RansomEli Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 My old battery charger just died. Over 40 years old and a trusted friend. Does anyone have recommendations? I have both 6- and 12-volt cars. The newer, microprocessor-controlled chargers say they can recognize 6 volt batteries, but a lot of reviewers say the computer-controlled models screw up a lot. Anyways, what are y'all using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 The new ones suck.........go on eBay......that’s what I did. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 (edited) THIS^^ For a simple portable battery charger, you want the kind that was in everyone's garage for the last 50 years. An Ammeter on the front panel, a 6v-12v switch, and about 6-10 amps. Most look roughly like this: Edited December 8, 2019 by Bloo (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Agreed! I have taken the older (10+ or so years) ones apart and replaced the bad diodes to make them work again. The transformer is usually fine. The newer ones that require a battery to have some voltage to make them come on (because one might have the cables hooked up backwards protection) are useless with a really dead battery. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 I agree, you can probably fix the old one better than ever. One caution, if it is a selenium rectifier and you change to diodes you will double the output. When I do this I just use one side of the transformer to cut down the output to normal levels. I usually use the diode bridge out of an old alternator, if you use diodes it is best to include a heat sink. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bollman Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 I have repaired and rebuilt several over the years. Depending on the size of your charger and if it has a meter, here is what I did on one of mine. I throw away everything inside accept the transformer. I added a small variac (you can get by pretty small since it goes on the 110 v side of the transformer so doesn't get a lot of current). If it doesn't have a amp meter or needs a better one put in your choice of digital or analog and a modern rectifier. You don't have to worry about 6 or 12 volts just use the 12 volt taps because your going to use the variac to dial in the current you want to charge at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) Here is the battery charger that I have recently bought when my old one finally died. This one does gel, AGM, and standard batteries. Home / Battery Chargers / SOLAR Portable Chargers / 20/10/2 Amp 6/12V Intelligent Battery Charger / Maintainer Model Number: PL2320 20/10/2 Amp 6/12V Intelligent Battery Charger / Maintainer 20/10/2 Amp 6/12V Intelligent Battery Charger / Maintainer quantity Add to cart SKU: PL2320 Categories: SOLAR Portable Chargers, Where to Buy Tags: agm, charger, maintain, power, smart, supply, trickle Combining fully automatic operation and the ability to properly charge multiple battery types, the PRO-LOGIX PL2320 is the perfect charger to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s professional technician. Intelligent, beneficial, safe and versatile – one charger does it all, from fast charging and battery repair to battery maintenance and long term storage charging. Plus, with the ability to properly charge virtually any lead acid battery type, it is the only charger you will need. Flooded, AGM, Gel Cell, Spiral Wound, Marine and Deep Cycle batteries all can be charged right with the PL2320. For today’s shop, there is a very real need for an up-to-date charger that is capable of supplying the clean power needed to perform a wide variety of diagnosis, repair and maintenance applications. The PRO-LOGIX PL2320 is an ideal charger/power supply for such situations. It utilizes advanced microprocessor technology to deliver a precise charge in a very tight voltage window. This is exactly what the system wants when the charger is supplying power to maintain battery voltage during an on-vehicle repair or diagnosis of an electrical system component. 6 and 12 Volt battery charging 20/10/2A charge rates 20A fast charge rate is ideal for charging large batteries 0-20A power supply mode to maintain vehicle voltage Fully automatic operation Advanced multi-phase charging process Properly charges all battery types Soft Start Mode for severely depleted batteries Recondition Mode rejuvenates distressed batteries Enhanced maintenance mode for ideal long term storage Temperature compensation for more effective charging Reverse Polarity Protection and Battery Fault Detection Data rich display provides detailed feedback during charging Edited January 4, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RansomEli Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 Thanks for all the information. I found that my old unit was still being manufactured, although the company does not sell on eBay or Amazon. Had to purchase direct from them. I bought the same unit I had, slightly updated. Although, Larry, your charger is very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 The "smart" chargers are pretty stupid. The one I have refuses to charge a battery if it is too far discharged. My ancient "stupid" charger will charge them just fine, however. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 High tech modern chargers suck big time. Old time Transformer chargers for wet cell batteries are the way to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 12/6/2019 at 8:30 PM, Bloo said: THIS^^ For a simple portable battery charger, you want the kind that was in everyone's garage for the last 50 years. An Ammeter on the front panel, a 6v-12v switch, and about 6-10 amps. Most look roughly like this: Yes! I just picked two of those at two estate sales this week end for $3.50 each. They work great! BTW I usually see one or two at every estate sale or garage sale I go to, but I live in a city that is full of retirees and there are many who were car guys who have passed on. