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10 Amp Battery Chargers - Are They Safe?

17 years ago

I just received a new JD lawn tractor, and of course, the battery is flat dead. All I have is a 10 amp 12v Schumacher car/marine battery charger, but the charger instructions say not to use it on motorcycle or lawn tractor batteries. Is it safe to try to charge the battery at 10 amps, or am I forced to go buy another charger with 2 amp output?

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Comments (9)

mtgrs737
17 years ago
I wouldn't chance it, it could heat up your battery and ruin it. 2 amp chargers are cheap and even your car battery should be charged at a low amp rate if you have the time. My 10 amp charger has a 2 amp rate also, which I use most of the time.
1saxman
17 years ago
Are you sure your charger doesn't have a 2-amp switch? If not, do not use it on the mower battery.
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wise_guy
17 years ago
Yeah, the marine charger is designed for a deep-cycle battery.

Charging a lawn mower battery at 10A could overheat it and cause un-recoverable battery performance loss.
oakwoodmac
Original Author
17 years ago
All, thanks for the advise guys! I went ahead and purchased a new SchumacherÂ® battery charger with a 2 amp trickle charger.
canguy
17 years ago
What wise guy said. The 10 amp could cause a small battery to explode which would ruin your whole day if you are anywhere near it.
rustyj14
17 years ago
Oh, good heavens!! I've been using a regular car battery trickle charger for many years to charge my tractor batteries! Tractor batteries are 12 volts? And, my garage type big floor model battery charger brings them up quickly!
Oh, my!! How awful, that i risked my family's lives by doing that! Oh, my!!
But--my trickle charger has diminishing charge! And, i've left it on all night!! Oh, my!!
Guess I'll have to rig up a charger made from an alternator and a bicycle, stationary, so i can pedal away and watch for the battery to not blow up!
But, i can't do that--its too hard to pedal a bike with my artificial leg---so i guess its the trickle charger on all night!
Rustyj
lawnmowerdan
17 years ago
what an idiot! you can use a automatic charger safely on a tractor batt but if you use a 10 amp manual charger -you will fry it in short order . my manual 10 amp charger is so strong -i can jump start a car with it!
hippy
17 years ago
Are John Deere Batteries so cheap that they can not handle charging from a 10 amp source when dead?

Hope like hell that you never need to have the engine jumped started from another lawn tractor that has a 250 CCA battery. For if 10 amps will blow it. 250 amps will destory an entire city block.
bogi
17 years ago
You guys.....oakwood has a legitimate question. And a very good one. "Most" of the replies were good advice.

Batteries don't give a damn if the charger is for a car,boat,or airplane. The only thing the battery understands is voltage and amperage. And "ALL" batteries live longer with a slow, low amperage charge. It doesn't matter much if it is a cheap or expensive battery. Forcing 10 amps into a battery designed for 1-2 amp charging systems is stupid....and dangerous....with a side benifit of reduced battery life. Yes....they do explode....I've seen it...and the results can be bad. Batteries...especially lead acid....are not some benign item we should take for granted....there are people out there without eyesight that will echo my sentiments.

The advice he got at the top of this thread was good advice. Some of you owe him an apology. I would be ashamed at my ignorance if I answered anyone in that manner.

(and jumpstarting at a battery with 250 amps is meaningless. His starter will dictate what amount of amperage is drawn. Also, I have never seen a car starter operate on 10 amps....so if your "10 amper" starts your car....something is not adding up....or it is putting out more than 10 amps)

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