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Old 06-01-2012, 07:48 AM   #1
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Smart chargers anyone?

I'm looking into purchasing a Black & Decker (vector) smart charger and I'm not so sure of the size that would be best for my situation. I have (1) group 27 "marine" battery that I'm using for the TT.

I'm wondering if I should order the 10a, 25a or 40a max charger.........

Any help with this selection would be appreciated.

Also what are your thoughts on this type of charger vs. a cheaper battery charger?

Thanks.
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Old 06-01-2012, 08:26 AM   #2
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I would go with 25A min to get your battery up in a shorter period of time. Then the automatic features will kick in to float it while camping.

If you are going to be using this as a tender while not camping then the lighter amp rating will work should it have the float feature.
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Old 06-01-2012, 08:46 AM   #3
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I use the Black and Decker VEC1093DBD 40AMP model. It is a backup to my converter and I carry this with me on all my trips in the RV TOOL Box. I went with this 40AMP Smart Mode model as it is the most referenced model amoung RV'er users and it more closly dupicates my smart mode trailer converter/charger unit.

This smart-mode battery charger is one nice unit to have to be used with my 2KW Honda EU20001 Generator... This unit will re-charge your 12VDC deep cycle batteries in a two-three time frame just like the on-board smart-mode converter/chargers will do. It is lightweight and very easy to use even for this old southern Illinois Corn Field dirt farmer from Horse Creek country. This charger has many built-in modes I havent eben played with yet to keep your deep-cycle well batteries maintained. A big part of my PLAN-B compliment of equipment.


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Old 06-01-2012, 09:48 AM   #4
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To quote Tim the Toolman Taylor... "More power.... grunt grunt grunt" cannot go far wrong getting the biggest as long as it is a SMART charger..
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Old 06-01-2012, 04:50 PM   #5
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I have the Vector 25 amp charger. It has worked well for several years and seems to be dependable. The nice thing about the 25 amp charger is that it will run off of my Honda 1000 generator. It puts a lot of amperage into the battery in a short amount of time. When boondocking I run it until it starts tapering down then let the solar panels take over for the final charge. It's a good unit. I have a second one for a spare just in case.
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Old 06-03-2012, 05:00 PM   #6
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I also have the vector 25 amp model. I don't see a need for anything bigger. I charge one battery at a time.
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Old 06-03-2012, 05:35 PM   #7
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That is a good point about not over sizing your portable charger if you generator wont operate it. My generator is 2KW Honda so it runs my VEC1093DBD 40AMP portable charger just fine.

I may be wrong but I think the 1KW Honda generator will operate run the 40AMP B&D Charger. I just checked the AC input WATTS for the 40AMP charger I have and it is 745WATTS. I beiieve the 1KW Honda generator will produce 800WATTS when running.

I also usually charge more than one battery at a time as well...
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Old 06-04-2012, 05:16 AM   #8
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even i also have an vector 25AMP. it helps me very well. i usually charge my battery through it. i think you don't need anything else heavy.
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Old 06-04-2012, 06:17 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoyBraddy View Post
I may be wrong but I think the 1KW Honda generator will operate run the 40AMP B&D Charger. I just checked the AC input WATTS for the 40AMP charger I have and it is 745WATTS. I beiieve the 1KW Honda generator will produce 800WATTS when running.

I also usually charge more than one battery at a time as well...
That's interesting. When I use my 1000 and 25 amp charger it runs on eco mode and just sips gas. It holds .6 gal and will run for 6 hours in eco mode. I can charge one hour per day for six days on .6 gal. My battery bank is two 6V golf cart batteries. A little over 200 amp hours, 100 usable. With my normal usage I can easily get out of bulk charging mode in less than an hour. Pretty economical setup. The 40 amp charger would be quicker, but not run in eco mode so it would use more gas. It would be a bit louder, but require less charging time. Might be an even trade off. Either way it's a great economical setup.
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