red70stingray

It that time where the cars going to sit. Whats the differance between a float charger and a trickle charger? I was leaning towards a float only because it's small enuff to fit in the battery compartment.

1970-Bronze

Here's what I've been using and the price is right...

http://www.battery-rechargeable-char...t-charger.html

VETTE-DUDE

I believe a float charger shuts off at a certain voltage and won't dry out the cells by cooking them like a trickle charger may do...

Durango_Boy

That's a nice unit and a nice price. I have a Tender brand battery tender that I use for my Vette during the storage months and when I think it'll sit for more than a few weeks.

I'm am looking for a second smaller one like that that I can hard wire to the battery and leave only an exposed plug for an extension cord when I pull it back in the garage.

yellow 72

GUSTO14

I'm not sure about the difference between a Float or Trickle charger, but I do know what you want is a charger that "monitors" the battery voltage and turns itself off once the battery reaches a fully charged state. It then monitors the battery voltage and maintains it in a fully charged state. Most charge at a max of 14 volts, but maintain at around 13.5 volts. There are a number of them out there now that do this and most are under $50. These are much safer than a typical "trickle" charger of the past that simply maintain a constant low amperage charge on the battery.

You can go to http://www.batteryfaq.com/ and get excellent answers to almost any battery related question you might have.

I have a couple of these Battery MINDers as well as a Battery Tender.

BatteryMINDer Plus 12 Volt 1.3 Amp Battery Charger
http://www.batterymart.com/p-battery...y-charger.html

What I like about the Battery MINDer is that the voltage pulsates at a frequency that removes the sulfate buildup that occurs in a typical lead-acid battery. I've used one on various vehicles now for more than 4 years and it has performed superbly. I use the Battery Tender to keep the AGM battery on my riding mower charged during the off season and it also works superbly. What I don't know is if the Battery Tender is designed to desulfate battery's as the MINDer does.

There are a lot of chargers being sold at places like WalMart, Target, Pep Boys etc for under $20, and a lot of folks swear by them. I believe you will definitely get what you pay for here. What is important is that you are comfortable with leaving these things on continuously. There is a lot of data available on these types of chargers on the Internet. Check it out before you trust your expensive toy to an inexpensive charger.

By the way these charger/maintainer/conditioner's are designed to extend the performance and life of all types and sizes of 12 Volt lead acid batteries. Including maintenance-free, marine, deep cycle, sealed and all popular brands of AGM dry-type, valve-regulated batteries. They are not designed to recharge a dead battery, so if your battery does go dead, bring it up to a full charge with a normal charger before turning it over to your MINDer, Tender or whatever you go with...

Good luck... GUSTO

itsonlyairandfuel

I use only the Battery Tender brand, I have tried others and found that they charge over 14 some to almost 15 volts and that is to high. The idea is to prevent battery gasing and stay full charged. Ron B.

red70stingray

I think i am going to go with the float charger 70-Bronze recomends..
It seems like a quality, easy to use item/

79L48

Essentially a float charger should be called a battery maintainer. It will not charge a discharged battery, only maintain up to about 13.8 volts a healthy battery.
A trickle charger will slowly charge a discharged battery without cooking the cells because it uses low amperage to charge, hence the name trickle. Many trickle chargers have smart circuitry that will reduce the amperage even more once the battery is nearing full charge and will only kick on when the resistance between the unit and the battery changes to "top-off" the battery, jusr like a float charger. Furthermore, trickle chargers will often have a setting for 10 amps or 2 amps or whatever so over long term storage you set it for the lowest output. Both are good systems that fulfill different needs.
Float chargers ought to be cheaper than trickle chargers in most cases. Battery Tender is a great product.

Steve439

Wow, that's cool!
Looks like you don't need an AC outlet to charge your battery -
you can just plug the power supply cord into your cigarette lighter...
Pretty nice for a car in a carport or if you don't want to be tripping over an extension cord...


















Hey, it's Friday...

pws69

I have a half dozen Schumacher units I picked up at Wally World. Been using them for several years now on all my toys (vette, ATV, Harleys) and they are great and very inexpensive. Schumacher has been in the charger business for many years and build solid, reliable products. I also have a wheeled Charger/Starter from them and it has saved the day more than once!

red70stingray

When using a float charger do i have to install a shut off on the neg post? Or can i leave it as is?

Durango_Boy

Not quite sure what you're asking but if you have a system drain, and disconnect the battery when it sits then you will want to keep the battery tended while it's disconnected.

If you have a battery disconnect, that's fine, because it cuts power to the system. Just connect the charger to the posts and not the cable.

I like having a battery with both top and side post terminals. I have the car's system cables at the top of the battery and I have the side posts for things like the stereo and the charger so I can disconnect the battery when it sits for along time and still not lose the memory in my head unit and I can charge the battery very easily while it's disconnected.