Battery Chargers...

[Russ from MN]

Apparently, those smart chargers aren't so smart. The battery that most needs charging is the dead one.

I have a smart charger, today I tried to charge a dead battery, 3.5 volts. I put it on boost for a minute, then it started charging.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I have had similar luck with Schumacher. Noco has been good for trickle chargers. We had at work an Associated charger they are blue that is also still made I think a 6001 was the model it is about 4 times the price as the junk ones but it’s about your only option to replace what you have.

 

[miangus]

I have had good luck rebuilding my old wheeled solar. I replaced the diodes a couple of times and finally installed a heaver rectifier bridge. The parts are available online. If you replace any of the wires in and around the rectifier, use wire and spade connecters for an electric range burner.

 

[Texasmark]

I currently have a Schumacher 10 amp older design (manual functionality) and use it as my primary charger. I like it because it's reliable and since amperage is what charges the battery, I have a needle on a scale that tells me just what I want to know. I also have a couple of newer chargers of different brands, electronic gadgets and all that fancy stuff....they usually sit on the shelf!

 

[Russ from MN]

Just replace the fan, there are many generic fans available online.

 

[Eman85]

This has been interesting.

I intended this thread to elicit comments on three brand new battery chargers that were defective right out of the box, and instead it's focused on my old charger.

Welcome to the 21st century, keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.

 

[stoughtonfarmboy]

All three were manufactured by Schumacher. If you do research, you'll find that the vast majority of battery chargers of this type on the market were made by Schumacher, regardless of brand name. I checked about a half dozen popular outlets, including TSC.. Bomgaars, a local inde;pendent farm store, Ace Hardwares, and others. And guess what? They ALL carried A Schumacher SC1446 charger, or the same charger with another name on it. Most of them have this charger as the only one of this type that they offer. Check it out yourself.

Warning. Thread drift. About 40 years ago I bought a Vermont Castings wood stove/fireplace insert. Probably saw an ad in The Mother Earth News magazine. The ad and everything I read referred to New England thrift, craftsmanship etc. Imagine my surprise when it was delivered and the box said "Made in Korea"! It was a very heavy cast iron woodstove that lasted for 30 years. I should have had some plate steel fabricated to replace a part but bought a replacement insert. My friend and neighbor has had the same model of woodstove and it still heats his house with it after 40 + years.

Point of the story is that foreign made doesn't automatically mean cheaply made.

Ken

 

[Goose]

Warning. Thread drift. About 40 years ago I bought a Vermont Castings wood stove/fireplace insert. Probably saw an ad in The Mother Earth News magazine. The ad and everything I read referred to New England thrift, craftsmanship etc. Imagine my surprise when it was delivered and the box said "Made in Korea"! It was a very heavy cast iron woodstove that lasted for 30 years. I should have had some plate steel fabricated to replace a part but bought a replacement insert. My friend and neighbor has had the same model of woodstove and it still heats his house with it after 40 + years.

Point of the story is that foreign made doesn't automatically mean cheaply made.

Ken

I agree. Unfortunately, "Made In USA" no longer indicates top quality. The finest set of combination wrenches I own, both Metric and SAE, both appearance and function, was made in India. Some of the finest steel in the world comes from India. I've read of steel statuary made in India that is 2,000 years old and not a speck of rust.

Back in the 1980's, already, when I owned an auto body shop it was showing. A customer needed the right fender replaced on an '86 Olds Ciera. It wasn't an insurance job, and the customer told me to go ahead and use an aftermarket fender. The fender was made in Taiwan and had a manufacturing irregularity that wasn't seen after the fender was installed.

By coincidence, several months later I was called upon the replace the right fender on another '86 Ciera. It was an insurance job and called for an OEM fender. Guess what? The OEM fender from GM had the same irregularity. Made you wonder just where GM was getting their OEM sheet metal.

 

[Tony in SD]

After reading this post, I think if my old wheeled Schumacher ever quits, Im just going to repair it my self.

 

[Jim in LA]

For years I’ve been using a wheeled battery charger that my wife gave to me as a gift about 50 years ago. (See first pic) It always did exactly what was expected, until a couple of weeks ago when I went to charge a battery and the fan on the charger didn’t com on. The charger worked OK, but the normally audible fan was conspicuous by its absence.

I went shopping. Both our local TSC store and independent farm store had a model of Schumacher charger that I liked for $229. I checked Amazon and I could get the same model number or $174. Saving $55 was too tempting, so I ordered one from Amazon. (See second pic). It was DOA. I connected it to a battery, plugged it into a wall outlet, and when I turned it on, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. So, I packed it up and returned it for a replacement.

The second one was more spectacular. When it turned it on, there was a huge amount of arcing and sparking inside the case for a couple seconds until a fuse blew on the electrical panel and a row of lights went out in the shop. I returned it for a refund. (I must add, when I unpacked it, it appeared the original factory packaging had been undone at least once).

I surfed Amazon and picked out a Craftsman charger that appeared to be what I wanted. When it arrived, I was startled to see it was an exact carbon copy of the two Schumacher chargers I’d already returned, just a different color case and the name “Craftsman” on it. Obviously manufactured by Schumacher. It charged OK, but no fan was audible, although the owner’s manual said it was normal for the fan to run while the unit was charging.

I contacted Craftsman’s Tech Support and received the following response:

“I apologize that I am unable to directly address your question. To ensure you receive the most accurate information, I recommend contacting the appropriate division, as they have access to the technical resources and product-specific support required to assist you further.”

He didn’t say what the “appropriate division” was.

I contacted Schumacher’s Tech Support and was told the fan should be audible when the unit is charging. Using a little Bic lighter, I was able to see a bit of air flow at the grill on the side of the case when the charger was running, but nothing audible. I decided to err of the side of caution and returned the unit as defective for a refund.

Meanwhile, I’d tried my old charger again and found it was again working normally. Why the fan didn’t run that one time, I have no idea. Maybe a switch wasn’t dropped all the way into a detent or something.

I guess I’ll see where this goes, and if my old charger acts up again, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. So far, I’m not out a dime. All the shipping both ways was free.

The oil-lite bearings in the fan motor probably need re oiled. I was looking at battery charger repair vids on YouTube recently and there are supply houses that sell rectifiers and other parts for the old "good stuff". My 40+ year 225 Lincoln tombstone welder I dug out a couple months ago that hadn't been used in 20 years and the fan was froze up. YouTube to the rescue, it was no problem to clean and lube the fan motor and clean the anp selector contacts. I have an old blue 10 amp Schumacher charger that quit working. I have the silicon bridge rectifier top upgrade it but not sure how to connect correctly.

 

[Jim in LA]

I have had similar luck with Schumacher. Noco has been good for trickle chargers. We had at work an Associated charger they are blue that is also still made I think a 6001 was the model it is about 4 times the price as the junk ones but it’s about your only option to replace what you have.

My Dad purchased an Associated charger in 1968 to use in his auto repair shop. It had the boost feature and the reverse protection also.The rectifier burned out once and he had it repaired. we had that charger until after his death in 2003. I googled antique associated battery charger and they have a pic of it and the model was FC 70 I also have an A6-4 Small unit Associated charge my Dad got me for Christmas in '72 for my motorcycle.