Now theres hundreds to choose from and most of them work,.. at least marginally well.
The small lunch box size designs rarely exceed 75 amp ratings, MOST ARE RATED AT 10-30 AMPS and take a much greater time to either charge or jump start a car, they can be a good value, for a home hobby guy that may occasionally need to recharge a dead lawn mower battery, but are not ideal for shop use, in my opinion, because if they fall off a fender,or work bench, (and its just a matter of time) they are usually damaged or destroyed.(don,t ask) it seems like its a mandatory part of ownership if I buy one.
http://www.sears.com/diehard-200a-w...p-02871330000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3
ID advise getting something similar to this, (the roll around 200 amp style,) theres several manufacturers but battery chargers are not especially high tech, so most will work, the little ones Ive always referred to as fender mount models (mostly because the cables are usually to short to allow placing them on the ground when they are connected) are just not ideal.
clean the cable connection to battery terminals area carefully
use of a battery post cleaning brush tool is usually helpful
use of this common anti-seize paste on the connecting thread surfaces noticeably reduces corrosion and helps electrical conductivity
http://www.harborfreight.com/battery...ner-94450.html
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...940_0212865359
coat the cable connections with the proper anti corrosive paste
http://www.wiringproducts.com/copper-battery-terminals
http://www.jegs.com/c/Batteries-Acc...storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&No=30
http://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/GenuinePartsCompany/NWMDC?$Product=GenuinePartsCompany/55709
http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_safety.htm
Safe Battery Jump Start Procedure
If a battery is dead or too low to crank the engine, you can jump start it using a pair of jumper cables to connect the low/dead battery to a good battery in another vehicle.
Pull the other vehicle as close as possible to the one with the dead/low battery, but DO NOT allow the vehicles to touch. Open the hood on both vehicles, and shut OFF the engine in the other vehicle.
Jumper cables are color coded, RED for POSITIVE (+) and BLACK for NEGATIVE (-). DO NOT mix up the cables or allow the metal ends to touch together because this may damage the battery, charging system and/or electronics on a vehicle.
To jump start the battery, proceed as follows:
1. Connect one end of the RED jumper cable to the POSITIVE (+)post on the dead battery. The POSITIVE battery post will be slightly larger than the NEGATIVE post, and will be marked with a PLUS (+) sign. There may also be a RED plastic protective cover over the positive battery post.
2. Connect the other end of the RED jumper cable to the POSITIVE (+) post on the good battery.
3. Connect one end of the BLACK jumper cable to the NEGATIVE (-) post on the good battery.
4. Connect the other end of the BLACK jumper cable to a heavy metal ground on the engine or frame of the vehicle with the dead battery. DO NOT make the final jumper connection to the NEGATIVE (-) post on the battery itself because it usually sparks and may ignite hydrogen fumes in the dead battery causing it to explode.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 921x00003a
http://reviews.sears.com/2328/02871230000P/reviews.htm
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=46944
now remember BATTERY'S can explode if subjected to sparks or sudden surge loads, so make your connections, connect the , RED positive to the battery positive,(which is usually or has a + stamped next to it)negative second, (USUALLY BLACK) or it has a - stamped next to it,)I usually connect the neg, term to the frame,then THEN plug in the charger to the 110 volt feed.[/color]
heres the fender mount style
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=95534
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=2133&p=5744#p5744
http://www.batterytender.com/
Ive never personally used that brand but I have a couple friends that have, and so far everyone's been happy with the results, but Id point out that most if not all of these guys bought the larger size.
at about $70, its certainly not dirt cheap but its a bargain compared to replacing dead batteries almost yearly if you seldom drive your vette
btw the most common electrically related problem I see on a consistent basis is corroded or badly rusted or defective battery connections and grounds so before you go crazy its a good idea to replace those as a first step in any electrical problem diagnoses
The small lunch box size designs rarely exceed 75 amp ratings, MOST ARE RATED AT 10-30 AMPS and take a much greater time to either charge or jump start a car, they can be a good value, for a home hobby guy that may occasionally need to recharge a dead lawn mower battery, but are not ideal for shop use, in my opinion, because if they fall off a fender,or work bench, (and its just a matter of time) they are usually damaged or destroyed.(don,t ask) it seems like its a mandatory part of ownership if I buy one.
http://www.sears.com/diehard-200a-w...p-02871330000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3
ID advise getting something similar to this, (the roll around 200 amp style,) theres several manufacturers but battery chargers are not especially high tech, so most will work, the little ones Ive always referred to as fender mount models (mostly because the cables are usually to short to allow placing them on the ground when they are connected) are just not ideal.
clean the cable connection to battery terminals area carefully
use of a battery post cleaning brush tool is usually helpful
use of this common anti-seize paste on the connecting thread surfaces noticeably reduces corrosion and helps electrical conductivity
http://www.harborfreight.com/battery...ner-94450.html
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...940_0212865359
coat the cable connections with the proper anti corrosive paste
http://www.wiringproducts.com/copper-battery-terminals
http://www.jegs.com/c/Batteries-Acc...storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&No=30
http://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/GenuinePartsCompany/NWMDC?$Product=GenuinePartsCompany/55709
http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_safety.htm
Safe Battery Jump Start Procedure
If a battery is dead or too low to crank the engine, you can jump start it using a pair of jumper cables to connect the low/dead battery to a good battery in another vehicle.
Pull the other vehicle as close as possible to the one with the dead/low battery, but DO NOT allow the vehicles to touch. Open the hood on both vehicles, and shut OFF the engine in the other vehicle.
Jumper cables are color coded, RED for POSITIVE (+) and BLACK for NEGATIVE (-). DO NOT mix up the cables or allow the metal ends to touch together because this may damage the battery, charging system and/or electronics on a vehicle.
To jump start the battery, proceed as follows:
1. Connect one end of the RED jumper cable to the POSITIVE (+)post on the dead battery. The POSITIVE battery post will be slightly larger than the NEGATIVE post, and will be marked with a PLUS (+) sign. There may also be a RED plastic protective cover over the positive battery post.
2. Connect the other end of the RED jumper cable to the POSITIVE (+) post on the good battery.
3. Connect one end of the BLACK jumper cable to the NEGATIVE (-) post on the good battery.
4. Connect the other end of the BLACK jumper cable to a heavy metal ground on the engine or frame of the vehicle with the dead battery. DO NOT make the final jumper connection to the NEGATIVE (-) post on the battery itself because it usually sparks and may ignite hydrogen fumes in the dead battery causing it to explode.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 921x00003a
http://reviews.sears.com/2328/02871230000P/reviews.htm
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=46944
now remember BATTERY'S can explode if subjected to sparks or sudden surge loads, so make your connections, connect the , RED positive to the battery positive,(which is usually or has a + stamped next to it)negative second, (USUALLY BLACK) or it has a - stamped next to it,)I usually connect the neg, term to the frame,then THEN plug in the charger to the 110 volt feed.[/color]
heres the fender mount style
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=95534
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=2133&p=5744#p5744
http://www.batterytender.com/
Ive never personally used that brand but I have a couple friends that have, and so far everyone's been happy with the results, but Id point out that most if not all of these guys bought the larger size.
at about $70, its certainly not dirt cheap but its a bargain compared to replacing dead batteries almost yearly if you seldom drive your vette
btw the most common electrically related problem I see on a consistent basis is corroded or badly rusted or defective battery connections and grounds so before you go crazy its a good idea to replace those as a first step in any electrical problem diagnoses
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