Has anyone used the 6/12v Edelbrock Samrt Charger? How does it compare to Battery Tender? It seems less expensive bu tI want quality first. Comments?
Don't know about the Edelbrock Smart Charger, BUT do know that the two I use from Harbor Freight, one on my '49 and one on my dinghy battery work great...and you can't beat the price.
Battery Tenders (in the generic meaning) are great but there is no getting around the need for a real charger that has some serious juice behind it. The tenders work really well for long term storage of a charged battery, but they are way too small for anything else.
I got a couple of the Schumacher ones @ O'reilly's and they work well, they have the float/maintainer function automatically.
Check out Ctek brand. It pulse charges, and will bring back sulfate batterys. I 've had one for several yaesr and am very happy with it. They have them on Amazon.
Thanks guys. The price differential is what I am looking at currently the Edelbrock is on sale for about $20 CDN. I got a Battery Tender version for Christmas that was around $80.
Maybe things have changed, but the complaint at one time was Battery Tender return policy was such a PITA and convoluted that it wasn't hardly worth doing. I had one that died, I didn't bother returning it. Its replacement has held up OK. I think they make a waterproof or at least water resistant version too, I'd look into that if I were to buy one today. Something that isn't so fragile either. Another unit I have that looks like the one in the pic seems to work OK, except it kills radio reception in the garage (switching power supply) and it won't work at all in below freezing temperatures the switches or display horks and won't initiate a charge or anything. My ancient Shumacher 6/12 finally died, I may try to repair it. There's something to be said for something that just works, without blinking lights and needs to be connected to the internet or whatever.
I like the way you think. But I thought that these things would be ok to maintain a charge. Anyone tried the Edelbrock version? I remember seeing Vic at a vendors show and had him sign the Edelbrock history book someone gave me. I know he puts Made in the USA labels parts but he didn't have an answer when I asked him how come his give away hats were made in China. Jus to turned and walked away.
Yeah, they'll do that just fine. The Ctek version does seem to be pretty spiffy. I wish someone would make a battery charger with leads made of quality wire and insulation, that doesn't get stiff as a dead squirrel in cold weather. Do they test anything anymore? For a battery that's run down hard there's really no substitute for a real charger that can throw some amps down. It's important that the charger is properly sized, to minimize the amount of time that is spent in the bulk or absorption phase. Otherwise it would take days and days to reach a full charge at 1/2 amp, and the electrolyte would be gassing out the whole time. This is why the "smart" chargers are so intelligent - they just say &@$!! it, and switch over to float so as not to boil the battery dry. Moderate gassing is good for a battery but it should be minimized. That's why I loved my Shumacher 6/12, they had it all figured out a long time ago. It will boil a battery out in the summer if ya forget, but in extreme cold it could probably be connected indefinitely, it would be about a perfect "trickle", because internal resistance goes up in cold weather, a battery needs a lot higher voltages to even approach a full charge.
It is in the latest KMS Tools flyer. KMS is a Canadain store. Go to kmstools.com and enter "shop current flyer". Then enter page 46.
That is NOT an Edelbrock Charger - the flyer is laid out poorly - the logo is for the fender cover. That charger is Auto-Loc, a Hoffman Company!
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