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France, Paris
1 Level
743 Review
40 Karma

Review on πŸ”‹ Schumacher Battery Charger & Engine Starter - Boost & Maintain - 100A/30A, 6V/12V - Tractors, Cars, Trucks by Daniel Jackson

Revainrating 1 out of 5

Fire hazard - clamps will loosen and arc - very dangerous!

To save pennies these guys used the cheapest clamps and the result is a dangerous product! I bought 2 of these 4 years ago but hardly used them as I had some old Black & Decker smart chargers which were great. I lost one of them in an accident last year and these two broke. Unlike Black & Deckers, they have cheap tin clips for attaching batteries. I went out at night and noticed that there was a red light on in the room where I charged the batteries. The light came from an arc between the positive terminal and the positive terminal. I quickly turned everything off and let it cool down. The clamps came loose during charging and then began sparking the gap. Luckily I was able to prevent the fire in time! Then I checked the batteries and found all the cells were dead ($1400 batteries less than a year old). Called the dyno guy and he said the new chargers won't charge and they say the battery cells will die if the charge is too low (e.g. after an arc flash). Used an old Black & Decker (no longer for sale) to slowly get them back. The charger that caused the arc has burned out and is no longer charging. The other one is fine but I'm replacing the clips to secure it. Be careful if you decide to buy one of these.

Pros
  • Price
Cons
  • Reliability