Battery charger

[mjac]

A unexpected week long dispersed camping trip has come up. I find myself in a position of having to run my generator and a battery charger for my charging needs.
My fridge runs from my vehicle's starting battery and I have a group 29 running a CPAP and small lighting on a pop up camper. I was in process of linking the batteries together and adding solar but this trip has interrupted my plans.
I'll probably have to power up a battery charger with my gen set each day. Anyone have a recommendation a portable smart battery charger? Or even a smart bench charger, my old charger is very old and dumb.

TIA

 

[dwh]

Iota with IQ/4 brain module to make it a 3-stage charger. But it doesn't have temp compensation.

Xantrex TrueCharge with temp compensation.

Cheap and quick? I picked up a 15a Stanley bench top at Lowe's for 30 bucks. Multi-stage, bulks to 14.4v. Does a good enough job that I bought the 6a unit to carry in my truck as a spare or to charge others if they need it.

 

[dwh]

For quick and cheap charging, using a genny, I'd probably have gone with the 25a Stanley for 50 bucks instead of the 15a.

I bought the Stanley mainly just to play with the de-sulfation feature.

 

[1Louder]

These are a pretty good value.
NOCO Genius UltraSafe Smart Battery Charger
by NOCO
Link: https://amzn.com/B004LX3AXQ

Ctek are good as well but unless you are planning on running your generator for hours on end charging via one of these may not be the best choice. Can you not pickup a portable solar setup in time for your trip? Even Harbor Freight has some simple setups.

 

[dwh]

Also, the exact same guts as the Stanley, are put into a different plastic case and sold under the Black & Decker brand.

 

[chet6.7]

CTEK seems to be well thought of....I have a CTEK 7002 "Charges 12-volt lead-acid batteries (Wet, MF, Gel, AGM and Ca) from 14Ah to 150Ah (charging) or 14Ah to 225Ah (maintenance)"
I would recommend going to the CTEK (56-674) Multi US 25000 as believe it will charge higher capacity batteries,50-500Ah.

 

[mjac]

If you had to pick:

https://www.amazon.com/Decker-BC25B...ords=black+and+decker+25+amp++battery+charger

https://www.amazon.com/Decker-BC15B...8-7&keywords=black+and+decker+battery+charger

 

[mjac]

These are a pretty good value.
NOCO Genius UltraSafe Smart Battery Charger
by NOCO
Link: https://amzn.com/B004LX3AXQ

Ctek are good as well but unless you are planning on running your generator for hours on end charging via one of these may not be the best choice. Can you not pickup a portable solar setup in time for your trip? Even Harbor Freight has some simple setups.

I had planned on a 100 watt suit case, when they become available. So I'll pass on the smallish solar for now.
Thanks

 

[mjac]

For quick and cheap charging, using a genny, I'd probably have gone with the 25a Stanley for 50 bucks instead of the 15a.

I bought the Stanley mainly just to play with the de-sulfation feature.

Is this the Stanley?

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-BC25...14214&sr=8-1&keywords=stanley+battery+charger

 

[DaveInDenver]

I have an Iota DLS-45 with IQ/4 and it's done a good job keeping large batteries conditioned, can definitely second that. Another I have is a Minn Kota MK-106D that I use on the motorcycle and tractor batteries that has been excellent as well. It doesn't do the periodic maintenance of the IQ/4 so it's not as useful for long term (multiple weeks or months) float. But as a charger it's been excellent. The Minn Kota are often available at marine and fishing stores.

 

[dwh]

Any charger will charge any size battery or bank as long as it's not some little 1a or 2a trickle charger.

The factor is time. Charging off shore power, time doesn't much matter. For solar or generator, time matters.

That means more amps and/or bulking to a higher voltage, both of which can shorten the time required. Of the two, higher voltage will make the most difference, since the battery's resistance will limit the amps no matter how big the charger is.

The Iota with IQ/4 bulks to 14.8v. That alone can shave hours off of the long slow absorb stage.

The little 6a Stanley can charge the 100ah house battery in my truck. It just takes more time to get it done, which isn't something I'd want to do regularly from a generator.

 

[dwh]

mjak,

Aye, that's the one. When I bought mine, the Stanleys came in a different shape and color case. Now it looks like they are saving money by using the same case for both brands.

But you can see they are the same. Mine has the same features, LED panel and buttons.

Doesn't matter which brand you buy, it's the same internals. Like I said, for use with a gen, get the 25a instead of the 15a.

Your battery might not allow the bigger charger to flow more amps than the smaller one...but if it does, then you want all you can get to shorten the gen's run time.

 

[dwh]

Um...wait. Get the bigger unit IF your gen is big enough to power it.

 

[DaveInDenver]

It's true the IQ/4 bulk charges up to 14.8V and that does speed up the cycle but it should be noted that not everyone agrees this is good for your battery so watch those specifications.

Manufacturers are going to give a current or temperature limit as well as a voltage limit. Optima for example says 10A max between 13.8V and 15.0V with a time limit of 6 to 12 hours. For rapid charge they say there's no current limit at 15.6V or lower as long as the battery temperature remains below 125F (52C) and you should switch to lower absorption once current reaches 1A.

 

[dwh]

All true, but the Optima is an oddball spiral wound AGM design with a freakishly low internal resistance.

And no one really follows the Optima recommendations anyway, since there aren't any battery chargers, except expensive programmable chargers, that can do exactly what Optima specifies. Certainly no automotive charging system does it.

I think even the Optima branded chargers are basically just normal battery chargers with the Optima name glued on.