thill
ArboristSite Lurker
I bought the Hulkman charger, and that thing is a beast. Have done lots of crazy stuff with it. GREAT unit
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08M41FX48/
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08M41FX48/
I have this one as well. It works very well and is recommended by a top small engine repair person on Utube (Chickanic). I was able to start my 7.3 PowerStroke with it. The batteries weren't completely discharged however. I was still impressed by how fast it cranked:Gooloo GT4000. Will work with zero charge in battery. (Has a button that overrides the smart features and closes the internal relay) Have actually cranked over a truck that was sitting for 20 years with NO BATTERY AT ALL. Keep in mind that these are designed as a jump starter, not battery chargers.
like anything, more complicated = more complicated...The GooLoo units I have are the GE4500. No complaints so far.
The rotten eggs smell is the classic sign of a selenium rectifier failure. And you're right, simple and cheap to fix with a couple dollars worth of silicon rectifiers or a bridge module, depending on the circuit.Reminds me, I still have my Sears rolling charger / starter. Paid $200 for it in 2001. Still works!
I've got a Schumacher charger from the late 60's that my dad ran for years. After 3 fairly new batteries were smoked, I tested the voltage on it. 23V!! No bueno. Smelled like rotten eggs in the basement! Fried those batteries to a cinder.
I'd wager I could probably get inside there and replace the painfully-simple components of yesteryear whenever the need arises.
Works well for me. Not always, but usually. Once in a while it's just too far gone.That process lets well used lead acid batteries work like new.
Battery sulfatuon is more or less unavoidable, chemically changes the lead, and is a wonderful insulator. The pulses break up that layer. If it's a good battery to start with you can do it several times before you loose enough lead to affect cranking capacity. Supposedly you can hook up a power supply and keep a long slow charge on the battery (seen some guys use a stick welder.) And do the same thing. Even when the batteries do manage to keep a charge the capacity is greatly affected. Can't seem to find the video, guy did a few tests with a group 31 battery that he bought back from basically flat line voltage vs a new off the shelf battery and it was something around 200 cranking amps less then the new battery at room temp. Plenty of information on the subject out there on the interwebs.like anything, more complicated = more complicated...
more parts, more functions = more chances for failure...
OP's post had one of those "charge multiple batteries at a time" dealios... i'm not surprised it failed.
I have a 1989 FJ62 toyota that's been sitting on a 1 amp noco trickle charger for at least 3 years... it gets taken out once a year in the not-so-hot-i-need-air-conditioning season... and that simple little 1 amp trickle charger has worked just fine for the last few years.
But compared to a Battery Tender 3/4 amp trickle charger the noco is a tiny little lump of plastic about the size of a pack of smokes (remember when everybody smoked? 🤣) and the Battery Tender is 4x the size and heavy because theres a big metal thing inside to convert wall AC into 12V battery DC...
So... (shrug) simpler is almost always better... your GT4500 is working for you... thats great... I have a bunch of Lithum battery Noco jumpers too... I wonder how long they will last (shrug)
The jumper I use the most... the one that *always* works... is the big 'ole heavy lead acid based jumper on wheels I keep in the shop... its been working since last century (shrug)
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