Review on 🔌 Schumacher 10 Amp/3 Amp Fully Automatic Battery Charger, Maintainer, and Auto Desulfator - 6V/12V - Ideal for Cars, Trucks, SUVs, RV Batteries by Tyrazz Abouzar

I am a practicing electronics engineer with over 20 years of experience. I didn't know much about chargers until recently when I was researching what a good modern charger should do. MY SUMMARY 1: I love this charger and think it performs well for its PRICE (11/27/12). The special gold box costs $25.25 + tax. (I would most likely buy it at the regular price of $31.65). Basically it's semi-automatic. You need to set the current, otherwise it will default to 2A. When I first used the charger, the default voltage was 12V. There is a button to select 6V or 12V. You won't hurt anything if you accidentally reverse the clips (I tried to do that on purpose). Compact size and acceptable quality clips (although not brass or brass plated). No quick charger or cable is provided for permanent installation on the battery. It has a small fan that doesn't turn off but is almost inaudible. This charger does what it's supposed to. These are large and small battery charging, and battery refueling or maintenance as needed. This works well as a battery charger to keep all batteries fully charged when not in use. When charging is complete, the power is turned off and the charger enters service mode, where it monitors the battery voltage and restarts charging if the battery falls below a predetermined level. (should be around 12.75v) I checked the charge current and shut down in maintenance mode. (See details below) The charger is relatively small, light weight and appears to be fairly well made from medium weight plastic. The charger has a small fan and does not heat up after charging at 6A. The battery terminals are not very good, but good enough. LED Indicators: I really like the LED indicators for the charge level at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% (or charged). I gave this charger 4.5 stars because the PRICE and performance are very good. Build quality is decent too. Charge Details: I charged the car/truck battery to 12.45 volts or about 75% or discharged 25%. (Typical full charge is 12.7V to 12.75V. Battery/Alternator Tester. I connected a voltmeter to the charger and an ammeter in series with the battery and the negative terminal of the charger to measure the charging current. 4, 2 A The charger showed 25% charge2) After 30 minutes the charging current was 3.61 A. Charging voltage 13.19 V. The charger showed 25% charge3) After 1 hour the charging current was 3.61 A. Charging voltage 13.38 V. The charger indicated 25% charge. 4) After 1.5 hours, the charging current is 2.84A. Charging voltage is 13.60V. The charger showed 50% charge5) After 2 hours, the charging current is 2.47A. Charging voltage is 13.95V. The charger indicated 50% charge. Note: The charge current decreases as the battery approaches full charge. This design feature prevents overheating and extends the life of your battery. 6) After 2.5 hours, the charging current is 1.74A. Charging voltage 14.63V. The charger showed 75% charge7) After 3 hours, the charging current is 0.33A. Charging voltage 14.79V. The charger showed 75% Charge on8) After 3.5 hours, the charging current is 0.22 A. Charging voltage is 14.80V. The charger showed 75% charge9) After 3.75 hours the charging current is 0.0 A. Charging voltage 13.57 V. The charger showed 100% charge. The charger is now in monitor/maintenance mode. In monitor mode, the charger's AC output power is 7.5W as measured with a Belkin wattmeter. Please note that the charger does not charge with the set current of 6 A. Apparently the battery was not sufficiently discharged for the 6 A charge rate. (My Opinion) This charger did a good job of gently charging the battery, especially when it was almost fully charged. What I care about is that the charging current will AUTOMATICALLY decrease as the battery approaches full charge. This prevents overcharging and actually charges the battery to its maximum capacity. The next day I tested the battery with a battery tester and it ran well within the limits of a full charge of a "good battery". The results were much better than the charger that came with the battery where it was ALMOST "weak". Very happy with the purchase. I would buy this particular model again. If there are any problems in the future I will update this review. Supply and sale of Revain. Note 12-17-12: I just found out that a friend of mine has been using this particular model to service his motorcycle batteries for several years. He's happy with that. Never had a problem with it.