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Best Car Battery Charger

Updated: Feb 14, 2024 1:13 PM
best car battery charger featured image that shows the top three best car accessorie models

Having your car’s battery die on you is an absolute nightmare, which is why having the best car battery charger or jump starter around is always a good idea. To help you choose the best car battery charger, we researched 15 of the most recommended products in the market today and listed down our seven favorites below. After 72 hours of researching, we narrowed down our choices based on charging efficiency and usefulness in emergencies.

Our #1 pick, the DBPOWER 800A Portable Car Jump Starter, rose above the rest thanks to its fast and efficient 800A charging power. It also outranked the others due to its handy ports and advanced safety measures. Read on to find out more about our top picks.

Top 7 Best Car Battery Charger Compared

 #1  DBPOWER 800A Portable Car Jump Starter – Top Pick


WHY WE LIKE IT: The DBPOWER 600A Portable Car Jump Starter has a strong, 600A power output that can reliably jump-start 12V cars with 7.2L gas or 5.5L diesel engines. It comes with an 8-in-1 adaptor and the usual 18000mAh capacity and smart cable protectors.

Pros
  • 800A output
  • Smart jumper cable protection
  • 8-in-1 adaptor
Cons
  • Short jumper cables

The DBPOWER 800A Portable Car Jump Starter is an excellent choice for quickly powering up car batteries as well as other small devices. It can draw a maximum of 800A in a single use from its 18000mAh power bank for fast and easy jump starting. It has an 8-in-1 adaptor for charging laptops, tablets, smartphones, and other compatible gadgets.

The provided jumper cables have added clamp protection that prevents over-current, short circuit, overload, over-voltage, and over-charge. This jump starter also comes with an LED light and compass for convenient navigation and a 3-year manufacturer warranty. Overall, DBPOWER is great for general purpose jump starting and perfectly fits in your glove compartment, making it our top pick. Check out more best car accessories.

 #2  Battery Tender Plus 12V – Honorable Mention


WHY WE LIKE IT: The Battery Tender Plus has a built-in microprocessor that assesses the condition of your battery and adjusts accordingly. Its automatic and reliable charging ability, smart safety features, and a generous 10-year warranty landed this charger next to our top spot.

Pros
  • Automatic charging at 1.25A
  • Reverse polarity protection
  • 10-year warranty
Cons
  • Lower amperage than other chargers

The Battery Tender Plus is an excellent charger that can fully charge a battery without causing any damage to it or anything in its surroundings. This 1.25A charger is good for 12V batteries. Its built-in processing unit can automatically switch it from full charge to floating/maintenance mode with no trouble at all. It also has reverse polarity protectors to keep your battery safe.

The Battery Tender Plus’ amperage is only rated at 1.25A, which is slightly less than the standard 2A rating in other chargers. However, its smart charging feature more than makes up for it. It’s fully compatible with lead acid, flooded, or AGM/gel cell batteries. The Black Decker BC15BD Fully Automatic Battery Charger is another useful option, which uses a fully automatic 15 amp charging system with three stages, from fast charge to top-off charge, and finally to float mode which uses trickle charge. The battery reconditioning feature on the BC15BD extends the battery life, and the 40 amp engine start helps revive a vehicle with a dead battery in about 90 seconds. This product also features an alternator check to see if the alternator is maintaining the battery level. As of when this product’s information was last updated on Amazon.com, it comes in both 15 and 25 amp versions. The best car charger will help with your gadgets too.

 #3  NOCO Genius G750 – Best Budget


WHY WE LIKE IT: This smart charger reliably works with all 12V/6V batteries and it’s equipped with an onboard computer that can monitor battery activity for safe and efficient charging.

Pros
  • Very compact & portable
  • Smart charger
  • Water-resistant
Cons
  • 0.75A charger
  • Vulnerable at freezing temperatures

The NOCO Genius G750 is a smart charger that performs just about as well as our top pick. It’s compatible with all 12V and 6V batteries, as well as lead acid batteries. This is nice because most motorcycles, cars, trucks, and SUVs use lead acid batteries. And lead acid batteries are also inexpensive to manufacture and are also resilient. This smart charger can automatically assess the condition of your battery and adjust itself accordingly to prevent any problems from happening. It features an advanced battery trickle charger maintainer that keeps your battery healthy without much hassle. It also has spark-proof technology and reverse polarity protectors as added safety measures, giving you less worry about any accidents.

The 0.75 amperage on the G750 is lower than that of the Battery Tender’s 1.25A, but the G750 can still charge without fail or any noticeable difference. Be warned that NOCO has stated in the user manual that the G750 shouldn’t be used in temperatures below 32-degree F/0-degree C. Also, check out the best car stereo.

 #4  DieHard 71219 6/12V Smart Charger – Best Smart Charger


WHY WE LIKE IT: The DieHard 71219 is a budget smart charger for most 6/12V car batteries that uses a 5-stage smart charging process for fast and efficient charging. It has reverse polarity protectors and an automatic cutoff feature to prevent overcharging.

Pros
  • Very easy to use
  • 5-stage smart charger
  • Reverse polarity protection
Cons
  • Small connection clamps

The DieHard 71219 is the best battery charger-maintainer for lead acid, gel, and AGM-type 6/12V batteries. It uses a 5-stage charging process that accurately measures your battery’s power level and charges it accordingly. This makes charging with the 71219 more energy efficient and less prone to overcharging. The smart charger’s safety measures will automatically detect if your battery is fully charged, and it will also light up to let you know if you have the wrong polarities connected.

