battery chargers for AGM deep cycle batteries

Adding another one will change the equation by 2 !!!! But as far as a charger goes, no not much, except charge times will obviously be longer !!

A good quality 3 stage ( some of the small size electronic units are called multistage ) charger of between 10 and 25A will be all you need !!

If you want faster charge times, go the 25A, but don't expect to fully charge your 70% discharged batts in 2 hrs !! But if you use it every day then charge times will be fairly short as the batts will probably only be down approx 10 to 20% from fully charged !!

Chargers to pick from ( and there are plenty others as well ).....Ctek, durst, absorbed power,......and I'm sure with the 50 other replies your gonna get, there will be another list of chargers..

Ta Gronk 2. I am looking at probably a 25A as I only have a small gennie at this stage thanks for the advice mate. The batteries are 2nd hand and aquired cheaply is that float difference 0.2-0.4volts if i recall correctly going to make a big difference. Thinking of cheaping it out yet again lol. Cant keep up with the $$$ atm

If you want cheap, have a look at Absorbed Power chargers, mine ( 10A ) was $159 !!
Can't remember the price on the 25A, but its on the web site !!

These people do mainly boats, but seem to be very knowledgable about batteries !!

Typically; 13V8.

Thanks Mike. So will that 0.4volt difference just mean the battery wont quite charge up to 100% ?

I'd have to look up the specs. but, from memory, most AGMs spec a float of 13V6 to 13V8 so giving them 13V4 shouldn't be much of an issue. I think they will still obtain 100% charge but sulphation may occur a little more rapidly although, in reality, I doubt you would notice any difference. Try and keep them in the 20C to 25C temperature range for long term (one week +) storage.

Mike Harding

Bit like everything, treat em good and usually get a good life out of them....

But in reality, if you only got 6yrs instead of 8 out of them, you'd be hard pressed to pinpoint the exact cause ?? Was it that 0.2 of a volt or was it draining them too much ????? or something else ???

Thanks again gronk and mike. Well looks like im going to have to borrow a little cash. Do you know of a good value for money 25A charger for them Gronk? I wouldnt really know gronk mine are 2nd handies with 3 month guarantee. They are 1-3 yrs old and im assured theyve always been trickle charged and were only used in power blackouts and never run flat . Good price but and still half warranty, guess we'll see lol.

AGM's Australia.com.......25A $399.........10A $159
Ctek.....$ ??

Durst....$ ?

Xantrex...$ ?

A 3 stage is really the go, as they will FULLY charge your agm's !! Once charged, they can then be left for weeks ( or months ,maybe ) without needing another charge !!!

Price wise Durst makes several different models some cheaper ones and some dearer ones. The dearer ones would be about the same price bracket as the Ctek.
I found Durst to be a great company to deal with, and would suggest contacting them for a price and recommendation. Pretty happy with the 15 amp we brought.

Durst www.durst.com.au/

OR.......what about using an EO sponsor/advertiser: www.sidewinder.com.au/product5.html

I think you'll find that Derek's price is better than what Durst will charge you; and I like to deal with a company that is up-front enough to advertise their prices on the Internet.

The units are identical.

I can certainly recommend Derek Bester's service. He is prompt and you get what you order.....simple as that!!!

I have no financial interest in ABR Sidewinder etc.etc.

Derek Bester is certainly the man to talk to if you're after the models that he sells, I have got an impression from my short time on this forum that he also provides some invaluable advice as well.

However Durst does sell other models that Derek may not, check out the SwithchMode Chargers link on the Durst website. It comes down to your budget really and weather you're the type who has to pay more to believe you've got a good quality product that will last.

Lol we got the BCS-1215B recently so you could put us in the category above. Plenty of people seem to have proven that the Jaycar model doest the job just as well, however we chose ours due to size, temp sensor and Aussie product.

If you don't want the real budget option and you don't want to pay top dollar then I'd have a good look at Derek's website, of course if you really do want to pay top dollar I'm sure Derek will be happy to sell you a Ctek.