'best' charger to buy under $80ish ?

[apollo18]

hey all just wondering on recommendations on the best charger / maintainer for under $80 ish? i need one for maintaning an AGM battery for winters/when its not driven. I know I could just get a cheap $20-30 but wouldnt mind spending more now since its black friday to future proof myself with a good 'charger' if i need it ever. I have tried noco in the past and liked it but did some reading and saw some other brands. I am not sure if it is just internet bs but some say ctek is a better charger then noco. Any truth in that?

if you were in my shoes thats the best one to buy under $80 ?

thx

 

[oilstudent24]

the Noco is on sale. Not sure which ones are better. The Noco I had lasted maybe 8 yrs before I can’t change the mode very easy. I have a higher amp Noco that has done well for several years. Noco 5 is around $55.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Amazon.com

On sale for $81 at the time of this post.

 

[Oillover]

the Noco is on sale. Not sure which ones are better. The Noco I had lasted maybe 8 yrs before I can’t change the mode very easy. I have a higher amp Noco that has done well for several years. Noco 5 is around $55.

+1
I have an old Noco G1100 that still works great.

 

[BHopkins]

Another vote for the Solar Pro-Logix that Quattro Pete recommended. Mine has been awesome.

 

[benjy]

i have the CTEK 4.3 muse for about 15 yrs charging 2-3 motorcycles a car + pick up truck flawlessly, my 13 Vic Hammer has the OE battery + others almost as old. it looks to be the Polar model now!!

 

[2010Civic]

The NOCO Genius 10 is $80 on amazon. That would be my recommendation.

 

[apollo18]

Another vote for the Solar Pro-Logix that Quattro Pete recommended. Mine has been awesome.

ty do u know if its 'smart'? i dont know how i feel about choosing the charge level, it says u select 2 6 10 etc

thx

 

[apollo18]

any idea if all that extra step charging with fancy charges is worht it? or best to go with any new model smart charger which i assume will be good enough

thx

 

[Quattro Pete]

ty do u know if its 'smart'? i dont know how i feel about choosing the charge level, it says u select 2 6 10 etc

thx

What do you mean by "smart"? If you mean tapering off current to prevent over-voltage, they pretty much all do that, including that ProLogix one.

 

[BHopkins]

ty do u know if its 'smart'? i dont know how i feel about choosing the charge level, it says u select 2 6 10 etc

thx

It is smart in that it measures the charge level of the battery, and automatically stops charging when the battery is at 100%. It also automatically goes into a battery maintenance routine to desulfate a battery. After the desulfate maintenance, it goes into a battery charge maintenance program, which you can leave a battery on, long term.

There are three settings that you have to make. 1) is voltage, 12 vdc or 6 vdc. It defaults to 12vdc, so you typically go right to 2), which is battery type. Then 3) is the charge rate, or amperage. A good rule of thumb is to charge a battery at 10% - 20% of it's Amp Hour (Ah) rating.

I don't think the NOCO chargers have different charge rate settings. That is probably fine if all you ever plan on charging is car batteries. But if you ever want to charge a motorcycle battery or lawn mower battery, it is good to have a charger that can charge at a slower rate.

The Ah rating is typically printed on the battery label. But sometimes that label cannot be easily seen once a battery is installed. It may be a good idea to write the Ah rating on the top of the battery, where you can easily see it when you charge.

 

[J Dubbs]

any idea if all that extra step charging with fancy charges is worht it? or best to go with any new model smart charger which i assume will be good enough

thx

For me personally I don't like using a super cheap charger plugged in continuously in my garage, house fires are no fun

All chargers are not created equal, and I've had cheapies give me enough issues that I won't trust them anymore.. with my batteries or my safety.

I think any quality charger would do the job just fine for you though, it really depends on what you'll be charging and what amp rating you need

 

[Enlight]

For reviving batteries I have a Noco G7200, but if it's simply to maintain a battery being put in storage I have the $10.00 Harbor Freight 0.5a maintainer. They are cheap enough that it won't break the bank if you have a small fleet of vehicles (i.e. lawnmower).

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Amazon.com

On sale for $81 at the time of this post.

By far the best deal in the sub $100 range.

 

[nobb]

Those Chinese car chargers are known to have quite a potent pulse repair feature and the newer ones even have 7 stages of charging. They all seem to be based on the same/similar chip as you'll notice they have the same features and UI.

However, if you are getting them, go with the Foxsur brand as they seem to be the original. There's a good teardown video showing how the cheapest no-name ones are missing various AC filters and protections entirely to save cost. The brand name Foxsur is a bit better, but still may miss certain filters on the output stage, which is why they can't be considered CE compliant even if they do have the stamp. How "noisy" these units are probably is why they're so good at desulfating. Just don't leave them unattended like you would a Noco.

 

[R1jake]

I like the PZP WP315 12v/24v 0-15amp charger, you select the desired voltage and the desired current as well both have a knob you turn to get to the exact setting you desire. So on a dead lead acid car battery I want to charge fast I set voltage to 14.5/14.7 and turn the amperage all the way to 15 amps. At first if will take the full 15 amps but as the voltage climbs up to the setting amperage/current decreases automatically to where towards the end of the charge it will be sending very little current, just enough to keep the set voltage until it’s fully charged then shuts off.
I like being able to crank up the voltage to my exact desired setting where you can truly to revive batteries by cranking higher voltage in them it goes all the way up to 30v.