One of the most depressing things is going to your car or motorcycle that you have stored in your garage for a sunny day — only for it not to start when you most need it because the battery has gone flat.
Having a car battery charger always available in your garage is incredibly handy for making sure this disaster never happens!
But choosing the best car battery charger is tough. Which is the most reliable? Which is car battery charger is best for your car or motorcycle’s battery to keep it healthy? Which chargers can work in any conditions — and withstand moisture, freezing cold, and high heat? What’s the best car battery charger for your car?
That’s why I put together this guide to the five best car battery chargers for your garage — updated as of 2020.
With a battery charger, you don’t have to worry about changing out your vehicle’s battery every time it begins to run low. Even better, many of the best battery chargers have a jumper function — so you can take them with you in case you’re at risk of being left stranded.
In this guide, I highlight
- What to consider when buying a car battery charger
- What makes the best ones good
- Some extra car battery charger features you might not have thought about
We’ve also written extensively about the best car jump starters.
Best Car Battery Chargers of 2020
To help you make a decision, below is a summary table of the best car battery chargers we’ve tested.
We’ve included the most important information you might need to make your decision, including
- Voltages (whether they can do 6V)
- Current (from trickle through to massive industrial current)
- Special features (e.g. water resistance)
- Warranty
Table could not be displayed.
1. CTEK MULTI US 7002 – Best Overall 12 Volt Car Battery Charger and Maintainer
CTEK is one brand on our list that has actually earned a near sterling reputation in the world of battery chargers.
CTEK not only focuses on power transferal products, it actually specializes in battery chargers.
In fact, it is worth noting that the CTEK car battery charger is a slightly modified version of OEM car battery chargers that are included with the purchase of high-end luxury cars.
That said, the focus of this charger is a bit more narrow than some of the other car battery chargers on our list.
Energy
When it comes to car battery chargers, too many people pay far more attention to the numbers on the charger than how the charger provides energy. This usually is not much of an issue, but it can actually make a big difference depending on the battery. Some batteries are more sensitive than others and require the energy itself to be of a “higher quality” or else it could damage the battery cells. As a workaround, the CTEK MULTI US 7002 makes it a point to provide the cleanest energy possible, so you do not have to worry about whether or not it’s damaging your battery.
Protection
While the CTEK MULTI US 7002 provides some of the cleanest (noise-free) current out of all the car battery chargers on our list, it also has a number of fail-safe features to ensure that even if the energy itself is clean, no other malfunctions can damage your car battery.
For instance, the CTEC 70002 comes with reverse polarity protection, which actually protects both the car battery in question as well as the CTEK MULTI US 7002 from accidental reverse connection. The CTEK charger’s safety features mean you can leave it indefinitely, which is perfect for DC battery-powered electronics arrays.
Specification
- Brand: CTEK
- Model: 56-353
- Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 3.5 x 1.9 inches
- Item Weight: 1.76 pounds
- Voltage: 12 volts
- Current: 7A
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2. Schumacher SC1353– Best Heavy Duty Car Battery Charger and Jump Starter
Schumacher is a fairly well-established company in the car battery charger market that has earned one of the better reputations.
Part of the reason for this reputation comes from the fact that the company not only makes a solid product, but they do so at different levels of the market. For instance, there is a fairly big difference between what someone who needs a car battery charger for their own personal car and someone who needs a car battery charger for larger vehicles, numerous different types of vehicles, or simply a large number of batteries for whatever person.
This is where the Schumacher SC1353 comes into play and is why it is rated as the best industrial car battery charger on our list.
Options
One thing that most people forget about when they consider industrial car battery chargers is the fact that there are a multitude of different types of batteries out there. While industrial car battery chargers may have been made to handle serious levels of amperes and voltages, they are also often designed to simply handle virtually every vehicular battery you might run across. That is why the Schumacher SC1353 can actually charge batters that feature 2 different voltages and can do charging at an astounding 4 different amperages. This means that regardless the battery output or its input limitations, the Schumacher SC1353 should be able to charge nearly any and every large voltage battery that you come across.
Build
While the sheer number of options with the Schumacher SC1353 is impressive, just as impressive with this car battery charger is its build quality.
Many of the other car battery chargers we reviewed have opted for a smaller, more portable profile to make them more attractive to the average consumer.
