Battery Charger
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
Likes: 1
From: SAN FRANCISCO CA
Battery Charger
i have the nasty habit of leaving the interior light of my '71 on. what happens then is that it sits for 2 weeks and when i go to start it..... big surprise. most of the time i can jump it with my DD (also a v8, baby!), but sometimes it's so dead ... it needs some more. i'm looking into getting a charger so that i can just plug it and leave it in case this happens again. i'm kinda lost though. first of all, do our sharks operate on a 12v system, like most cars (since the 50's, at least)? also, any recs on what type of amperage to get? if we ARE 12v, this link gave some examples of what's available.
http://www.automotivepartsnetwork.co...idcategory=123
basically, seems like i can get anything from a 6 amp version to 40 amp version depending on how much dough i need to cough up.
any advice, guys?
TIA,
- Evan
http://www.automotivepartsnetwork.co...idcategory=123
basically, seems like i can get anything from a 6 amp version to 40 amp version depending on how much dough i need to cough up.
any advice, guys?
TIA,
- Evan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,135
Likes: 2
From: Dayton Oh
The link you posted wouldn't work for me. Anyways you need what is referred to as a automatic battery maintainer. These sense when to charge based on the battery condition. Avoid the common "trickle" charges that simply supply a constant charge. Several models are available and you should be able to pick up a good one for under $50.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,063
Likes: 17
From: Lee's Summit MO
Yeah, trickle chargers are not good because they can "overcharge".
I bought the "Battery Tender" from AutoGeek.
Red light tells you it is charging, Flashing Green, means 80-99% charged, Solid Green is fully charged.
On Solid Green, the charging stops until it gets back down to 80%.
A nice little unit for $29. Battery Tender ...
I bought the "Battery Tender" from AutoGeek.
Red light tells you it is charging, Flashing Green, means 80-99% charged, Solid Green is fully charged.
On Solid Green, the charging stops until it gets back down to 80%.
A nice little unit for $29. Battery Tender ...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,063
Likes: 17
From: Lee's Summit MO
P.S. Battery chargers and maintainers are not good to use with "Dry Cell" batteries, such as the OPTIMA battery. Wet cell batteries, no problem.
(I don't know the reason, except for the warning instruction on my charger stating "not for use on dry cell type batteries".)
(I don't know the reason, except for the warning instruction on my charger stating "not for use on dry cell type batteries".)
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 120
Likes: 0
From: Richardson TX
Yeah, trickle chargers are not good because they can "overcharge".
I bought the "Battery Tender" from AutoGeek.
Red light tells you it is charging, Flashing Green, means 80-99% charged, Solid Green is fully charged.
On Solid Green, the charging stops until it gets back down to 80%.
A nice little unit for $29. Battery Tender ...
I bought the "Battery Tender" from AutoGeek.
Red light tells you it is charging, Flashing Green, means 80-99% charged, Solid Green is fully charged.
On Solid Green, the charging stops until it gets back down to 80%.
A nice little unit for $29. Battery Tender ...
I've got a battery tender too. Works great for my motorcycles and cars.
It saved me just the other day on my Corvette.
My battery was dead and my garage is pretty full at the moment so it's hard to get a 2nd car in side by side. The battery tender did the trick and got me running until I could get it out and drive around the block a few times.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
Likes: 1
From: SAN FRANCISCO CA
thanks - but that seems different than the battery "chargers" that i'm looking at.
does that plug into the wall?
do you need to keep it plugged in to the battery all the time?
also - i thought our cars were 12V - that thing looks like it's on another voltage.
and how do i know if my battery is a "dry" or "wet" cell??
does that plug into the wall?
do you need to keep it plugged in to the battery all the time?
also - i thought our cars were 12V - that thing looks like it's on another voltage.
and how do i know if my battery is a "dry" or "wet" cell??
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 952
Likes: 0
Primary batteries are dry cell.
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Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
Likes: 1
From: SAN FRANCISCO CA
thanks guys! for some reason i don't think i got those responses from last week. i think i'm gonna get a 10-15 amp charger.... but i'm also now curious about the battery disconnect. think i'll look into that as well. thanks for all the help, guys! 
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
Likes: 1
From: SAN FRANCISCO CA
yep with auto shut-off. still confused about the whole dry cell wet cell thing though. if primary batteries are mostly dry cell, and i'm not supposed to use a charger with a dry cell...... then what the heck am i doing?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,137
Likes: 51
From: Cartersville GA
I have a red top Optima, and according to them, there's no problems using my Battery Tender on it -- their comments below:
"A battery tender is basically a trickle charger.. Using a trickle charger
with Optima batteries would be perfectly fine..
Please feel free to contact customer service at the number below if you
have any other questions. Thank you for your interest and support of Optima
Batteries."
Optima Batteries
Customer Service
1.800.292.4359
I've seen other links where folks are using Battery Tenders or other similar equipment with Optimas, and no problems.
I'll continue to use mine - works great!
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 984
Likes: 1
From: SAN FRANCISCO CA
fyi -i called delco (i've got a delco battery). the guy i spoke to said all of their batteries, as well as most of the batteries on the market today, are wet cell. therefore it is "perfectly fine" to use charger, tender, etc with their batteries.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: Quincy MA
Thanks! Just clicked on AutoGeek and ordered a second one for my motorcycle!
Kevin
Kevin
Yeah, trickle chargers are not good because they can "overcharge".
I bought the "Battery Tender" from AutoGeek.
Red light tells you it is charging, Flashing Green, means 80-99% charged, Solid Green is fully charged.
On Solid Green, the charging stops until it gets back down to 80%.
A nice little unit for $29. Battery Tender ...
I bought the "Battery Tender" from AutoGeek.
Red light tells you it is charging, Flashing Green, means 80-99% charged, Solid Green is fully charged.
On Solid Green, the charging stops until it gets back down to 80%.
A nice little unit for $29. Battery Tender ...
