Harbor Freight Float battery charger...I have a question.

[SF Final 286]

I am referring to part number 42292- 1VGA
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

I just want to confirm that this is a safe battery charger that is not a plain old trickle charger that will not turn off when battery is fully charged.

This charger says "Float" charger on the box so "Float" means that it will cut off once fully charged, right?

It should not harm battery correct?

Thanks

 

[JonB]

It depends on the translation...was it from Chinese or Korean, Viet-Namese, or Sri-Lankan? "FLOAT" means different things there.

Ive seen ONE of these....the wires were as thin as frog hair......I feared that bending them in normal handling could cause a fire hazard in the fine, flimsy wire. And the ONE hard-to-see indicator dot is always RED and always ON. Volts is Volts, but these things look as cheap as their price. The circuitry MUST be ***** ?

We use 5 Battery Tender Plus units on our stored cars. I like that the LEDs report several conditions, in patterns and/or colors. They cost $49, 10 times the link shown. Theuy have a quick-disconect and 2 other included hookup options, and higher-guage wires. The heated unit stays OUT of the underhood, and feels and looks safe and substantial.


DISCLOSURE: we sell them as well!

PartsRack.com - Home

 

[jdeft1]

Tenders always supply a small amount of current to a battery. They don't turn off. They're called tenders because they drop to a very low current flow as the battery voltage comes up.

Don't know if I'd trust this one either but I suspect any real current would toast the thing! Small wires aren't necessarily bad on a low current device.

Hope the coil doesn't burn up and put 120 AC on your PCM ...even for an instant.

 

[SYNFULL]

I have used that harbor freight float charger on both my car and my bike. It toasted my bike battery because I think it floats at 2 amps. I just bought the battery tender product and was really impressed with the quality, and the quick disconnect like Jon B said.

 

[GTSnake]

I've used that tender for years. I don't seem to have any problems.

 

[BOTTLEFED]

I use it as well with no issues

I'm sure my post will be deleted since I'm promoting a product that is sold by a non-supporting vendor
I love this site

 

[98viperGTS]

I use my Battery Tender on the Viper and use the Harbor Freight on my cobra. I have had no issues with it yet and it has been over 2 years.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

This is very basic technology. I have never paid more than $15 for a tender. I started using them 10+ yrs. ago. Never have had a problem. I bought 3 B&D tenders a few yrs. ago for $14 ea. at Walmart. They have all the quick disconnect stuff (alligator clips,lighter,or terminals). 1 or 2 amp charge rate. I see no reason to spend $50 for such a simple device.

Steve

 

[mad0953]

I guess I have money to burn???? I bought mine from Jon and wasted about $30......oh well that won't even buy a decent bottle of wine and I supported a good VCA sponser. My bad.

 

[AZTVR]

I bought the Battery Tender Jr. I don't doubt that the HF unit can maintain a charge. You can do that with a 120VAC to 12V converter and a 5 cent resistor. But, I am concerned that it will overcharge the battery and reduce it's life. I trust that the Battery Tender is designed for its intended use, based on the fact that the company has been around since the 60s.

The problem with both units is that you can't quantify how much the battery's life is shortened unless you do a test with lots of batteries. It comes down to do you believe that the Battery Tender has the parts and engineering in it that leads it to cost what it does., and can you afford it?

 

[Jerome Sparich]

Is your car worth so little that you would even take a chance on such a cheap item?

 

[luc]

I have about 20 of them in 24/7 use for at least the last 10 years or so on a bunch a differenty vehicles, from my GTS to my bikes, tractor, jaguar, trailer, trucks, generators, etc , with no problem save for a couple that went bad ( not charging anymore) after 7/8 years.
Couple of things to keep in mind:
The all look the same but my oldest ones have a rehostat (spel) inside than you can adjust to change the voltage.
The 2nd version used a fixed value resistor for the same purpose ( about 13.5) and the latest version has a lower maximum voltage of about 13.2V which is not high enought for optima type battery than require about 13.5 to 13.8V.
As Steve was mentionning, it's a pretty simple technology and I have changed the resistor on some of them to have a max voltage of 13.6V.
The size of the wires from the electronic control to the alligator clips is small because the amperage is very low ( about 1/2 amp) so, no need for bigger ones.
They are float charger, no trickle, meaning that once the battery reach about 13.2 to 13.5V (depending on the model) the voltage will not go higher and the amps will taper off to keep the battery fully charged without over-charging.
Luc 00GTS

 

[luc]

I should add that the Deltran battery tender plus is also made in china.( at least from my web search) .
I'm not saying that to put them down since the HB is also made in china, simply to point out that marketing has a lot more to do in pricing than just quality.

 

[AZTVR]

I should add that the Deltran battery tender plus is also made in china.( at least from my web search) .
I'm not saying that to put them down since the HB is also made in china, simply to point out that marketing has a lot more to do in pricing than just quality.

