On Fri, 29 Jan 2021 03:03:43 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 28 Jan 2021 14:24:24 -0800, Bob F
wrote:

On 1/28/2021 1:47 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:15:13 -0600, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:52:11 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 18:03:16 -0600, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:56:57 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 26 Jan 2021 20:36:10 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 1/26/2021 2:44 PM, alan wrote:
My 40 year old steel case 6 amp automotive battery charger finally died.
I only want to replace it (and I don't want a contraption that jumps cars).

I just want a new 120VAC simple sturdy 12VDC automotive car battery
charger.
And I don't get out to the stores much lately.

Mine had an analog meter, and a 6V/12V switch (which I never used at 6V).
If they still come with an analog amperage needle, that would be nice.

Any advice where to get a good simple sturdy 12VDC battery charger online?

Chargers are good for dead batteries but battery tenders keep them from
going dead. The new AGM betteries and all the electronics are more
touchy than ever.

Ger something like this
https://www.stingrayforums.com/threa...-charger.7036/

It is hard to beat a solar battery maintainer. I have one on my boat,
one for my lawn tractor and one for the truck we seldom use. I am
going to get one for my wife's car now that she isn't driving much.

"solar battery maintainer" doesn't tell me much. Solar obviously refers to
the less important aspect of how power comes into the charger, but nothing
about the more critical aspect of how power is applied to the battery. Not
only that, it sounds like it may not work well at night or in an unlighted
garage. I guess I'll pass on that idea.

I agree in a garage, maybe not so much but the sun shines every day if
your vehicle is outside.
It is plenty to keep a battery up with the advantage that it works
without needing AC power where you are. No extension cords to screw
with when you drive away.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

7.5 watts? That doesn't sound good at all. That would be midday in direct
sun, so even less before and after that. I'll stick with my Battery Tender,
which has been working well for more than a decade now.

Whatever works for you but 7.5w (0.625a) 5 hours a day (How solar
collectors are rated) is plenty to replace the parasitic losses in a
battery that is just sitting there.


The losses are probably higher in any modern car with all the
electronics they have consuming power.

Well, my 2005 car has the clock in the car radio,
the fob receiver,
there must be some voltage applied to the engine computer since they
say it forgets what it learned if you take the battery out, but despite
that, I think the current used has to be very small, and
what amounts to a burglar alarm sentry, that monitors the doors if
they are opened by reaching in and unlatching one of them, without using
the key or the fob.

Do new cars have more electronics that run when the car is off?

Actually a LOT LESS current draw than in 1990. The computer memory
draws virtually no current - it just requires a minimum voltage. The
clock would run all year on a cr1220 cell. Radio memory again is not a
current hog. The reciever for the key fob is such a low power unit it
only draws about 12 ua - that's 12 MICRO Amps - 1r 12 MILLIONTHS of an
amp. Moisture on the top of a clean battery likely leaks more than
that. To consume 1 amp hour of power from your nominally 50 Ah
battery would take a long time .
1/1000000 of a year is 13 seconds, more or less. You don't even need
to do any calcs to know that 12 microamps is not going to kill your
battery in 6 months.


When I used a solar charger, I had numbers 1 and 3, plus I'd put in my
own 4, but no fob. IIRC I also had a crummy battery but it was fine in
the summer, so I used the charger, about 12" by 8" including a 3/4"
frame, during the winter, and it got me through 2 winters in good shape.
Bought it at a hamfest.