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BTW OP:
It says it's a Battery Charger! I would trust a $29 HF device on my battery. "This 4 amp car battery charger is fully automatic for trouble-free charging "
Don't get all butt hurt when you get opinions. It's embarrassing...
Last edited by TriGeezer; Nov 27, 2017 at 10:32 AM.
Has anybody used one of these battery maintainers. I like the readout showing voltage and charge level. It also has different modes that are nice. I have a Schumacher tender now that works great but it's only got the lights on it. This would be nice if it's any good.
Personally I have been using Battery Tender products for years with no issues but that is not what you asked.
The HF one looks nice and the reviews are good from the handful I read. The connection to the pigtail or clamps look like the same setup as with Battery Tender and other products so if you already have a pigtail on your battery it should connect. It does have the readout that you seem to prefer, I would say for $29 go for it if it does not work out you have not lost much.
I understand that some can be "Rah Rah!" for a certain brand. But just because somebody has one, it doesn't provide any real basis for choosing one over another. If possible, trying to do some research on the subject is worthwhile. Looking into how they work and what features are important is a good first step. Then finding (if possible) some reviews/test to see which brands deliver on those features would be a good reading assignment.
For Battery Maintainers, data - as noted above - looks to be few and far between. Mostly you'll be flying with reviews on retailers sights (i.e. Amazon). Those reviews my offer some value taken as a whole, but individual reviews can be vapid/worthless.
I did come across one test/review of maintainers...
It's about 15 years old now. Some of the basics may still be relevant. Also, if Battery Tender/Deltran hasn't changed their design, then it might be worth looking elsewhere. Based on the findings in that report, you might want to look into Yuasa, AccuMate/Westco, or Schumacher (maybe in that order).
If you like informational displays, then maybe the Schumacher SP3...
Not sure - for an end users perspective - what other information they would need displayed.
As far as the Viking unit on HF... It does say it's a charger/maintainer - which all maintainers essentially are. I might want to know who the actual manufacturer is (if Viking is just the brand name it's sold under). I agree that the display on it seems nice, but not sure I'd chose on that basis. Based on the manual, it does seem to have a desulfation mode to repair a battery, but it doesn't suggest that it's maintenance mode does anything to prevent sulfate build up/hardening (see linked test report for explanation - and the Yuasa units). It could be a good unit. Or it could be something else. Hard to tell.
Personally I have been using Battery Tender products for years with no issues but that is not what you asked.
The HF one looks nice and the reviews are good from the handful I read. The connection to the pigtail or clamps look like the same setup as with Battery Tender and other products so if you already have a pigtail on your battery it should connect. It does have the readout that you seem to prefer, I would say for $29 go for it if it does not work out you have not lost much.
Not even that...if it doesn't work out, just take it back. People always love to **** on HF stuff.
BTW OP:
It says it's a Battery Charger! I would trust a $29 HF device on my battery. "This 4 amp car battery charger is fully automatic for trouble-free charging "
Don't get all butt hurt when you get opinions. It's embarrassing...
Not getting butt hurt at all. When I ask a question about a certain product, that's what I'm interested in.
I bought one of the inexpensive HF maintainers, and before I hooked it up, I noticed on the package/instructions that it was NOT recommended for AGM batteries. I returned it and got my money back. Bought one off evil-bay, 750ma, and it works fine for the past year. Cruiser ? brand
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