After having the battery on my "summer only" convertible go
flat last winter I decided to invest in a battery maintainer.
The Schumacher SEM-1652A was the best compromise of price (around
$40 with shipping), features (a normal charging rate, and a
lower maintaining rate, with overcharge protection and indicator
lights), and small size (fits easily under the hood by the
master cylinder, battery wiring adaptor with quick connect makes installation and removal a snap.
I'd add a few extra crimp-on terminals of various ring sizes to the kit,
so different power connections with the wiring adaptor could be made
(my car has the battery mounted in the front fender well, I had to get
larger ring terminals to go on the remote jump starting terminals
under the hood.
Update: I bought a wattmeter to measure the power use of a fridge ( seemed to be running more than
normal, we replaced it with an energy star rated model ) so I hooked up the Schumacher maintainer
to the meter to see what it drew when it was trickle charging / maintaining. Charging was .25 amps or about
30 watts per hour, and maintaining was .11 amps or about 13 watts per hour. Pretty low energy use in my book. Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Maintainer
Bought this charger to charge/maintain my deep cycle battery used for emergency power outages. The manual included with this charger even describes it charging deep cycle batteries and gives a charging estimate of ~36hrs. Fine for what I'm looking for. The charger repeatedly aborted the charge on my brand-new battery. Their customer service tech said it wasn't meant to charge deep cycle batteries due to the higher internal resistance. This should have been made more clear in the packaging, labelling and product description. I've lost time and money. Now I have to go buy a 'real' charger...
Update - The charger was actually DOA. I returned it and replaced the charger with a new one on an auto-shop recommendation. It is working fine. Schumacher didn't want to own up to a bum charger when I called them earlier.
This is a great charger but the same company (schumacher's battery maintainer), makes an identical product for sears, branded as diehard.
It costs the same as on amazon but comes with a 3 year warranty, not the standard 1 yr. warranty found here. Plus you don't have to deal with shipping hassles when you can just go to your local sears and pick one up or exchange if you have problems.
Very good item for charging and maintaining batteries. Have used on my motorcycle and car batteries, as well as my lawn mower battery. Works well and actually tells you when the battery is fully charged, which is one of the best features of this charger
Schumacher battery companion (charger-maintainer) 1.5 amp 1562a
Best customer service anywhere! I purchased a Schumacher battery companion in 2007. In July 2008, I noticed the amber light was on and the water was boiling in my motorcycle battery. The battery was approximately one year old and I was not sure whether the battery was unable to fully charge or the float mode on the charger was not cycling. I fond the Schumacher customer service toll-free number on their home page, called them, spoke with Jonathon, explained the situation, asked his opinion and he stated that it would be best not to take a chance. Although he had never seen a problem like this in their product, he requested that I return the unit to Schumacher, attention Jonathon, and he would replace it with a new one. I explained that I had not previously mailed the registration or warranty, had misplaced the pigtails and instruction sheet, etc., he said not to be concerned about that. I shipped it to them and believe it or not, they sent me a brand new one, complete with all accessories! I still do not know whether their unit was malfunctioning or my motorcycle battery was developing a short (I replaced that, as well). I have never experienced such great customer service. As far as I'm concerned, their product is top of the line and their customer service is excelled by none! P.S. Also works with AGM batteries.
I have purchased this charger along with several others and this is a perfect replacement for my daughters original power wheels battery charger. I use it for all batteries in my daughters 5 power wheels and love the fact that it stops when complete and will charge both the 12V and 6V.
I made a video about the process and more details at http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com and cant write enough about this charger and the entire line of schumacher chargers!
You've got to love a product that does everything that you want it to do at a fair price. I'm using the Schumacher SEM-1562A to keep a trickle charge on my boat battery. Formerly I had to remove the battery each winter and install it in the spring. To do so meant dismantling part of the boat. This unit solves the problem. - Trickle Charger - Battery Maintainer - Automotive - Battery Tender'
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