Should I Purchase a 12 volt battery charger?

There used to be a time when you had to hook up batter cables, turn on the power and watch that the battery charger does not overcharge your battery. However with the introduction of the 12 volt battery charger back in the 50s, things have changed. Today, a lot of Marine, Military and Power Sports batteries require a 12 volt battery charger to operate. Furthermore the high efficiency to todays lead acid battery types require that they be charged more efficiently and using certain charging techniques. The battery charger is often considered the most important factors in the life of a battery. This is because it saves the life of your battery, gets it up and running and will help cut your down time. However, as with all things, using the proper charger is crucial to the life of the battery as well. In fact, using the right battery charger is so important that some manufacturers of batteries will not honor warranties if the proper charger is not used.

Most battery chargers use a microprocessor to ensure that overcharging does not take place while maintaining the right trickle charger. The wide range of uses for batteries also means that a 12 volt battery charger will have unique adjustable features that allow it to be used either for a 12v gel cell or a 12v solar cell. How though do you pick the right 12 volt battery charger? First and foremost, determine the type of battery that you will be charging. In most cases, one charger will work for all. However, some chargers are known to work better for certain cell types. Follow manufacturer recommendations to ensure your battery lasts long.

Another important consideration is the size of the battery. This is not physical size but rather, how many Amp hours the battery is able to store. A typical auto battery has about 50 amp hours and would take 10 amp hour 12 volt battery charger approximately 6 hours to recharge it to full capacity assuming the battery was completely dead. A Marine Deep Cycle Battery is rated at 100 amp hours and would thus take a 10-amp hour charger 11 hours to charge to full capacity a discharged cell. How do you calculate the charge time? Take the amp hour battery rating, divide it by the charger rating and then add 10 percent. Another consideration to take note of is the desired outcome of the battery output. If you are going on use the charger on a trolling motor battery, then a fast and powerful charger will do the trick while a low current charger will work fine for batteries that will be used off season e.g. in a classic car or a motorcycle or an aircraft. Of course, a quality 12 volt battery charger is not cheap, but the same can be said of the batteries as well. Nevertheless, when used correctly, they can double or triple the life of your battery.