Slow Battery Charger
Slow Battery Charger
After having the battery on my "summer only" convertible go
flat last winter I decided to invest in a battery maintainer.
The Schumacher SEM-1652A was the best compromise of price (around
$40 with shipping), features (a normal charging rate, and a
lower maintaining rate, with overcharge protection and indicator
lights), and small size (fits easily under the hood by the
master cylinder, battery wiring adaptor with quick connect makes installation and removal a snap.
I'd add a few extra crimp-on terminals of various ring sizes to the kit,
so different power connections with the wiring adaptor could be made
(my car has the battery mounted in the front fender well, I had to get
larger ring terminals to go on the remote jump starting terminals
under the hood.
flat last winter I decided to invest in a battery maintainer.
The Schumacher SEM-1652A was the best compromise of price (around
$40 with shipping), features (a normal charging rate, and a
lower maintaining rate, with overcharge protection and indicator
lights), and small size (fits easily under the hood by the
master cylinder, battery wiring adaptor with quick connect makes installation and removal a snap.
I'd add a few extra crimp-on terminals of various ring sizes to the kit,
so different power connections with the wiring adaptor could be made
(my car has the battery mounted in the front fender well, I had to get
larger ring terminals to go on the remote jump starting terminals
under the hood.
Slow Battery Charger
bought a wattmeter to measure the power use of a fridge ( seemed to be running more than
normal, we replaced it with an energy star rated model ) so I hooked up the Schumacher maintainer
to the meter to see what it drew when it was trickle charging / maintaining. Charging was .25 amps or about
30 watts per hour, and maintaining was .11 amps or about 13 watts per hour. Pretty low energy use in my book.
normal, we replaced it with an energy star rated model ) so I hooked up the Schumacher maintainer
to the meter to see what it drew when it was trickle charging / maintaining. Charging was .25 amps or about
30 watts per hour, and maintaining was .11 amps or about 13 watts per hour. Pretty low energy use in my book.
Slow Battery Charger
lot of negative reviews for this charger that I
think are partially due to Amazon's incorrect description and the fact
that most people don't know what size or type of charger they need.
(including myself)
I am a practicing Electronic engineer with more than 20yrs experience. I did not know much about battery chargers until recently researching what a good battery charger should do.
I am a practicing Electronic engineer with more than 20yrs experience. I did not know much about battery chargers until recently researching what a good battery charger should do.
Slow Battery Charger
1) this charger only delivers a max of 1.5A. This
means if you try to charge a discharged auto battery (48AH) it will take
a long long time. This charger does work great for topping off a car
battery at 70% (12.4V).
2) The instructions included clearly state the charger will automatically shut-off after 12 hours of charging. The charger will restart and continue charging if you unplug and then plug the charger in again. Best to get a higher capacity charger.
2) The instructions included clearly state the charger will automatically shut-off after 12 hours of charging. The charger will restart and continue charging if you unplug and then plug the charger in again. Best to get a higher capacity charger.
Slow Battery Charger
3) This charger does have a float mode sort of.
Actually it shuts off the charging current and monitors battery voltage.
When the battery voltage drops low enough the charger cycles on to top
it off and then shuts off again.
MY SUMMARY 1st:
I like this charger and think it does a good job for the PRICE. Gold box special was $15.20 + tax. (I would definitely buy it at the regular price for $3$)
It's basically automatic. Don't have to set the voltage and it won't damage anything if you reverse the clips accidently. Compact size and reasonable quality clamps.
This charger does what it is designed for. That is charge small batteries and top off larger automotive batteries. This is an excellent maintenance charger for all batteries to keep them fully charged when not in use. (My opinion)
Personally I would not leave any charger connected to my battery for more than 24 hours
MY SUMMARY 1st:
I like this charger and think it does a good job for the PRICE. Gold box special was $15.20 + tax. (I would definitely buy it at the regular price for $3$)
It's basically automatic. Don't have to set the voltage and it won't damage anything if you reverse the clips accidently. Compact size and reasonable quality clamps.
This charger does what it is designed for. That is charge small batteries and top off larger automotive batteries. This is an excellent maintenance charger for all batteries to keep them fully charged when not in use. (My opinion)
Personally I would not leave any charger connected to my battery for more than 24 hours
Slow Battery Charger
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