Of course, someone who needs an industrial car battery charger is likely not the average consumer. That is why the size and weight of this car battery charger is actually a benefit to its intended market as opposed to inconvenient to the average consumer.
On top of that, this car battery charger also has a built-in, included dolly to make moving the Schumacher SC1353 from one place to another much easier.
Specification
- Brand: Schumacher
- Model: SC1353
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 13.6 x 19.7 inches
- Item Weight: 31.4 pounds
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3. NOCO GENIUS10– Best Versatile Smart Car Battery Charger for Multi-Stage Charging, Dead Batteries, and Marine Use
NOCO is one of the lesser-known but very old brands (over a hundred years old, founded in the US in 1914) that has a wide variety of really high-quality car (and boat and motorcycle) battery chargers available with some unique features.
NOCO totally specializes in battery chargers and accessories — that’s all they do. So they’re quite customer-focused and feature-focused, even after so long a history. Which is why the NOCO Genius10 is so great — it can do a lot of things, and it does it in a compact package.
We really like a lot of NOCO chargers, but the one we recommend is the Genius10, a 10-amp charger that suits a variety of different use cases. It’s an update on the G7200 which we had previously listed as our pic from NOCO.
Marine
While there are specific marine battery chargers out there, they are often significantly more expensive than car battery chargers due to the smaller, niche, luxury market of boats. If you would like to save some cash while still getting a stellar product, the NOCO Genius10 was designed to serve double duty as both a land and sea battery charger and even makes it a point to advertise this. The reason that the NOCO Genius10 is so well-suited to this task is because it features an IP65 rating. What this means is that the NOCO Genius10 can withstand jets of water splashed on it. While this is not a submersion level of protection, it should be plenty for most water activities.
Versatility
Another benefit of the NOCO Genius10 is the fact that you can use it for pretty much any commercial vehicle that’s 6 or 12V. The NOCO can even charge Lithium batteries — something that many cheaper batteries can’t do.
Finally, the NOCO Genius 10 is quite small (only 5 inches at its longest dimension, and weighing only 3.5 pounds), meaning you can take it out of your garage when you want to take it with you.
Specifications
- Brand: NOCO
- Model: Genius10
- Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 5 inches
- Item Weight: 3.5 pounds
- Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal batteries
- Folding: No
- Cover Included: UltraSafe Battery Charger, Battery Clamps, Eyelet Terminals, User Guide, 5-Year Limited Warranty
- Current: 10A
- Voltage: 12V, 6V
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4. BLACK+DECKER BC25BD – Best Portable High-Current Car Battery Charger for AGM Batteries
When it comes to car battery chargers, BLACK+DECKER is likely not the first name that you think of. Though you might know the brand for toasters and home appliances, you would be pleased to know that their car chargers are not only affordable, but also really robust and high-quality.
This BLACK+DECKER battery charger isn’t tiny, but it’s still portable via its large handles. That’s understandable because it provides an impressive 25A of current for a relatively low-cost charger.
This charger can work on a variety of batteries, including AGM, GEL, or WET automotive or marine batteries. The only downside is that if you want to charge the batteries in your fancy RV, this charger can’t charge lithium batteries — if that’s what you have.
Replenish
Arguably, the best reason to choose the BLACK+DECKER BC25BD is the fact that over the course of time and through repeated uses, it can actually improve the efficiency and lifespan of your battery. Basically, the BLACK+DECKER BC25BD can alter how it distributes the power to your battery such that the cells which were otherwise depleted will shake off some of the contaminants and be usable once again. That said, this will not take a completely depleted battery and restore it life once again, but it will still be able to help usable batteries keep their life a little bit longer than they otherwise would have and is not a feature found on even some of the more renowned products we reviewed.
Convenience
Considering that BLACK+DECKER is a brand that is designed for consumers and not professionals, it only makes sense that they would spend a bit more time providing a number of features that can make their product stand out from the pack – even if those features do not actually improve the product at a fundamental level.
That said, these features are legitimately useful for consumers who might not want to fool with the issues. For instance, the BLACK+DECKER BC25BD comes with both a jump start feature to jump-start your vehicle when the battery is dead, and an alternator checking feature to make sure that the battery is the problem in the first place.
Specification
- Brand: BLACK+DECKER
- Model: BC25BD
- Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 14.8 x 5.8 inches
- Item Weight: 8.25 pounds
- Amperage: 25 A
- Voltage: 12 volts only
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