Battery charger?

[katuah]

Any recommendations on battery chargers? Looks like our old one bit the dust. I don't have a lot of storage space and no garage, so needs to be portable & small enough to be easily stored. Would like it to be capable of bringing a battery back from "full dead," but how fast isn't an issue. Cheap is good. Thanks.

 

[2stix]

i have a few at all differant amp ratings. some switchable. you need to decide what amp rating fits your needs. 10-12 amp is normally a good way to charge most batteries. i have the big sears switchable but it switches from 2 amp to 40 amp to 200 amp. which is great if you need to get the battery quik charged with 40 amps. but a better charge is with a 10 amp for a longer period. so i tend to use one of my smaller ones that has the 10 amp. about the only time i use the big cart one is when i need the 200 amp jump start mode. so i would look at what you need, then buy anything that fits the bill. like i said a 10-12 amp is best if you want to actually charge the battery correctly. 40 amp is you want to get the car started and let the alternator charge it while running. just know that it taxes the alternator when doing it that way.

 

[RCP Phx]

It would also depend on what type of battery you are trying to charge.If you intend to use it on any AGM batteries get the "Battery Tender".

 

[GrimmJeeper]

It would also depend on what type of battery you are trying to charge.If you intend to use it on any AGM batteries get the "Battery Tender".

x2, or a charger that specifically states it is designed for use with AGM type batteries. You also need to be careful if you intend to use a gel cell battery, as they are very sensitive to being charged at high currents.

There is some good info about batteries in general, and some info on how each type should be charged on this page: http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html