The 71219 is larger than some of the chargers in our list, making it better suited for home use. The clamps that come with this charger may be a bit too small for some batteries, but it’s nothing that a quick trip to the store can’t fix.

 #5  Schumacher SC1280 6/12V Rapid Charger – Best Quick Charger


WHY WE LIKE IT: The Schumacher SC1280 can automatically detect a battery’s voltage and adjust its charge rate for charging and maintaining, and it has the usual reverse polarity protection that’s standard in car chargers.

Pros
  • Fast, 15A charge rate
  • Automatic voltage detection
  • Self-adjusting
Cons
  • Processor unit is a bit faulty

The Schumacher SC1280 is a rapid, 15A charger for 6/12V batteries. It can conveniently detect what battery it’s connected to and automatically adjusts its settings to match said battery, which can save you a bit of time. It has the standard reverse polarity protectors found in the other chargers in this list, but there doesn’t seem to be any mention of other safety measures.

The 15A current can significantly cut down on charging times, and the charger can maintain your battery’s charge level with a constant 3A current. However, the charger’s processor unit is somewhat faulty—it can recognize 12V batteries with very low charge levels as 6V ones. The best radar detector is also a great accessory.

 #6  GOOLOO GP37-Plus Car Jump Starter – Best Quality

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WHY WE LIKE IT: The GOOLOO GP37-Plus Car Jump Starter can unleash up to 800A that can revive a dead car battery in seconds, and its smart safety features make sure it’s extra safe. It also has a USB charging port for small devices and an LED flashlight, which is handy in a pinch.

Pros
  • 800A current output
  • USB charging ports
  • Advanced safety features
Cons
  • Not ideal for large vehicles

The GP37-Plus jump starter can be a real lifesaver if your car battery’s charge falls dangerously low. This jump starter can output up to 800A of power from its 18000mAh power bank to get your battery up and running in no time. It has a number of essential safety features that can prevent its high current from harming you or your battery.

The jump starter also has convenient USB charging ports for phones or other devices as well as an LED flashlight. It can work with up to 7L gas or 5.5L diesel engines, but it seems to have issues with jump-starting large vehicles like trucks. Speaking of vehicles, read about the best cars.

 #7  TACKLIFE T8 800A Jump Starter – Best for Emergencies

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WHY WE LIKE IT: The TACKLIFE T8 is a jump starter that’s perfect for when you find yourself stuck with a weak battery in the middle of a dark road. Its powerful 800A output can charge your car battery quickly, and it also comes with bright, multi-purpose LED lights to help with visibility.

Pros
  • Powerful 800A current
  • Great utility
  • 18000mAh power bank
Cons
  • Slightly confusing to use

The TACKLIFE T8 is a very handy jump starter that can output an 800A current with no problems whatsoever. Its 18000mAh power bank makes sure it will always have enough juice so long as it’s fully charged, and it can double as a charger for USB-powered devices like phones. The T8 has strong LED lights that are perfect for emergencies. It has a bright emergency flashlight, a strobe light, an SOS signal, and even a compass to help with navigation.

The T8 has all the essential safety features of a jump starter including a smart indicator and durable jumper cables. It’s also very easy to store and carry. What sets this apart from the GOOLOO GP37-Plus jump starter in our list is it can be manually turned off to slow down its passive charge loss, but it needs to be turned on before it can receive incoming currents.

How We Decided

All of our picks for the best car battery charger were chosen based on their overall charging performance, as well as their safety and quality of life features. The standard amperage output of car battery chargers is about 2A, while jump starters commonly peak at 800A, so we picked the ones that were close to those numbers (with the exception of the Schumacher S1280 Rapid Charger).

We prioritized items that are equipped with standard reverse polarity safety measures to prevent any user-made errors. We also gave bonus points to products that came with extra features such as auto-switching or auto-cutoffs to prevent overcharging. All of these chargers are compatible with the most commonly used battery types in the country for the sake of convenience.

Buying Guide

The Most Important Features to Consider

  1. Amperage
    The ampere (A) output of a charger determines how fast it can charge a battery; the higher the number, the faster the charge rate. It’s important to note that higher amperage rates may damage batteries or worse, start fires.
  2. Safety Features
    Batteries are prone to damage because of the complex mix of chemicals inside them, which is why a charger should always have some form of safety measure. This can prevent a battery from sustaining irreparable damage or from causing harm to you or anyone else. Speaking of safety, the best breathalyzer is another great accessory. The best car alarm is another great addition.
  3. USB or Smart Device Charging
    A power bank-style car charger typically offers USB charging ports for you to charge them with. These ports can also be used to power up mobile devices like laptops and smartphones to keep them topped off in case of an emergency.
  4. Trickle Chargers
    Car battery chargers usually ‘allow’ the battery to deteriorate when left without being used for some time, which is why you should consider purchasing battery chargers that a trickle charge feature. Battery chargers with a trickle charger feature are designed to recharge a car battery that has been left idle on a car for a long time. The trickle charger car battery chargers charge the battery slowly, maintaining its health, so that it does not deplete over time, which is an issue that usually happens to batteries in such a situation, or with battery chargers that do not have trickle chargers. Look for chargers with these offers.

Best Car Battery Charger Questions (FAQ)

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