On Sun, 24 Apr 2016 07:55:52 -0500, Ignoramus7945
wrote:

I have a lot of things, most of which have batteries, and therefore I
have a lot of battery chargers.

My experience with them has been generally negative. The worst are the
so called "smart" chargers.

The problem is that they are often the opposite of "smart". They go
crazy and stop charging for no reason, or worse, drain the batteries.
Additionally, they fail due to things such as cold weather or
whatever, things any decently made item should handle.

The chargers, at least for lead acid batteries, would really be better
off, if they simply tried to maintain 13.3 volts or some such.

My question is, is my experience unique and atypical, or have you also
had bad experience with battery chargers.

Thanks

i

There are good battery chargers, there are fair battery chargers and
there are a large...large number of Junk battery chargers.

Most common battery chargers are designed for the homeowner. These
tend to be more or less... junk, make in China, of
materials/components that are apparently designed to have a minimal
life span. Personally..I think its a crime to sell them. False
advertising at best.

Here is a listing of the best homeowner type chargers, per reviewers

http://car-battery-charger-review.toptenreviews.com/

Here is a brand that is quite good.

http://www.usabatterychargers.com/co...ry_charger.htm

And another

https://www.batterystuff.com/battery...l/ICS1225.html

Some..some of Schumachers chargers are quite good. Some.

http://www.batterychargers.com/blog/...ears-in-a-row/

That being said....USING battery chargers Can be more involved than
hooking up 2 leads and plugging it in. You need to know if the
battery itself can actually be recharged. You said something about
the charge indicator needle banging back and forth.... you do know
that USUALLY indicates either a badly calcified battery or one that
has broken plates...IE..an internal short...right?
Batteries need to be charged in certain environmental conditions as
well. Trying to get a marginal charger to charge a battery that has
been sitting stone cold dead for 4 yrs after being removed from an off
road pickup truck, in the dead of winter....is an exercise for someone
with nothing better to do with their life. Etc etc etc. Trying to
jump/charge a diesel truck battery in the Freightliner, with a float
charger meant for small cars...simply wont work very well either.....

Ive got about 4 -6 chargers at the moment..most of them purchased at
yard sales. Each one of them has been beat to hell by the previous
owners. Ive had to take them apart, straighten out internal bends and
breaks that happened when they fell off tall shelves, were kicked into
the corner, were run over and so forth. An elderly Schumacher is the
oldest..and has given me the best service for at least 15 yrs. I also
have a floor model that is in the To Do pile..its older than dirt but
should be easy to restore when I get the time to **** with it.

Ive used 12volt forklift chargers with great sucess over the years.
Some are very good indeed. Others..older ones...are simply larger
versions of home use chargers. They will charge a battery in good
condition and not run flat and left sitting for 5 yrs, quite well.
Other batteries less well treated...not so much.

Gunner