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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 6 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 product never worked. manufacturer does not stand behind their product. Dec 27, 2010
By wayne
This product ruined at least 3 brand new batteries. Amazon refuses to do anything about it and the manufacturer will not stand behind their product. I will never use amazon or a schumacher product again. If the product is "as is" I may as well buy it used for a fraction of the cost.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
worked for a short time then quit, waste of money Dec 01, 2010
By scc
This charger appeared to have a lot going for it, but appearances can be deceiving. When it arrived the insulation on the charging wires was not inserted in the fuse holders, so I had to buy new holders and replace them to avoid the hassle and expense of sending it back--it is very heavy at 21 lbs. For a while it worked charging both batteries in my 27' sailboat, but it is incredibly noisy (a 60-cycle hum you can hear outside the boat with the cabin closed up), so loud that you can't sleep in the boat with it on. After a few months it stopped charging my house battery, giving a flashing red LED (check battery) signal. Fiddling with it would, sometimes, and randomly, allow it to charge the battery. Then after a year it stopped charging the start battery. I thought my batteries were toast, as I gave up and stopped even turning it on recently. The Guest 16102 I replaced it with is completely silent, and went straight to 'float' charging my batteries (it turns out they were almost fully charged by the engine's alternator on a recent long trip), even though the Schumacher showed flashing red LEDs for both output circuits, i.e. check (dead) battery. This was a waste of money, and the worse kind of product, one that works for a while and then stops working when the warranty has expired.
 Good charger, slightly flawed Sep 01, 2010
By ButtonPuncher
This charger is perfect in either single channel single battery, or dual channel separate battery mode, only charging at 10A per channel. It has linear power supply with a big-beefy transformer inside that should last for years. The LED indicators give you a basic idea of what is going on.
The problems with this charger come with using it in single battery, dual channel 20A mode. The charger supplies all 20A through one cable even though both are hooked up in parallel. The cheap yellow snap-together fuse holders get really hot when charging at 20A. Also the 14AWG wire is too small for a constant 20A draw. I cut off the cheap fuse holders and replaced them with Buss Heavy Duty ATC fuse holders and 30A fuses. That solved the hot fuse holder problem. I am planning on replacing the 14AWG wire with 12AWG also.
I bought this for charging two large storage batteries used for a battery powered emergency sump pump. Two 125AH batteries in parallel.
For the geeks out there... It actually alternates channels while supplying the full 20A. It will switch from one channel to the other every couple/few minutes. I used dual 50A current shunts to check the charger on two 125AH batteries wired in parallel. I'm guessing that Schumacher alternates channels to keep the output transistors from overheating and to distribute the thermal load. I'd really like to see a non-marine unit with a vented enclosure.
 Works Great Jul 01, 2010
By Patrick Barrett
I'm very pleased with my SS-210A Automatic Charger/Maintainer. I purchased this unit to replace the old 10 amp charger in my cabin cruiser and after six months I find it to be working as planned. At first,I was surprised at the size and weight of the unit, but once I got it mounted it really didn't take up much more space than the unit I replaced, and it is much quieter. I check my batteries regularly and I find that I have to add water much less frequently than before. Overall, I give it five stars!!
Cant say much wrong Nov 22, 2009
By sportlivin
Just to get it out of the way, the only problem i have with it is its size and weight its like the size of a basketball and very much 25lbs. however, for as cheap as it is compared to others, this is an easy compromise. i bolted mine to the front of my truck bed. it can get rained and snowed on, it doesnt matter. its very well built, although i think i will still add a safety cage around it since i like to throw things into my truckbed a lot.
there is an audible hum when this thing is charging too. it cant be heard if the truck is running of course, its not loud at all but its the kind that radiates throughout the car more then it does through the air, so im sure if you isolated the mounting bolts with rubber washers it would help greatly. also, the wires that come off the back of this unit are fantastic. very high quality, and very easy to cut and strip back for extending them like i needed to do. i was very pleased with the quality of the electrical cable they used, it helps you sleep at night.
very much a plug and forget device. i use it as a 20a power supply too... it doesnt really matter what you do to your car when this is plugged in, your battery will not die nor will it be overcharged. whats also cool is that it appears to give whatever necessary amperage in its 'fully charged, constant 13.2v' mode. once that battery is charged, it enters this mode and even if you crank the stereo or whatever it just feeds what is asked, so in essence it is a power supply too. up to 20a of course, and from what i can tell it would push every bit of that 20a and its clear the circuitry wouldnt ever let it overload itself.
the manual does state not to have any electrical devices on when you plug this in, because it needs 30sec to sense the battery state. however, i have found that a few amps of steady draw doesnt effect anything, this charger just always works. once you plug it in, it will work.
again the only downside is that this is a large device for 20a, but thats because it uses the 'old school' transformers that wont break. they paired it with seemingly outstanding circuitry... so the mix makes for a great value.
See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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