Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Any suggestions on the cheapest place to buy two 12V batteries and a charger? I see that AndyMark has them, but they seem kind of expensive..

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Search for the legal model numbers in the rules (R31). I've used Battery Sharks before and they were pretty good. I got Sigma batteries for $32 each plus shipping two years ago.

The 3 bay charger AndyMark carries is great and is the cheapest price you will find. It has the Anderson connector already wired vs. cheaper units available elsewhere.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

I can agree with the AM charger. It has a good form factor and does its job quite well. Oh, and the price can't be beat!

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

AndyMark prices are reasonable for a MK ES17-12. Because of how heavy the batteries are, you will save a lot of money if you can avoid shipping.

We are able to pick up batteries from the local MK warehouse, which is about an hour away. Now that there are many more legal batteries, many teams shouldn't have a problem finding local sources.

One thing to realize when searching for batteries is that if you ask for a specific battery part number, they may give you another battery that is equivalent, but may not be FRC legal. Be sure to double check.

Chargers can be found at any auto parts store.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

We have had success with these chargers. We have purchased them for as low as $28 each.

We have ordered batteries directly from MK in the past and they have not charged us shipping when we told them we were an FRC team.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Thanks for the link to the charger, that's a lot cheaper than all the others I've seen!

Has anyone ordered from batteryuniverse.com? Two batteries shipped from them is $72:

http://www.batteryuniverse.com/seale...d-acid-battery

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

It's not an MK battery

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Oooh, sneaky. Thanks!

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

It should be equivalent, and the manual says to email FIRST for approval if you have an equivalent battery.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Pay attention to this.

The battery brands are always in flux. OP, you haven't already, reference the list provided in the rules R31. If it is not listed there, it has not been ruled legal yet.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

We purchase our chargers from Walmart. They have 6 amp smart chargers at a reasonable price.

Anybody notice the 6 amp limitation for chargers is not in the manual this year. Or perhaps somebody will correct me & tell me where it is.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

AGM batteries tend to lose capacity at high charge rates. For our radio group the rule of thumb is do not charge at higher then 1/3 the rated amp hours of the battery. A 6 amp charger is close enough to 5.67 amps to work fine.


Most important if you purchase batteries get fresh ones. You can have the date codes checked and avoid old ones.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Just put in my order with MK.

We bought, 6 x ES17-12s for $37.50 each. That's with shipping.

Customer Service#: 800-372-9253
Lisa is who I have spoke with each time, she is pretty great.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Wal Mart also carries the Universal Battery model in the list of approved batteries in their online store. With free shipping to your local store, that might save some shipping if you don't have a battery outlet nearby.

Also, note that the list of approved batteries was expanded to nine models/brands in a recent update.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

We have been using the Schumacher SSC-1000a. It is a good charger with 2/6/10amp intelligent charge modes.. It is available at Amazon for $40 with free shipping, free two day if you are a Prime member. We just change the 40amp clamps to the Anderson connector and you have a good safe charging system. You can get three cheaper than the AndyMark triple charger and have a higher charge mode available. Only drawback is that you have a bigger footprint and power outlet needs. Though personally I would rather have three separate units. If you have an issue with a triple charger you have no charger...

Here is a link for you..

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SSC...cher+ssc-1000a

Good luck this season!
Aloha

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Something of a puzzle to get the small gauge wire connected to the batteries without using the surface-disturbing clips that come with the charger. post or message me if you want instructions on how to hitch the big anderson connectors to the small charging cable. I put four of those chargers onto a cart a while ago.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Don't hold out. Lots of people read this and would like to know how you do it.

The best way we've found is to buy some SB-50 shells with the proper sized contacts. APP makes some that easily solder to a 10-12-14 gauge wire.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

I put in a temporary hack to adapt the cables coming up on two years ago. It's working OK so I have little incentive to correct it. Look at original posting for short description and a couple of detail pics. More pics attached along with a shot of the mostly finished cart. This method has the advantage of allowing the battery side of the cables to be easily reused. There is electrical tape now covering the terminal adapter and ziptie. I really should find those Anderson replacement connectors and staple them to the cart in case I get enough energy to install them.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

That's how we do it too, though I always run out of connectors because we fix other teams chargers at events. I haven't bought any this year but I would have liked to have them with me when I was working at Alamo this weekend.

This is where I normally get mine.

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

Bill_B I actually like your way of doing it as well, because you are mounting the terminal block in your charging stand. I've seen so many teams with battery pigtails spliced onto the charger cord and taped up. It works, but it looks so ghetto!

Re: Best place to buy batteries and a charger?
 

We have had great luck with the andymark 3 battery charger. But their one charger we had that I warn against buying I dont remember what it is called but I will check on it Tomorrow.:yikes: