battery charger

[ford31]

just bought a battery charger never noticed but says rated for 600 cca never new battery charger had limits planning on using old battery from my case skidsteer in my doodle bug which it is 850 cca my old charger quit,what i am asking will the new charger charge the 850 cca battery

[Crankster]

What brand and model?

Generally speaking a charger or charge should be "sized" to the ampere hour (not CCA) rating of an automotive start type battery. Too high a current has issues, and so does too low. A good rule of thumb for efficiency is about 10% though no more than 20% of Ah rating, this works out to somewhere around 6 or 10 amps. Is this maybe one of those flea-powered tenderizer/maintainers?

[GRutter]

Some larger chargers have a setting that allows you to start the vehicle from the charger, rather than just charge the battery. Those chargers do have limits on how many amps they can supply for starting.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I use my 6 amps Sears charger for everything. It was probably made in the 60's or 70's, and works great. The nice thing is it will work without the battery needing voltage to kick in some stupid safety circuit, and the amp meter on the face tells me exactly what's happening.

[slammin]

I too have a Sears charger from the late 60s or early 70s, it has one 6V setting and 2 12V charging rates. As I look thru the shop, I purchased or made most of my mechanics tool and my machinist tools 40 to 45 years ago.

[Jacksonlll]

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If it has a cca, cold cranking amps, rating, it is designed to start your car besides charging the batt. Just a simple 6/12 v charger is low cost and not a starting machine.

[Patrick L.]

Yep, the charger will charge, it doesn't care.

The amps it charges at is what matters. I prefer slow/low. I too like 'old' chargers that'll do both 6 and 12v with a couple different amp settings. But, that said, when I find them for the right price I buy it. I'm not much of a fan for maintainers/tenders.

Right now I'm looking for an old 6v load tester.

[Y-Blockhead]

I have a Century (Harbor Freight) Battery Charger code dated 1999 that has served me surprisingly well (17-18 years). It is 6v/12v and has three settings, 2a, 10a and 55a for starting.
If for whatever reason my Town Sedan is going to 'rest' for over two weeks I use a battery tender to keep the battery charged. But I usually take the car out a minimum of once a week so I don't need it.

[ford31]

no its schumacher sc 1279

[Crankster]

Should be fine, that model is advertised at "8 amps".