How to choose and use battery chargers

It’s good practice to charge a vehicle’s battery while it is being serviced, as well as keeping batteries in unused vehicles or on the shelf charged.

Don’t pick a cheap charger – as you can really mess up your battery.

Smart charging means that it’s regulated with multi-stage charging for added precision, safety and battery life – giving you the right voltage over the time period needed to avoid overcharging. For Henri, our service technician, the SCI90 is great as it also has a desulphation function with slow and fast charge capabilities – up to three times faster than a normal charger.

This SP range from Schumacher ticks all the boxes – right from SPI 1 to SPI 15 depending on the capacity you need and the type of batteries you need to charge. These are good allrounders and charge AGM, Standard, Gel Cell, Calcium, and Start/Stop batteries.

The tried and tested rule is to have a charger with an output of 10% of the capacity of the battery – for example, a 100 Amp battery should be charged with a 10 Amp charger. For a small to medium car – 6-10 amp will do it – but trucks would need 10 Amp plus like this one. With Schumacher, even the smallest batteries can be charged with the biggest charger, not necessarily the case with other brands. So go big and buy one charger for all your needs. 

Let’s connect it here. The animated display provides step-by-step instructions. Once batteries are charged, it will automatically maintain optimum battery charge.

 So user-friendly, you really can’t go wrong. Keep watching and stay on the road with Probe.

Watch below