Table of Contents
Introduction
Buy on Amazon!Your car’s battery needs a bit of help starting up from time to time, especially if you haven’t been using it in a while. But even a frequently-used vehicle can have some battery problems. This is why car battery chargers are a must for any car owner, especially if you don’t have the money to call a professional every time something happens. There are various types of car battery chargers on the market and some are easier to use than others. Thanks to today’s technological advancements, you can also benefit from a smart car battery charger that is much easier to use. This is a perfect option for beginners.
Product | NOCO GENIUS5 | NOCO GENIUS10 | Schumacher |
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Description | The NOCO Genius5 Smart Car Battery Charger is of high quality and it’s the perfect unit for regular car owners that need to charge or maintain a vehicle’s battery. It comes at a very convenient price and it has a pretty versatile design.(Check price at Amazon) | The Noco Genius10 Smart Car Battery Charger is just as good as our first pick, actually, it’s even more powerful, but it’s not ideal for beginners and tech support doesn’t help much. The performance is excellent and it lasts a long time.(Check price at Amazon) | The Schumacher Smart Car Battery Charger is very good as well, but its display is known to have shown some errors from time to time. The quality is good and the smart design offers a worry-free and efficient performance.(Check price at Amazon) |
You can use a battery charger by plugging it into your main electricity socket and attach it to the right terminals of your vehicle’s battery. Then you can use it to perform a bit of maintenance on a car that’s not used or charge up a battery that is almost empty.
Maintenance charging means that the charger will send a small amount of electricity to your vehicle’s battery to keep it in good shape. This is very helpful if you store your car for the winter. And conventional charging means that it will charge your battery from a low amount of power. It can take anywhere between 6 and 24 hours, but the average time to charge a battery from empty to full is 10 hours
If you’d like a battery charger that has the engine start function, you will have to invest in a heavy-duty charger. This is because jump-starting a vehicle requires a lot of energy, which regular battery chargers are not made for. Dedicated jump-starters are a better option.
Best Smart Car Battery Charger – How to choose
Usually, battery chargers require constant supervision as you don’t want to leave the battery charging for too long. However, a smart model detects when the battery is full and will either stop charging or switch to trickle charging. This is when it needs to send a bit of energy to maintain it over a long period of time. This will give you the peace of mind you need and ensure nothing happens if you forget the charger on. And if you’re distracted by an emergency, you won’t have to worry about the car battery charging back home.
When you’re shopping for any type of car battery charger, you need to take into consideration the size of your vehicle’s engine. This is because the bigger the engine is, the bigger the battery needs to be. You will need a lot of power to charge a van’s engine, which can only be done by a very powerful charger. It’s very important to make sure that your charger is suitable for your engine.
Besides size, the type of your car’s battery is also very important. The good part is that if you have a lead-acid battery, it will work with pretty much any battery charger as long as it’s suitable. But the bad part is that you will need a dedicated battery charger if your vehicle has a gel or calcium battery. You will also need a special charger if you own a vehicle that has AGM/EFB batteries. You should also make sure that the quality is as high as possible.
In this article, we’ll talk about Our Top 3 Best Smart Car Battery Charger.
Best Smart Car Battery Charger – Comparison Table
Product Name | NOCO GENIUS5 | NOCO GENIUS10 | Schumacher |
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Easy to Use | Yes | Yes | No |
Easy to Install | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Versatile | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Desulfator | Yes | Yes | No |
Precision Charging | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Safety Features | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Maintainer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Voltage Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Reverse Hook-Up Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Indicator Lights | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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1 NOCO GENIUS5 Fully-Automatic Smart Charger
Description
The NOCO GENIUS5 Fully-Automatic Smart Charger is easily one of the best models on the market. It can recharge a battery that is as low as 1-Volt and it can maintain your car’s battery for a very long time. If you have a vehicle stored away and you’re scared about the battery getting ruined, all you have to do is connect this charger to the battery and leave it there.
It can remain connected to the car all year long and it will maintain the battery in perfect condition. This model is specifically designed to figure out when the battery is full and go on standby mode until the battery needs charging again. You won’t have to continuously worry about the car when you’re away.
The NOCO Company is a privately-held, multinational corporation from America. It specializes in researching, designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, automotive chemicals, and electrical components. Their Genius Boost series of chargers is one of its most popular lines of products and has gained the trust of millions of customers all over the world. They were even rated 9/10 by TopSpeed and “Good” by Consumer Reports.
This smart car battery charger weighs 1.59 pounds, which makes it quite lightweight and easy to take with your anywhere. Its dimensions are 4.61in x 3.43in x 7.95in. It’s completely black and features various signal lights that allow you to know at what stage the charging is.