I looked at my Battery Tender Jr and it is made in China. However, what I question is the engineering and design of the HF unit. If there are no "smarts" to it, does it cause the battery to sulfate excessively and degrade as a result of applying the same voltage to it all the time, even when it is charged?

It sounds to me that you are reporting that you have not noticed any shortening of battery life. That may mean that whatever Deltran is using as their marketing "twist" really isn't significant. The only way to tell for sure is to buy 10 identical batteries and put 5 HF float chargers on half and 5 Battery Tenders on the other half, and wait a few years for the results.

I googled the HF float chargers and didn't come up with any negatives other than some "stopped working failures" that you might expect from any product, especially an inexpensive one.

 

[BOTTLEFED]

I guess I have money to burn???? I bought mine from Jon and wasted about $30......oh well that won't even buy a decent bottle of wine and I supported a good VCA sponser. My bad.

yep, I guess you do have money to burn

you judge wine by its cost?
some of the top rated wines in the world cost less than $30 a bottle

BTW, I've got some real estate you might be interested in...

 

[ViperCollector]

I've used these on a couple of my cars (not the Viper - have a B&D charger plugged into the cigarette lighter) and haven't had any issues with them other than...

the wires from the wall to the unit are hair-thin. They are plenty long, but if you step on it or pinch it in any way (which I did), it will render the unit useless. For the price they go on sale (as low as $2.99), they're not worth fixing, just buy a new one.

Off-topic - had to add to the wine comments. While I'm not a drinker, I remember this story:
California's Wine Surprise - ABC News
The cheapest chardonnay took top honors!

 

[luc]

Hi Jim:

With so many vehicles with different types and size of batteries on 24/7 float chargers, I did a lot of research to find out what is the best charging and float voltage for each type.
For a regular lead flooded battery, the maximum voltage , not to exceed 48 hours is between 2.35 to 2.45 per cell or 13.8 to 14.7 V.
That why voltage regulator on a vehicle is usually set at about 14.5 V
For float charging, with not time limitation, the max number is between 13.5 to 13.62V
( the voltage range is due ambient charging temperature)
Gel type battery such as the optima require slightly higer voltage.
All that to say that as long that the charging and float voltage do not exceed those numbers, there is no chance to overcharge, boil or sulfate the battery.
I have "adjusted" my HB float chargers to the following charging/float voltage for each type of battery:
Lead flooded battery : 13.3 to 13.4V
Sealed VRLA (motorcycles) : 13.5 to 13.6V
Gel battery (optima):13.6 to 13.8V

As long that you keep in mind that the HB are not designed to recharge a severly discharged battery but only to maintain it, they are really good units..

Luc 00GTS

 

[AZTVR]

With so many vehicles with different types and size of batteries on 24/7 float chargers, I did a lot of research to find out what is the best charging and float voltage for each type.
For a regular lead flooded battery, the maximum voltage , not to exceed 48 hours is between 2.35 to 2.45 per cell or 13.8 to 14.7 V.
That why voltage regulator on a vehicle is usually set at about 14.5 V
For float charging, with not time limitation, the max number is between 13.5 to 13.62V
( the voltage range is due ambient charging temperature)
Gel type battery such as the optima require slightly higer voltage.
All that to say that as long that the charging and float voltage do not exceed those numbers, there is no chance to overcharge, boil or sulfate the battery.
I have "adjusted" my HB float chargers to the following charging/float voltage for each type of battery:
Lead flooded battery : 13.3 to 13.4V
Sealed VRLA (motorcycles) : 13.5 to 13.6V
Gel battery (optima):13.6 to 13.8V

As long that you keep in mind that the HB are not designed to recharge a severly discharged battery but only to maintain it, they are really good units..

Luc 00GTS

Thanks !!! Sounds like you have done your homework ! I think that I'll use my Battery Tender on my Viper (just for peace of mind); but, you give me confidence in using the HF units for maintaining the batteries in my older British sports cars.

 

[Vital Velocity]

I dont drive my viper very often and every time i decide i want to the freaking battery is dead.....

Are these something that you connect to the battery and then have the wire at a quick access point? Its a pain to pop the hood everytime i need to charge my battery....

 

[luc]

yes, run 2 wires with an SAE 2 poles plugs to the battery jump post (+) on the underhood electrical center and (-) to the ground stud on frame under the washer bottle.
Cut the end of the wires on the charger and solder another 2 pole SAE connector,
after that you just reach through the side of the hood to connect/disconnect the SAE connectors.
Luc 00GTS

I dont drive my viper very often and every time i decide i want to the freaking battery is dead.....

Are these something that you connect to the battery and then have the wire at a quick access point? Its a pain to pop the hood everytime i need to charge my battery....