Many maintainers have multiple circuits, so you can maintain multiple batteries at once (think of boats that may contain 2-3 batteries), or, buy a maintainer for every piece of equipment you have that uses a battery. Maintainers are growing in popularity as customers realize that replacing a $100.00 battery every year, or 2 years on multiple pieces of equipment is far worse than buying a $30-50.00 maintainer to keep all your batteries in top shape when not being used. This way, when you want to hook the maintainer up, you simply plug the connector in, plug the maintainer in to the wall, and you are ready to go. You can use standard “alligator” clamps like all chargers use, or you can go with a permanent solution that allows you to wire a pigtail connector right into your battery cables. Maintainers are generally the size of the palm of your hand, and provide 2 types of ways to connect to a battery. Because of this, battery maintainers are a fantastic item to solve this problem.Ī battery maintainer is essentially a very small version of a battery charger that serves one purpose – supply a very low-amperage trickle charge to the battery only when it needs it, and in that sense, keep it “maintained” at the proper voltage at all times.
Many times, items that suffer from this are lawn and power sports equipment, or vehicles that are rarely driven or stored for the winter – anything that goes a long time in between use. A battery can only take so many of these before it simply loses its ability to take and maintain a charge.
One of the big killers of batteries is a series of constant discharges / recharges. It’s important to note that this feature is different than that of a separate Battery Booster (discussed below), which supplies a much higher amperage boost and can start a car with a completely dead battery. This supplied boost generally only lasts 30-60 seconds before the charger shuts off the current. Every battery, based on it’s use and age, responds differently to charging, but most people use a standard charge because they need use out of the battery as soon as possible.īoost or Engine Starting: The Engine Starting Feature of a battery charger is designed to supply a strong current of 75-100 amps to help start a vehicle if the battery is charged enough to turn the engine over, but not enough to turn it with the speed needed to start the engine. Standard Charge: A standard charge allows you to charge a battery – in most cases – in 3-5 hours, sometimes sooner. Trickle charging is what is also used in Battery Maintainers, which we will talk about their use and importance later. It does so by providing a very low amperage. It’s very slow, steady, and often takes 1-2 days to properly charge the battery. Low Amp/Trickle Charge: A trickle charge often is the most effective way of charging a battery.
Let’s go through what each of these various charging cycles actually mean. Several other chargers also have a feature of a “maintain charge”. Most chargers on the market provide 3 charging functions – a low amp, or trickle charge (which is generally 1 to 2 amps), a standard charge (generally 6 to 10 amps), and an engine starter, which is essentially a boost of 75 to 100 amps. When shopping for a battery charger, it’s important to understand several of the other functions that chargers can provide. An example of a charger using these features is the Duralast DL-75D, available in AutoZone stores. On top of that, they let you know once the charge is complete, taking away the guesswork of the old days. Today, battery chargers all use digital technology to sense charge, detect problems with bad batteries, reversed cables, and provide a safe, effective charge to the battery. Battery chargers have come a long way from the old days of hooking up the clamps, plugging it in, and attempting to look at an old, analog gauge to understand whether or not the battery is charged.