The package will include the GENIUS5 5A Smart Battery Charger and Battery Maintainer, a User’s guide, a Battery Charger Mounting Bracket with Velcro Strap, two Black truss-Head Screws, and Needle-Nose Battery Clamps with Integrated Eyelet Terminals. You will benefit from a reliable 3-year limiter warranty as well.
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Features
The NOCO GENIUS5 Fully-Automatic Smart Charger is about 35% smaller than other popular chargers but it can deliver 65% more power. It’s designed to be an all-in-one solution as it functions as a battery charger, battery maintainer, trickle charger, and as battery desulfator.
One of the best things about this charger is its versatility as it’s made to be compatible with 6-volt and 12-volt lead-acid automotive, marine, and deep-cycle batteries. But more than that, it’s also compatible with flooded, gel, AGM, and even maintenance-free, plus lithium-ion batteries. You can use it to charge the battery of pretty much any vehicle you have. This includes your car, motorcycle, ATV, SUV, classic car, lawn mower, lawn tractor, truck, boat, PWC, etc.
Thanks to the integrated thermal sensor, this smart charger is capable of detecting the ambient temperature and it automatically alters the charge to prevent any problems. This includes over-charging in hot weather and under-charging in cold climates. It’s designed with precision charging and it offers a high-quality performance no matter what car you’re using it on.
You should keep in mind that this battery charger is NOT capable of jump-starting your battery. It can only charge dead batteries that are down to 1-volt. And if it’s down to zero volts, you will have to use the all-new force mode that offers you the possibility to take control and manually begin to charge the completely dead battery.
This smart charger is also capable of automatically detecting battery sulfation and acid stratification. This helps it restore lost battery performance, which will deliver a stronger engine start and extend the battery’s lifespan. It can offer a worry-free performance 24/7, with zero overcharge.
Pros
- Easy to Use
- Easy to Install
- Very Affordable Price
- Wide Range of Applications
- Can Detect Acid Stratification
- High-End Quality and Performance
- Automatically Detects Battery Sulfation
- Designed For Almost Any Type of Car Battery
- Offers Precision Charging and Prevents Overcharging
- Capable of Charging Dead Batteries as Low as 1-Volt
- Allows You To Manually Charge a Zero Volt Car Battery
Cons
- None
2 NOCO GENIUS10 Fully-Automatic Smart Charger
Description
The NOCO GENIUS10 Fully-Automatic Smart Charger is the second one on our list and it’s almost as good as our first pick. It’s from the same company and it can actually deliver a more powerful performance as well. But this also makes it a bit difficult to use by beginners and the tech support is not as good as it should be. It’s a model designed for heavy-duty charging and it does an excellent job as long as it’s installed properly.
It weighs around 2 pounds and its dimensions are 4.41in x 4.48in x 9.1in. When it comes to its performance, besides offering a more powerful charge, it works pretty much the same way. All you have to do is connect it to a power socket and to the car’s battery. It can recharge almost dead batteries and it can maintain them in a good shape no matter how long you’re away for. Checking up on it from time to time is definitely a good idea.
This model has various protection and handy features as our first pick. This includes being compatible with cars, automotive, 12V, and more. It’s spark-proof and has reverse polarity protection. You can activate the force mode for manual battery charging. It’s great at maintaining a battery and serves as a trickle charger and battery desulfator. You’ll also get temperature compensation for an accurate recharging and IP65 ingress protection.
The package will include everything you need to start charging your car’s battery immediately. This includes the charger, a user’s manual, a mounting bracket with a Velcro strap, needle-nose battery clamps with eyelet terminals, and two black truss-head screws.
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Features
The NOCO GENIUS10 Fully-Automatic Smart Charger features a versatile design that makes it compatible with a wide range of batteries. This means you will be able to use it to charge your car, SUV, truck, motorcycle, lawn mower, tractor mower, ATV, boat, and a lot more. It’s specifically made to be as versatile as possible so you can use it on any vehicle you own without investing in various types of chargers.
You will be able to use this unit to do a lot more than just simply charging your vehicle’s battery. Unlike typical chargers, this smart version can easily detect when the battery is full and it will automatically stop charging. More than that, it can maintain your battery healthy until you can bring the car out of storage. This is because of its trickle charge performance, which makes it an advanced battery maintainer. It’s fully automatic, smart, worry-free, and it offers a 24/7 performance without overcharging.
Thanks to its restoring capabilities, this battery charger is able to automatically detect sulfation and acid stratification. This helps it restore all the lost battery performance and makes the engine start a bit stronger. The battery itself will also have an increased lifespan. If the battery’s life is at 1-volt, this charger can charge it up until it’s full. But if it’s at zero volts, it enables the all-force mode and lets you take control of the situation. Then you can manually charge the dead battery until it’s safe for the charger to pick up from where you left.
