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Posts: 20
Location: east central mn | Just wondering if anyone uses the schumacher brand chargers from wal-mart. They have a marine style and a aoto charger. I looked at the vector chargers on the Cabelas site and don't know the differences, Thanks for any help!
Joe |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | I have two (2) of the Vector Smart Battery Chargers (Model VEC1089 A) W/ digital smart control. Settings for 15A, 10A, & 2A. Also has settings for wet cells, AGM's and Gell-Cells. . They are nice muti-purpose chargers. I got both of mine at Farm & Fleet (~$40 EA.) Before that I had a Schumacher- when it went legs-up, I let Xavier disassemble it. The Schumacher I had was a basic charger w/o digital control. To really charge your batteries properly you need digital control.
Unless you know what you're doing & have a good digital voltage meter, I would not recommend any automotive style charger.
Have fun!
Al
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Posts: 20
Location: east central mn | Esox, the chargers I am looking at have the digital controls for 15 10 and 2amp, Or a more automotive one with 75, 20< >10 ( don't know what this means), and 2 amp, I'm just way over my head on this .it seems I could read for days, Is it also true that you should charge a deep cycle bat at 20 percent of it amphour rating for the first 90% of the charge then back it down the a trickle, Im so confused its driving me nuts. Thanks Joe |
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Posts: 17
Location: stevens point wi | I'm using the schumacher from walmart (marine style). And i like it. It has a quick charge also so if your in a hurry to get back on the water. Monarch84 i think that one will be just fine. i haven't had any problems with mine. It i basically the same as the vector smart battery charger's. just my input. hope it helps
muskymachine |
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Posts: 20
Location: east central mn | MM, how long have you had the charger with your batteries, Im willing to spend more if it helps in the long run, but I dont know enough to to see the differences between the two |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | joe- The rule for recharging sealed-lead acid batteries is that the charging current should not exceed 20% of the ampere hour rating. This means if you have a 105AH AGM deep cycle marine battery, the charging current should not be larger than ~21A. Put this battery on a 75A automotive charger, you will cause damage, including potentially a fire.
Just make sure the max charger rating meets the 20% criteria, and that it has digital control. Better yet if it has setting for each battery type, i.e., wet-cell, absorbant glass mat (AGM), or gell-cell. Then the charger will use the right charging profile for the battery type selected. I also recommend getting a charger with selectable charging currents versus a charger with one fixed current rating, f.ex. 2A, 10A, 15A etc. then you can use it with a variety of battery sizes, etc.
Any of the major manufacturer's are good choices for standalone chargers, i.e., Vector or Schumacher. Of course you get what you pay for. The advantage to standalone chargers versus a permanently installed marine battery charger, is that you can use it for other batteries, i.e., motor cycle, lawn mower, truck, tractor, etc.
The advantage to permanently installed marine chargers is that they are hassle free, i.e., just plug in the power cord. However, they also seem to carry a premium price.
Al |
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Posts: 20
Location: east central mn | Esox , I should have been more clear. I meant that the charger I seen has the 75 20 10 2 settings, As you can pick which amps you want. And it has a processor for smart charging. I think I'm going to go with the 75 amp max charger and just charge on the 20<>10 setting, Then I'll have a charger for starting cars or my truck. Seems like it has more versatility than just strictly the 15 10 2 charger. It also has all the options as in deep cycle agm or cranking batteries.
Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated
Edited by monarch84 5/11/2008 10:24 AM
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Joe- sounds like you've settled on a good choice for your needs.
A word of caution- I forgot to add in my previous post. The bulk charging current (charger amp rating) also should be no less than 5% of the battery AH rating. So if we use the same 105AH battery as an example; the charger current should not be greater than ~21A, or less than ~5A. Some folks think giving the battery a long slow charge is good, f. ex. using a 2A setting on a 105AH battery. That's wrong! It can also damage the battery, i.e., to long of a recharge time.
There are all kinds of ways to kill a battery, i.e., "That battery just didn't die, it was murdered!"
Another good feature to have in your charger is: "Ambient temperature compensation". Lead-acid batteries are typically rated for 77 deg. F. , i.e., that's where the manufacturer specifies the AH capacity and the recharge voltages (float or equalize as appropriate). Temperature compensation automatically lowers the charger output voltage as the ambient temperature goes higher. Really high-end chargers have a temperature probe that you actually place on the battery. However, generic ambient temperature compensation is sufficient for our typical application.
Have fun!
Al |
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