best $30 smart 12v battery charger for vehicles?

A

apollo18

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May 27, 2023
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hey all, what is the 'best' 12v smart car battery charger i can get for around $30?
i saw amazon has some china ones, here are some links for some with good reviews.
what yall think of these? they are under $30

or is there a good brand name on that can maybe be found on sale due to blackfriday for less then $30?

https://a.co/d/0izLkuv
https://a.co/d/1O1mJi4

these have good reviews so i assume they are prob half decent
thanks!
 
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These usually go on sale for about 30 bucks give or take. I have one, works well. Pretty well made.
www.harborfreight.com

4Amp Fully Automatic Microprocessor-Controlled Battery Charger/Maintainer

Amazing deals on this 4Amp 12V High Freq Battery Charger/Maintainer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com

I got one of those cheap Chinese chargers you listed off temu, the second one on your post, more for morbid curiosity than anything as they were super cheap on there. Think I got it for 10 bucks. It's cheap and cheap for a reason. I wouldn't trust it without supervision. It does charge a battery I suppose, but I would pay more for something safe.

For name brand, it's more of a maintainer but does charge a battery is a Battery Tender Jr. They go on sale fairly often on Amazon.
 
Like most motorheads, I have a lot of engines and batteries to maintain (multiple generators, motorcycle, 4 wheeler, airplane and F150's). I've tried a number of battery maintainer brands, and even some from the marine store. Nearly all of the maintainers have failed.

The one that "seems" to work the best for me is the Battery Tender Jr. I currently have 3 of those, and none have failed. I even use one on my airplane.

As for a conventional battery charger, my old one went up in smoke and I can't seem to find the non computerized type anymore. So I purchased the Harbor Freight 2/10/50 "Cen Tech" model. It works well, but has started an ugly loud buzzing sound after charging a dead, larger battery. I don't think it is going to last 40 years like my old Schumacher 6A charger did.
 
I purchased a different one called motopower. It's $13.21 on Amazon (Black Friday special). I purchased it a few months ago and keep it on my Ford F-150 AGM battery all the time. I added a cigarette lighter plug in that I had laying around instead of using the spring battery connections. I have lots of battery maintainers from Ctek, Battery Tender, Shumacher, Motopower, and they all work very well. I like the inexpensive ones because if they do go bad you are not out a lot of money.
 
I have one Battery Tender Junior. I've had it over 20 years, I bought it along with my first motorcycle.

I have 2 prong pigtails installed on all of my vehicles, and I move the Junior from vehicle to vehicle, from week to week.

Considering what I paid, how many years ago, and how much I've used it... no need for China junk.
 
joekingcorvette said:
I purchased a different one called motopower. It's $13.21 on Amazon (Black Friday special). I purchased it a few months ago and keep it on my Ford F-150 AGM battery all the time. I added a cigarette lighter plug in that I had laying around instead of using the spring battery connections. I have lots of battery maintainers from Ctek, Battery Tender, Shumacher, Motopower, and they all work very well. I like the inexpensive ones because if they do go bad you are not out a lot of money.
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I bought a couple of those too when they were dirt cheap. They aren't too shabby.
 
whats the difference in these genius chargers vs having a simple 12v 1amp slow dc power supply charging up a half full car battery?
 
proveitwithdata said:
whats the difference in these genius chargers vs having a simple 12v 1amp slow dc power supply charging up a half full car battery?
Click to expand...
The new stuff are all microprocessor controlled. They prevent overcharging so you can leave them connected for long periods. Many also have specific charging algorithms for various battery types (flooded, AGM, lithium, etc) Fancier ones will even have automatic temperature compensation charging profiles for cold or warm weather. Others have specific features to desulfate a battery and even "restore" an otherwise dead and sulfated battery.
 
f355spider said:
The new stuff are all microprocessor controlled. They prevent overcharging so you can leave them connected for long periods. Many also have specific charging algorithms for various battery types (flooded, AGM, lithium, etc) Fancier ones will even have automatic temperature compensation charging profiles for cold or warm weather. Others have specific features to desulfate a battery and even "restore" an otherwise dead and sulfated battery.
Click to expand...
those with flat batteries i assume would benefit the most? if you are topping off a battery from say 11.9 volts would these things have any value
 
proveitwithdata said:
those with flat batteries i assume would benefit the most? if you are topping off a battery from say 11.9 volts would these things have any value
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I would say that batteries of all states of charge can benefit, even a fully charged battery, as it can maintain it in a fully charged state, overcoming even a parasitic loss from an ECU on the car.

Some people will attach a "smart charger" to their battery on a weekly or every other week basis for "maintenance". I'm not sure what that is doing, but they claim it can potentially lengthen battery life.

I simply use them on cars that are infrequently driven. I have had batteries fail from being kept at a constant low state of charge. Then driving the car, the alternator would charge up the battery. I learned this is very hard on the alternator (from a Ferrari technician used to dealing with "garage queen Ferraris") and if done frequently can prematurely kill your alternator. The Ferrari tech said to use a battery tender, always. Modern Ferraris have a ton of paracetic loss, and have come with battery tenders standard since the early 2000s (and most owners only drive them a few times a month). Most late model (last 10 years) cars not driven for three or more weeks will have the same problem of either not starting or starting, but the battery is so low, the alternator works overtime charging the battery back up.
 
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f355spider said:
I would say that batteries of all states of charge can benefit, even a fully charged battery, as it can maintain it in a fully charged state, overcoming even a parasitic loss from an ECU on the car.

Some people will attach a "smart charger" to their battery on a weekly or every other week basis for "maintenance". I'm not sure what that is doing, but they claim it can potentially lengthen battery life. I simply use them on cars that are infrequently driven. I have had batteries fail from being kept at a constant low state of charge. Then driving the car, the alternator would charge up the battery. I learned this is very hard on the alternator and if done frequently can prematurely kill your alternator.
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yeah make sense it seems as if you short trip alit that the alt will never ever get the batt to 100 and it seems like these batt's like 100% charge so sulfation doesnt build
 
apollo18 said:
anyone used the walmart everstart one? for $20?
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I'm sure it works fine.

I see two different ones at that price point, a 1 amp and a 3 amp. What is not clear on the 3 amp is if it has an SAE plug for connecting different attachment options...such as clamps, ring mounts or a cigarette lighter plug. It only shows the clamps. Wouldn't be difficult to buy some SAE plugs and convert it...but an extra ten bucks and your time to modify it....most come with SAE plugs, like the 1 amp version does.

The only advantage to the fancier ones are the additional features I mentioned above. They may or may not be important to you, and from a practical sense, may not be of benefit for your needs or application.

I geek out on this stuff, so I have several different ones and spent close to $200 on some of them. But I have used the inexpensive 1 amp $15 wall wart ones and they work just fine too.
 
Deltran 4.5amp battery tender at costco around $30

otherwise that viking HF is pretty reputable.

NOCO are decent but even at their BF price overpriced.. I purchased a 5amp for 35$ IIRC
OTOH its not "BAD" at $50
 
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