Too fast a charge rate will produce excessive heat and warp the plates in the battery. Warp them enough and they will touch
causeing a shorted cell and a junk battery. I use a Vector VEC 1090 A 20/10/2 amp charger. They contain a microchip the reads
battery condition an when the battery is full it shuts down and reads "FULL".It will go to a "Standby" mode if the battery is
takeing alot of amps then turn back on after a few minutes of cool down time. I got mine at Wally World for about $60. Doc
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"Henry Hefner" wrote in message ...
J Buck wrote:

I have been using a battery charger that is around 30 years old. Seems
like it has been working well the last few years, but I wonder if
getting a new one will give me a better charge. Is a battery charger
just a battery charger, or is there a difference?

I, for one, am no expert, but seems to me if it's charging your battery,
then it's charging your battery. The only way a new one will give you a
'better' charge is if it charges faster.

I am pretty sure of one thing though... you'll get replies differing
from this one LoL

Yep, here's a differing one. I have always been told that a battery will
last longer if you charge it slowly. I remember my dad would always
check with the service station (remember those?) where he would buy a
battery to make sure they used a trickle charger on them, rather than a
fast charge. have batteries changed in this respect? Or does it make no
difference?