| Author | Message | ||
| captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
I have a Vecter smart charger from Walmart and it has taken a dump on me again. This is the second one I have to return. first one went up in smoke. this one shows F2 which is too low battery to charge. but does it on every battery I try to charge. and all my batteries are new except for the ones I just got but read 12 volts. What would be a better charger to buy this time? | ||
| Mike (Busone)
Rating: N/A |
When we moved back in Januaray I bought a Coleman branded inverter to keep our freezer full of meat running. I ran a cord to the back of the truck and had the inverter in the cab. The stupid thing was an 800 watt model and the freezer uses 400. It would just beep and the low battery light would flash. Luckly the weather was cold enough to keep most of it frozen. After we arrived here I tried to power a lightbulb with it and still no luck. I returned it to the store with no problem. The heck with the cheapos. | ||
| ChuckMC9 (Chucks)
Rating: N/A |
Hey Ron, I just got the same charger. The big yellow one? I did read in the manual that F2 also indicates something else, that means something other than 'too low'. So one code can mean multiple things, but it's not mentioned in the same place in the manual. I got that code once, then not again. I'll be back at the coach in the next day or two where the manual is and check on that. I did read a lot of positive reviews on that charger. The user interface is really, really bogus though. And every time I plug in, with that fake power 'off', it zaps the heck out of the receptacle, so there's a lot of current that it pulls even when in that fake 'off' mode. | ||
| Brian (Bigbusguy)
Rating: N/A |
I have one of them also It charges my 8d's all day and night with no problems try setting it on a lower setting. Also I have the batterys disconnected from each other. Now it does say the battery on my 54 chevy is bad and it is. It will not hold a charge . Brian 4905 | ||
| DavidInWilmnc Rating: N/A |
I've got one of the big yellow chargers too. It's about a year or two old. It works great, but if the battery is too low, it won't charge. I put my old Schumacher 10 amp charger on it to get the charge up a bit. Then I switch to the big one and it'll finish up with its three stages. The 'conditioning' mode really helps. I have a group 24 starting battery that I use in my pop-up camper with an inverter to run a small 'fridge. It wouldn't hold a charge until I conditioned it with the charger. The battery has since worked fine for over a year. | ||
| Brian Brown (Fishbowlbrian)
Rating: N/A |
For a Po'Boy charger, I prefer this Schumacher 3-stage charger to the Vecter: http://www.batterychargers.com/details.cfm?prodid=SC%2D10000A&catid=2 I got it at a non-Supercenter WalMart. It seems the Supercenter stores only carry the yellow Vecter, which appears to draw more power and doesn't give as much feedback on voltage and battery %. I did manage to short out the Schumacher on the way here to Dallas by feeding it dirty generator power and both battery banks. I took the thing apart and there's a fuse hidden in there that I'm trying to get a replacement for. The RatShack ain't what it used to be for real electronics... they just try to hawk cellphones anymore. Anywho, I have the Vecter temporarily and don't like it as much. One of these days I'll have a Trace and won't have to worry about it anymore. Just my $0.02. BB/Blue Velvet Longmont, CO (in Big D at the moment) | ||
| captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
Most of the time I use the charger off of the generator. do you think that is hurting it? | ||
| Brian Brown (Fishbowlbrian)
Rating: N/A |
CR, if your generator is putting out steady power in the 110-120v range, it should do fine using it as an AC source. My charger got zapped when my wife threw on the AC breaker to the charger (from the genny) at the same time the alternator was also feeding the banks DC while rolling down the road. BB | ||
| ChuckMC9 (Chucks)
Rating: N/A |
Hey. You can deduct the cost of a new charger from her A-Present.  Maybe upgrade in the process! | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
The old chargers that just had a transformer inside can take the most abuse. A new charger that chops up the juice into tiny chunks and then recombines everything to charge has the most problems from gensets. Usually the units work OK , IF there powered up after the volts of the noisemakewr stabelize. Leave it conected at all times and many smart modern chargers got NUTS as the line voltage climbs up from zero. If you allow the noisemaker to stabelize a few min , and then switch on the charger, it does last longer. FAST FRED | ||
| ChuckMC9 (Chucks)
Rating: N/A |
OK Ron, I just got a chance to look at the book. It's not clear, but in addition to the table which lists the definition of the codes, there's a paragraph on p. 10 which states, "Charger fails to charge and displays an F02 Code: This can mean several things, including no connection to a battery, but it can also occur if the battery is both discharged and under a loading situation. This can happen if an accessory (dome light, radio, etc.) is on and remains on while attempting to charge." I would be surprised if this is what's at fault with yours, as your batteries are not lower than four volts. Beats me - Vector's Tech Support # is 866.584.5504. | ||
| captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
thanks chuck | ||
| Steve Zona (Highwayrunner)
Rating: N/A |
anyone have a recomendation for an automatic 24 volt dc battery charger . | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces)
Rating: N/A |
We have the smaller Schumacher 3-stage charger and it has done a good job for us. That is, after I learned to run it and trust it to do its job. It does have some quirks, however. When the green fully charged light comes on, that only means that the quick charge is done; it continues charging at the float voltage for at least a day. It will not charge a battery if that battery has a load on it; it will display an error code. It seems to think that the battery is bad. It should not be used on anything that is ground to earth because it has no isolation. To charge a boat battery, the instructions say to remove the battery from the boat before charging. The desulfation cycle is internally controlled; it decides for itself if the battery needs it. After desulfating, it charges the battery for use. The unit has no temperature compensation. If the battery is very cold, it does not recharge properly; the battery needs to be near room temperature. You would think that with those limitations, it wouldn't be worth fooling with. I might agree, except this charger is very quick on batteries that are not too cold. For what it's worth. Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher |