Difference Between Battery Charger and Battery Maintainer

Battery Charger vs Battery Maintainer

Keeping batteries charged is a somewhat major concern for those who routinely use them in golf carts, cars, boats, and the like. This is not such a major concern for cars that are used daily but for those that are not used on a regular basis, it is important to keep them charged to prevent damage. For this purpose, we can either get a battery charger or a battery maintainer. The main difference between them is complexity as the battery maintainers contains more advanced circuitry than most battery chargers. The circuitry is used to detect the charge level to determine if the battery needs a charge and how fast to charge it.

Most battery chargers charge at a constant rate. This is often way below the rating of the battery and can take at least 10 hours or more. This is to reduce the possibility of overcharging a battery and is why most batteries are charged overnight. The circuitry of a battery maintainer is able to charge the battery at much higher rate while regulating the current to prevent overcharging. This can shorten charging time to just a few hours.

One of the major gripes with battery chargers is that you need to disconnect it manually after it has fully charged the battery to prevent overcharging. If you forget to do this, you can damage the battery. This does not happen with a battery maintainer as it would automatically turn off once the battery is full. The main function of a battery maintainer is to keep a battery in top shape while it is in storage, usually for months at a time. While the battery maintainer is connected it routinely checks the battery, if it has discharged a certain amount, the battery maintainer would then start charging. This ability to automatically start and stop charging allows the battery to be stored almost indefinitely without getting damaged.

Aside from the large battery maintainers that are also used to charge batteries, there are also small battery maintainers. These maintainers are not meant to charge a discharged battery but can do the job of maintaining a battery while in storage. These small maintainers retain the capabilities of larger ones but are much cheaper than its larger counterparts and even some battery chargers. It is also more power efficient and consumes less power.

Summary:

1.A battery maintainer is more advanced than the battery charger
2.A battery maintainer can charge the battery a lot faster than most battery chargers
3.A battery maintainer can be left connected to a battery while most battery chargers cannot
4.Small battery maintainers are cheaper than large battery chargers

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