Schumacher SS-210A Microprocessor Controlled Automatic Charger

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.

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.

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I bought this to replace a dead Schumacher charger I was using on my sailboat, and returned it because of the loud humming noise it makes. This unit also very heavy, clunky, and produces much heat. I purchased instead a Guest smart charger which has worked flawlessly for over two years now.

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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.

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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!!

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