Cheap 30A Charger, whats the catch?

Nomad_Nev · Veteran Member

Cheap 30A Charger, whats the catch?

Old Col · Veteran Member

one of these to dear for you
www.ebay.com.au/itm/PROJECTA-IC3500-35-AMP-AUTOMATIC-BATTERY-CHARGER-AGM-CARAVAN-DEEP-CYCLE-BONUS-/400380392986

hako · Guru

I bought one of these which is a 20 amp model:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-12V-Battery-Charger-20-Amp12V-240V-20A-ATV-Boat-4WD-Caravan-Motorcycle-/281173505100?hash=item41773f344c:g:izYAAOSwMmBVyVXl
and have found it to work very well. It has a cooling fan that runs till the charge rate drops to about 5amps. Probably not as sophisticated as the ones costing 20 times as much but they both do the same job. I tested mine on an almost flat 105 amp hour battery and it pumped out 20 amps or just under then slowly dropped to a trickle after a few hours.

Best thing is the price...$39.

Good Luck.

Vince · Senior Member

x 2 like hako has got

I have two of this same charger, 1 kept permanent in the tug and the other permanent in the garage.

Had them for a few years now and cannot fault them

Near same pricing -- $35 for the first and $41 for the second

Cheers
Vince

Nomad_Nev · Veteran Member

Great thanks,

We wont use it often, just when there hasnt been good solar for a while and the batteries are getting low, then I want to get the max amps from a few hours of generator.

Nice to know you guys are using em with no drama's thanks.

Nice charger Col, I also like the remote sender, need to look at the most cost effective though and $ 180 for 30 Amps is the best i can find at the moment.

Great price there Hako, may look at that as an alternative to the 30.

hako · Guru

They also have a 40amp model:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-12V-Battery-Charger-40-Amp12V-240V-40A-ATV-Boat-4WD-Caravan-Motorcycle-/360680228173?hash=item53fa37854d:g:LT8AAOSwgQ9VyVZz

Regards

PeterD · Guru

Denis, I think you mean this one.

-- Edited by PeterD on Wednesday 4th of May 2016 05:05:51 PM

Nomad_Nev · Veteran Member

yep found it thanks, 40a for $80, now that is a deal...

hako · Guru

PeterD wrote:
Denis, I think you mean this one.

Peter - your link also goes to pry bars????

I'll try it again but I wonder how that happens?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-12V-Battery-Charger-40-Amp12V-240V-40A-ATV-Boat-4WD-Caravan-Motorcycle-/360680228173?hash=item53fa37854d:g:LT8AAOSwgQ9VyVZz

-- Edited by hako on Tuesday 3rd of May 2016 10:08:04 PM

banjo · Senior Member

My take on this, all battery chargers are not created equal, even some so called "Smart chargers" are not too smart and can drop back into absorption mode as soon as minor load is applied on the battery, causing it to eventually boil and or swell. Been there, done that !

A base type charger as shown (no mention of 3-4-5 stage smart charging) will have to be monitored closely so that it does not boil the battery and kill it !

AGM batteries are expensive now, why cut corners and chance destroying you expensive batteries ?

I have seen scope traces of AC ripple on the DC charger outputs on some cheap chargers that will eventually kill a battery, why take the risk to save a few dollars, buy a quality unit like CteK or Projecta and look after your battery, it will thank you for it by living longer, and be possibly cheaper in the long run.

hako · Guru

The OP is only planning on using the charger to "push amps back into the batteries quickly when we need it." so in theory any old charger will do the job.
If it was going to be connected constantly then banjo's advice would be the way to go as long as you have the cash IMHO.

Regards