speaking of batteries, now battery chargers...

[pigdoc]

I'm getting fed-up with that CHEAP-A$$ battery charger I got from Tractor Supply!
The plastic on the cords is cracking up like a soda straw that's layed in the sun for a year.
Must have a short somewhere, because it's tripping the breaker inside regularly, too.

I just bought me a like new-in-the-box Century Model 87105. Can't wait to get it and see the date code. Probably mid-1990s, by its appearance.
They're the best! No chip. This one served someone else's lifetime, now it's MY turn!

They even publish the wiring diagrams online, here:
RPL141292006.PDF

It's got the 55 AMP starting feature too (5 sec on/400 sec off duty cycle). Better than untangling the jumper cables, starting the truck, moving the truck. etc. etc.
Half the price of the new one, which is discoed anyway.

Gotta go OLD school on stuff like this!
-Paul

 

[John T]

if it's not urgent I usually use a battery tender. I've got a few of them.

But for the occasional dead battery needing a boost to start, I use this Schumacher farm & ranch unit.
It's a newer model but It's very simplistic internally. kinda like the old solar and century units...

But the 200 amp start position will wake the dead.

Started my buddys R model mack in the dead of winter no prob.

 

[bird dogger]

I was in somewhat the same situation as you, Paul, last Spring. (I was planning to write up a short "How to" article and time just didn't allow and then it was placed on the back burner.) But.....I needed to jump start my old Willys Jeep to move it out of the shed. First big charger/starter was dead. Dug out the second one and it, too, was dead. Found my regular smaller battery charger and it was not working. Even my old Schauer trickle charger was dead!!

I thought I'd just go buy a new Century of the same size to replace the non working one. Surprise!! It was going to cost in the $500 range and up. So, i looked up the price of my larger Associated starter/charger and that one would take $1000 or more to replace! Yikes!!

It was time to go on a "repair binge" and order some parts, look up some schematics, and start fixing. I found a complete "Button Diode" kit for the Associated for very little money. The Century just needed a good cleaning of all the diode contacts and selector knob contacts after 40+ years. I found replacement diodes for my old Wabash and Schauer chargers in my parts cabinet. The analog meter in the Schauer charger was Kaput, so a replacement digital current meter of the same physical size was sourced and installed. All said and done, there likely wasn't $75 in parts for everything and the repairs were not that difficult at all.

With these chargers all repaired together with the few battery tenders.... I might be good for another 40+ years.... if the kids will throw them in a super sized casket with me when I go!!

 

[John T]

I forgot about this little beauty. I found it in my fathers shed last year after he passed.
Owned it probably 60 years..
growing up we used it for everything from cars/lawn mowers/tractors and even derusting steel parts through electrolysis.
still works great.

 

[lmichael]

I just tossed an old very heavy Schumacher in the trash yesterday. I could not figure out every time I tried using it to top up a battery it ended up killing the battery. Found out it was outputting AC not DC. Unsure what else to do with it stuck in the bin and Waste Management took it away.

 

[Spam Bot]

I use both a 1-amp and a 3-amp NOCO battery tender to keep the batteries charged while in storage. I also have a NOCO Li Ion battery jump pack that I use when a battery is dead. I keep it in the old car, which has a problematic "reproduction Delco battery," for show purposes. I have a 30-year-old Monster Professional garage battery charger in the corner of the garage, but I seldom use it.

 

[jaxs]

People don't agree on poly-ticks and religion so it's to be expected they don't agree on battery chargers but that's why we have campaign ads, preachers and online forums. Old school or new school doesn't matter when blasting charge into batteries, both degrade cold cranking amps and shortens battery life. I replaced battery in my lawn tractor this Summer and the one I replaced was installed in 2017. Everything on my place including daily drivers see a Deltran Battery Tender at least once every 90 days and more often when seldom used or not in use. I haven't heard anyone say "quality" tenders didn't dramatically extend battery life for them.

 

[pigdoc]

I just tossed an old very heavy Schumacher in the trash yesterday. I could not figure out every time I tried using it to top up a battery it ended up killing the battery. Found out it was outputting AC not DC. Unsure what else to do with it stuck in the bin and Waste Management took it away.

Awwww.
I have had a LOT of opportunity to get acquainted with the whims of scrap dealers this year. The different salvageable forms of "iron", for example, stretch to 140 in number! And, you're always going to get the price of the tiniest piece of the cheapest grade...for the whole lot! Right now, I have like, 100 NOS aluminum brake backing plates for mopeds to scrap. Only, they have a 1/4x1" steel pin pressed into them (the pivot for the shoes)... The thought of attempting to remove those pins (break the plate in two?) made me shudder. Then, for giggles, I weighed one. 4 ounces. That's about $0.15-worth of cast aluminum, now. Pffft! Meanwhile, all the gang bangers in PHL are cutting down copper transmission lines for scrap...I guess they ran out of cat converters to steal...

"I know, I'll just make a big pile of them and wait for the scrap price to come back!!!" [Said every 90 year-old codger, back when he was in his 60s...] Comes a day, when the thought of lifting even 4 ounces becomes an obstacle...
-P