It occurred to me that a battery charger might be good investment since my T will likely spend more time in the garage than on the road. There seems to be no shortage of stuff to spend money on with old cars!
I came across a NOCO Genius 1 that’s supposed the charge both 12- and 6-volt car batteries at a pretty good price (I thought) at AutoZone.
I was wondering if anyone here finds a trickle charger useful or not, and if there are any things I’d need to watch out for either using one, or buying one. I’m especially concerned about overcharging. The NOCO advertises that it automatically shuts off, but can it be trusted? It’s going to take a long time to charge a car battery with 1 amp.
I have not had good luck with the “Battery Tender” brand of charger, mine broke after a year or two. I currently use a “Solar” brand trickle charger and have been happy with it. It does shut off automatically once the battery is topped off. I connect it to the battery every month or so when the car is in storage and disconnect it once the battery is topped off, I do not leave it connected for weeks on end.
Whatever kind of battery charger you buy be sure that it says “Automatic” on it. That means it will automatically shut off when the battery is fully charged, and it will automatically come on when the battery voltage falls to a point where it needs to be recharged.
I have not had any trouble with the automatic features but occasionally a charger fails to do anything and I have to replace it with a new one.
All good advice, thank you!
I have made my own maintainers since ~ 2014 for a dollar or two per maintainer. There are 5 on the job as I keyboard. They are the epitome of simplicity to assemble. The details are a bit longer than is appropriate here but I’d be glad to explain more fully if you care to email me at
Regards, Tom in Taylor Mill, KY 41015
Thanks Tom. If the NOCO goes on the fritz, I’ll take you up on your offer!