Fancy new battery chargers

[rustexpert]

Has any one got any experience with the new style vehicle battery chargers that seem to have recently come on the market.

They have impressive claims regarding the rejuvenating qualities of their many varied charging cycles, etc, etc.

They also have quite hefty prices.

I can see the logic as my cars battery usually lasts without thought or attention "for ever" in all weathers but the heavy batteries that get occaisional use on my vintage vehicles always seem to be poor after a year despite inside storage and regular top up charging with a conventional trickle charger.

Has anybody got any thoughts?

[Tony B]

I invested in a Ring SmartCharge 8. It was cheaper than the Halford's equivalent and has a manual recondition switch. I tried it on an ailing 108 amp hour battery. Took about three days but did get it back working. A Solar charger put on when not in use does seem to keep the battery alive, provided the batery is well charged when it is applied.

[Topdog]

I bought a Ring charger and it is brilliant

[Lauren Child]

It depends on the voltage - I looked everywhere for an intelligent 6 volt one with a decent current. All the ones I could find were aimed at small bike batteries or started at 12volt and 24 volt.

 

You can get desulpherators seperately (in kit form if you are handy with a soldering iron), so that's my plan. I ended up with a Durite charger (its not very intelligent from what I understand - I think it's 2 or 3 stages), and I'll add the desulpherator at some stage to pulse and refresh the battery, giving me a reasonable solution.

 

If I'd spotted it beforehand I'd have gone with one of the Abssaar chargers - not intelligent in the big sizes, but they have a really meaty 6/12/24 volt one that'll also do a jump start at lots of amps, so ideal for the old trucks.