It also has an integrated thermal sensor that detects the ambient temperature and alters the charge to prevent over-charging in hot climates and under-charging in cold climates.
Pros
- High-End Quality
- Made of Durable Materials
- Delivers Precision Charging
- Offers High-End Quality Performance
- Designed for a Wide Range of Applications
- Capable of Restoring a Car’s Battery Performance
- Serves as a Battery Charger, Maintainer, and Desulfator
- Compatible With 6-Volt, 12-Volt, Gel, and AGM Batteries
- Can be Used on Flooded, Lithium-Ion, Lead-Acid Batteries
Cons
- It’s a bit difficult to use for beginners and tech support can sometimes not be as helpful as it needs to be.
3 Schumacher Fully-Automatic Battery Charger
Description
The Schumacher Fully-Automatic Battery Charger is of high quality and can help you charge both marine and automotive batteries. It’s a simple model that works with 6V and 12V batteries and can help you maintain your vehicle in a good shape while it’s stored away. This battery charger is capable of charging a vehicle battery that seems completely dead as well. But you should keep in mind that it’s not designed for jump-starting, which means you will have to invest in a separate tool.
Schumacher Electric Corporation was founded in 1947 and has been one of the best automotive products manufacturers in the world for quite some time. This company continuously improves its products and has gained a lot of customers all over the world. It continues to bring innovation and excellence with each new product, which is why it’s one of the most respected names in the car battery charging industry.
This smart car battery charger weighs around 3 pounds and its dimensions are 9.96in x 4.29in x 10.03in. It has a Start/Stop button to make controlling it as easy as possible. The microprocessor can automatically adjust the amperage rate to extend the battery’s lifespan. It also has automatic voltage detection, a LED display, light indicators, and plus reverse hook-up protection. This stops the battery from working if the clamps are accidentally placed in each other’s place.
Thanks to the high-quality design, this smart charger meets or exceeds the highest industry standards. It’s compatible with standard, deep-cycle, and AGM batteries. This means you can use it to charge the battery of your car, motorcycle, snowmobile, lawn mower, personal watercraft, ATV, vintage car, tractor, SYV, boat, etc. And it can maintain an RV or truck battery.
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Features
The Schumacher Fully-Automatic Battery Charger features a high-quality design that allows it to deliver a reliable power no matter what you’re charging or maintaining. It can deliver a 15 Amp rapid charge that allows you to charge a wide range of batteries. All you have to do is connect this charger to the closes power socket and to the vehicle’s battery. The charger comes with a red and a black clamp that allows you to easily set everything up. If my mistake you place them in the wrong spot, the unit is designed to not work until proper installation is done.
Thanks to the smart design, the microprocessor automatically adjusts the amperage range and the multi-stage charging for extra precision. It’s also great at offering a safe and efficient performance, while also prolonging the life of the battery. The charger is not very small but it’s still portable and you can use it anywhere as long as you have electricity.
With the smart maintaining design, you can leave this charger connected for as long as you’re storing the vehicle away. This ensures that the battery will remain in a healthy condition no matter how long you plan on keeping it off the road. The digital LED display, indicator lights, and simple button controls make the unit even easier to use and understand. This will help you figure out at what stage the charging process is.
The charger has automatic voltage detection that allows it to immediately detect if it’s a 6V or 12v battery. It ensures that there won’t be any over-charging in hot weather and no over-charging in cold weather. It also has float-mode monitoring that helps maintain an optimum battery charge.
Pros
- Easy to Use
- Easy to Install
- Voltage Detection
- Reverse Hook-Up Protection
- Offers a Reliable Performance
- Offers 3 Amp Maintaining Batteries
- Multi-Stage Charging for Extra Precision
- LED Display, Indicator Lights, Button Controls
- Microprocessor-Controlled Automatic Amperage Rate
- Delivers 15 Amp Rapid Charge for Automotive Batteries
Cons
- The versatility is not the best.
- The display could work a little better.
Conclusion
Smart car battery chargers are designed to make your job as worry-free as possible. They can automatically stop the charging when the battery is full and start trickle charging when it’s time to maintain the vehicle. This means you can store your vehicle for winter or leave home for a few months without worrying about your car’s battery.
The smart charger is specifically designed with a wide range of safety features that ensure that nothing will happen to your vehicle’s battery while it’s being charged or maintained. This list only includes smart car battery chargers that can maintain and charge a battery. If you’re looking for something that can jump-start a vehicle as well, you should search for a heavy-duty charger that has this specific function. The chargers on this list are ideal for regular car owners.
