battery charger

[kirkmears]

this site does not play well with something (proxy server?) ...when will i learn :hammer:

here's the skinny version now:

looking for a 12v battery charger / tender. i need to find one today and not order it off the internet - or i'll probably need to just replace the battery on my 2009 fusion (its dead/dying). the GF listened to the radio while i was in the dentist last week and now it hasn't been the same. as much as i wanted to blame it on her, its 3 yrs old now & i drive it less than 20 miles a day. it happens. i need to find one that works well with red tops because all my other batteries are optimas. the ones at sears are $65 for the charger and $65 for the tender. does someone make a good all-in-one charger/tender that will also work with red tops? any other options? i would like to keep it under $150-$200 and something somewhat of a small footprint since i don't have room for a rollaround cart in the garage.

thanks in advance~ :beer:

[SILVER2000SVT]

Oreilly's has a Schumacher charger 2/4/6 for around $30. I leave on the Lightning 24/7. Some chargers say "not for gell cell batteries" but I don't think that applies to Optima batteries. Optima's are designed to perform like traditional batteries with regard to charging.

Heat destroys batteries. Most people think it's the cold winters that do it, which is false.

I had to replace one in my wife's 3 year old car couple of weeks ago.

[kirkmears]

well...it definitely couldn't have been the heat because we didn't break the 90 days of 100+ straight heat or whatever... :rolleyes:

any difference between the $30 & $60 chargers?

Orielly's has their $30 (Schumacher) and Sears (Diehard) has theirs for $65. i had a cheapy one from harbor freight that didn't last too long, which is why i'm asking... :cool:

[dboat]

I got mine from Griots Garage but you dont want to order from the internet. You might see if someone local sells CPEK, I think that is it.

Dana

[kirkmears]

after driving around to find a battery this evening, it's starting fine now. go figure

on that ctek...3 or 7 amps? thats exactly what i was looking for-thank you

[99WhiteBeast]

Heat destroys batteries. Most people think it's the cold winters that do it, which is false.


Hmmm- I've had my Focus down since mid June with the battery sitting in the hatch and baking in the sun- I knew I should have brought it indoors.

[Optima Bill]

Hi Kirk,
Since you mentioned you already own Optima RedTops, let me jump in with a couple comments.
Several manufacturers make quality chargers, that are microprocessor-controlled and designed to charge both standard flooded lead-acid batteries and also AGM type batteries. Optima batteries are AGM batteries, not gel batteries. Most chargers will work fine on our batteries, but “Gel” or even “gel/AGM” charger settings should be avoided, because they may not fully-charge an Optima and could damage it over time.
We recommend you recharge Optima batteries at about 2 amps and never recharge Optima batteries at a rate of more than 10 amps. Many newer style battery chargers even have the AGM Icon as an option for charging. So, besides being able to use to charge any battery, the other great news is that most are also pretty compact so they don't take up much space on your garage shelf.
I hope this helps and if I can answer any other questions about our products, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks,
Bill Howell
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com

[L8 APEX]

We have had good luck with Battery Tender brand. I order them from Amazon but Northern Tool stocks some. You should not have to tend a car driven weekly. It was just time for a battery in that car.
I also have an Ctek that is a neat tender. It has 4 or 5 modes including motorcycle and winter storage.

[kirkmears]

the fusion got a replacement battery this week from ford. i also took my battery back i bought. found a vette forum having a gb @ southern car partsand ordered a ctek 3300 charger for $55