Schumacher SC-10030A SpeedCharge 2/12-30/100 Amp Automatic Charger Review

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I had another electronic style charger, purchased a few years ago from Sam's Club. Not bad, just not durable and it gave up the ghost...

I was referred to Schumacher by some friends in the auto repair business and wanted a unit that was reliable and was versatile, charging different types and sizes of batteries. We have a vehicle and a motorcycle that doesn't get used regularaly and I needed to be able to top off various batteries.

1st impressions, this thing is HEAVY compared to other brands! Not a big surprise since I have to assume they use a more robust transformer than other brands.

On the flip side, the battery leads are lighter and smaller than I would have expected. They work great and since Schumacher has been doing this for quite a few decades, I'm sure they will work well for the long haulI just expected larger gauge wires and larger clips. As a plus, the smaller clips actually are easier to connect to various batteries, especially if they are still installed (motorcycle).

Other surprise is this thing is loud, with a constant hum when plugged in. It is normal based on the transformer, but it is different than the cheaper chargers out there. This is not a bad thing, just a little different.

I have already used this charger on a truck battery and a couple smaller batteries with no problems. It works as advertised and quickly. I like the fact that it will automatically charge then shift to a float charge mode and includes a desulfide mode if needed. Since some of my stuff sits (bike and lawn mower) the desulfide function is great to recover a battery. Haven't tested the start function and likely won't but it's there if needed...

Overall, pleased and would buy again.

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Have a diesel truck that is setting most all the time. Over a long period of time the alarm system and other gadgets drained the battery. Was probably this way for many weeks. Not good for a battery at all. This truck has a diesel that requires two batteries to start. After recharging the batteries many times with another non-automatic charger and a smaller version of this charger, they would not take a full charge and trip out the smaller charger/maintainer. This charger, Schumacher SC-10030A SpeedCharge Automatic Charger and Maintainer, has a de-sulfation mode for batteries that suffer this type of trauma. Over night, about 12-14 hours later the battery finally accepted a full charge. I verified this by using the same smaller maintenance/ maintainer battery charger that continually tripped out. Once I had a fully charged battery, I installed the smaller maintainer, and it turned green indicating a full charge and now maintains the batteries..

Two problems. 1) this charger in my opinion is too large to be a maintainer / conditioner. It does the job but has a fan that goes on and off. Probably uses too much electricity. 2) When ever the charger goes into maintain mode, it sets off my remote controlled alarm system on the truck. I had to put the truck alarm on valet to prevent this.

lloken

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I put the charger into service the day I got it and was pleased with the speed with which it charged the battery of my car. I like the fact that you can see the on-going charging percentage and thus get a good idea of how long it will take to complete the charge. Another good attribute is the fact that this device doesn't have any air vent slits cut into the top of the case which would otherwise make it susceptible to getting shorted out. This is what in fact happened to my Craftsman charger. While using it one day, it began to snow unexpectedly and by the time I remembered that the charger was sitting alongside the car instead of under the hood, some snow had gotten into the air vents on top of the unit, landed on the open circuit board inside and proceeded to short it out. On a less than positive not but not a critical issue, is the fact that the unit came with the front sticker which displays the information for the various functions out of alignment and was actually causing some of the function lights to be partially covered up. All-in-all, though I'm please with the product and feel that I got a good value for the price and it does meet my expectations.

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looked at several products and prices and this prouct gave me the most options that I neeed for the best price. Plus helps to protect my battery from being damaged because I forgot to turn the charger off when it was fully charged and begins to boil. Plus I still have some 6 volt battery systems around. This charger had the most options at the best price and a name you can depend on.

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I purchased a DieHard 71227 (80amp start, 30/12/2 amp charge) to charge a 6v deep cycle RV battery (186 amp hr). My intention was not to charge a dead battery, but to charge my > 50% charged RV batteries individually to equalize them. The battery had about 65% in it according to the charger. After a few hours the charger hit 77% and shut off and will not turn back on.

I returned the DieHard 71227 and purchased the Schumacher SC-10030A. It has slighly better specs 100amp start, 1230,2amp charge. I began by topping off the battery that the DieHard died on. I then let the charger cool down for 30 minutes (fan blowing on it). Then I began charging the 2nd RV battery. It started at 60% and ran until it hit 74% (a couple hours). Same thing happened... charger shut off... will not turn back on. I discovered that Schumacher built both of these chargers... they look VERY similiar inside.

What I cannot believe is that Schumacher is not putting a thermal switch in these chargers to prevent a melt down. Also makes me wonder if the Starter Mode on these chargers will cause the same melt down. Starter Mode says it runs for 5 seconds and then cools down for 180 seconds... obviously they are using a timer and not a thermal switch. So I imagine if you use the Starter Mode a couple times you will probably have the same melt down issue.

So I have gone thru 2 chargers in less than 6 hours of charging. I think the 'old' manual Schumacher chargers are ok, but the new microprocessor chargers appear to be junk.