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 I use a Genius unit that can bring back dead batteries & automatically charges and maintains 6 & 12 volt batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Have you tried it with a completely flat battery? Like one that someone left the headlights on a day and a half? Many "smart" chargers will refuse to charge a battery that is completely dead. You have to give them a "jump" from a second battery to get them started. That is not something I am willing to put up with for a general use battery charger. If the Genius in particular does not have that limitation, it would be good to know. I do use a smart charger as a maintainer over the winter. That has worked out really well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bollman Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I like my smart chargers but have several old fashion ones that get dragged out often for questionable batteries or when I want to charge faster than my smart charger will charge. My favorit is one that was old when my Dad rebuilt it when I was still in high school (along time ago), it was one of the few things I grabbed out of his shop before selling the rest. It can start a car with a dead battery after about 10 minutes to take it off the flat dead. After all these years all I did was put new battery clips on it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) 21 hours ago, Bloo said: Have you tried it with a completely flat battery? Yes, it saved my deep cycle winch battery that was 5 years old and totally dead. I also have an "octopus" wiring harness that rotates the smart charger when connected to multiple batteries. Edited January 6, 2020 by Mark Shaw (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 On 12/6/2019 at 7:30 PM, Bloo said: THIS^^ For a simple portable battery charger, you want the kind that was in everyone's garage for the last 50 years. An Ammeter on the front panel, a 6v-12v switch, and about 6-10 amps. Most look roughly like this: I need to check my garage, I think you stole my charger. Well, maybe not, yours looks to be a little less beat up than mine. I also have a 12v Battery Tender but that only gets used on the modern hybrid car if it is going to be parked for a significant amount of time (the tiny 12v aux battery on the hybrid car gets drained pretty quickly by the always on remote key sensing and other electronics if it isn't driven enough). I don't usually have problems with the electrical system in my old 6v+ car, so the old Sears charger is mostly used for electrolytic rust removal tasks nowadays. I wonder if you can do that with a modern “smart charger”. Probably not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 I did add a "Start" button to one of the smart charges a friend had (Schumacher I think). Just jumped the diode output to the sensing circuit to trigger the SCR on with a N.O. push button. Then it worked from there. This "smart" feature is to prevent charging batteries backwards. If it cannot sense the leads are hooked up correctly by seeing +something on the red lead, it will not turn on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBC90506?keywordInput=battery+charger+%2f+maintainer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 My last one came from Sears - I love it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 On 1/4/2020 at 11:32 AM, joe_padavano said: The "smart" chargers are pretty stupid. I refuse to buy a battery charger (or cell phone, for that matter) that's smarter than me... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LakinZ Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 (edited) I like the efficiency of the NOCO Gen5x2 deep cycle battery charger, I installed it in my 2020 Ford Transit Van. I find its charging capabilities amazing, especially its ability to revive a deep cycle battery from the dead. I commend the engineers for creating a product that can recharge the battery with a voltage close to zero. Edited May 21, 2022 by LakinZ (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonz Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Try a solar panel charger for boats! My 26 Chrysler is set up with Decca 8volt I went through hell try to charge it and at 9 months old it looked dead, so I took it back to battery shop. They recharged it and it was perfect, spinning motor like a new car. My car is not on road, so the battery ended up flat again. I rigged up a 12 volt charger with small light bulbs in series to make 10 volt, but the battery would only accept 7 volts. So it turns out my old charger was stuffed. As a punt I hooked up my solar panel boat battery charger, I don't know how it works or what volts, but it's perfect! Once again effortless cold starts. The best charger of course is occasionally running the engine 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 My battery tenders are all on timers. One hour a day year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 I was just looking at my old (at least 50 years) Sears 6/12 volt charger. Only has a 15A gauge on the face and a voltage selector slide switch. I have no idea what's inside. It works just fine but I was thinking maybe I should upgrade to a new one with all the "gee whiz" features. Thanks guys you just saved me some bucks........Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, Bhigdog said: I was just looking at my old (at least 50 years) Sears 6/12 volt charger. Only has a 15A gauge on the face and a voltage selector slide switch. I have no idea what's inside. Transformer, switch, meter and two diodes. Some had a circuit breaker. Super simple. Still works, right? 😉 Now we have "features". That old charger could be hooked up to the battery backwards, and the batter will charge backwards, but not well, to where the positive post is now the negative post. So with microelectronics charges now will not charge with the cables backwards. This is also part of the "dead batteries can not be charged" issue. Old chargers left on a battery for long periods would boil all the "water" out, so now we have smart chargers that supposedly will not boil the battery dry. In the old days without microelectronics we had to use that computer between our ears!😁 Edited May 18, 2022 by Frank DuVal (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 7 minutes ago, Frank DuVal said: In the old days without microelectronics we had to use that computer between our ears! Some of us have been known to use lamp timers..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 Been happy with my noco on an optima 6v red top seems to do a good job One of my period books shows you how many lights to add to a circuit on mains to be able to charge your battery… seems safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 I ordered this one about 2 months ago. Century. 12V up to 55A or down to 2A. 6V manual only at 15A. I like to have control so the manual option is my preference. Sometimes a battery needs a good 15A jolt to wake it up. I’d take this over any new digital charger any day. Old school transformer system is not a bad thing for battery chargers. In my experience especially stock 6V systems. My ‘38 6V generator puts out 15A. This is a nice pair up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RansomEli Posted May 18, 2022 Author Share Posted May 18, 2022 keithb7, That's the exact model I bought 3 years ago when I started this thread. It's already paid for itself many times over. If you have one of the old-school battery chargers, try to keep it forever. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now