
I still consider the bigger gizmo or high amp chargers with multiple settings thinking I need a reason or excuse to buy one but that idea has been floating for 20 years or more. It just hasn't proven to be needed.
If voltage at the battery just above idle or 1500 to 2000 rpm's is 14.7 V or so , the vehicle alternator / charging system is doing it's job and you have no worries there.
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Originally Posted by JHZR2
Sorry, but this is silly. Unless the scaler has a measuring tape, barcode scanner, and/or digital camera, it can't.
It can tell the battery's impedance simply by knowing what voltage it must output to get the battery to take a certain level of current, but beyond that, there's not much else a cheap (were not talking pricy EIS probes) can do.
These correlations may or may not be right. Usually larger batteries have lower impedance, it's just that simple.
How the optimate, as a 6A charger, claims that it can do a 3Ah battery is unclear to me, what I do know is it takes a lot more time thinking, and is very slow to start charging, even once it enters a charge mode. So it may be counting coulombs and identifying voltage changes, to help understand what the Ah rating is, in order to set a charge current. Most will just start driving current in by ramping up to a target voltage level, the optimate seems a bit more deliberate.
I have a 25A ctek charger, and it just start going. Great for getting something charged quick of course...
There is in reality something to be said about the user needing to match the right size charger to the battery...
Im having a hard time understanding what is "silly". Perhaps they are lying but almost all smart chargers claim an upper and lower range and they are deriving that somehow.
I can say it works, I haven't gone down to 3AH, but I often do 10 and less.
I have a dozen optimate 6's and am very familiar with its operation
I dont see any difference delay in starting either on an empty 8D or a 10 AH genset battery (my smallest for a yamaha 3000iseb) .
I clamp it on, it goes and does a test - and starts. What is a " a lot more time"
What kind of "delay" are you seeing and how relavant or a problem in the the totality of charging the battery?
Sometimes algorithms change - my newest one is a few years old - maybe they changed
I have the CTEK 25 AMP charger as well - I really like it except my model is missing a specific AGM mode, (to me not a huge deal)
What I really like about it is that it works well on RV banks and has a temp sensor in the positive clamp vs " ambient" like the smaller chargers.
It goes through a test phase as well before charging starts- like my CTEK 7002
25 amps is awesome - on a battery or empty bank that can take it.
That chargers battery size range is rated at 40-500.
motorcycles, atv's, gensets, lawnmowers - anything with a small battery is NA with this charger.
Hence my position that the 6 covers the widest range for most guys.
There are very few instances for me that I want something charged quickly vs thoroughly and slowly
UD
Sorry, but this is silly. Unless the scaler has a measuring tape, barcode scanner, and/or digital camera, it can't.
It can tell the battery's impedance simply by knowing what voltage it must output to get the battery to take a certain level of current, but beyond that, there's not much else a cheap (were not talking pricy EIS probes) can do.
These correlations may or may not be right. Usually larger batteries have lower impedance, it's just that simple.
How the optimate, as a 6A charger, claims that it can do a 3Ah battery is unclear to me, what I do know is it takes a lot more time thinking, and is very slow to start charging, even once it enters a charge mode. So it may be counting coulombs and identifying voltage changes, to help understand what the Ah rating is, in order to set a charge current. Most will just start driving current in by ramping up to a target voltage level, the optimate seems a bit more deliberate.
I have a 25A ctek charger, and it just start going. Great for getting something charged quick of course...
There is in reality something to be said about the user needing to match the right size charger to the battery...
Im having a hard time understanding what is "silly". Perhaps they are lying but almost all smart chargers claim an upper and lower range and they are deriving that somehow.
I can say it works, I haven't gone down to 3AH, but I often do 10 and less.
I have a dozen optimate 6's and am very familiar with its operation
I dont see any difference delay in starting either on an empty 8D or a 10 AH genset battery (my smallest for a yamaha 3000iseb) .
I clamp it on, it goes and does a test - and starts. What is a " a lot more time"
What kind of "delay" are you seeing and how relavant or a problem in the the totality of charging the battery?
Sometimes algorithms change - my newest one is a few years old - maybe they changed
I have the CTEK 25 AMP charger as well - I really like it except my model is missing a specific AGM mode, (to me not a huge deal)
What I really like about it is that it works well on RV banks and has a temp sensor in the positive clamp vs " ambient" like the smaller chargers.
It goes through a test phase as well before charging starts- like my CTEK 7002
25 amps is awesome - on a battery or empty bank that can take it.
That chargers battery size range is rated at 40-500.
motorcycles, atv's, gensets, lawnmowers - anything with a small battery is NA with this charger.
Hence my position that the 6 covers the widest range for most guys.
There are very few instances for me that I want something charged quickly vs thoroughly and slowly
UD
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Originally Posted by JHZR2
My perpetual favorite is the battery minder 12248.
BatteryMinder is my favorite and most commonly used charger, although mine is the cheaper 2012 model. 2A max current, but I am usually not in a rush to top off a battery, so it's just fine. For bulk charging heavily depleted batteries I've got other stuff.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/BChRBTNl.jpg "[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]")
My perpetual favorite is the battery minder 12248.
BatteryMinder is my favorite and most commonly used charger, although mine is the cheaper 2012 model. 2A max current, but I am usually not in a rush to top off a battery, so it's just fine. For bulk charging heavily depleted batteries I've got other stuff.
I like Battery Minder and Deltran battery tender products although they are rarely my first grab as a throw down.
Some Big RV's and grooming vans have pretty high phantom loads and a 2 amp anything is often not enough to bring a back up to speed in any amount of time, and a bulk for anything other than a fixed time brings risk so I like to stay with smarts and the big bulk units rareley to never come out anymore.
I also have several schumachers - I trust 2 of their model out of the 5 or 6 I've used.
I collect chargers like some guys do records.
UD
Some Big RV's and grooming vans have pretty high phantom loads and a 2 amp anything is often not enough to bring a back up to speed in any amount of time, and a bulk for anything other than a fixed time brings risk so I like to stay with smarts and the big bulk units rareley to never come out anymore.
I also have several schumachers - I trust 2 of their model out of the 5 or 6 I've used.
I collect chargers like some guys do records.
UD
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I use a variable power supply, similar to this:
https://www.amazon.com//dp/B07M9N73YQ
Gives me complete control over what's going on, and useful for many other tasks.
Before I got a 10W solar panel to put on the dash I'd charge the battery every 3 months.
Bring the batt into my cool basement and set the supply to 14.5V and charge overnight, 10 hours or so.
Then turn up to 16V for 15 minutes for an equalizing charge.
Turn current down to zero before disconnecting to avoid sparks!
I also have an Exide 12V 10A auto charger I pulled out of a dumpster and replaced the chewed up line cord.
That one I loan out to people.
https://www.amazon.com//dp/B07M9N73YQ
Gives me complete control over what's going on, and useful for many other tasks.
Before I got a 10W solar panel to put on the dash I'd charge the battery every 3 months.
Bring the batt into my cool basement and set the supply to 14.5V and charge overnight, 10 hours or so.
Then turn up to 16V for 15 minutes for an equalizing charge.
Turn current down to zero before disconnecting to avoid sparks!
I also have an Exide 12V 10A auto charger I pulled out of a dumpster and replaced the chewed up line cord.
That one I loan out to people.
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