Frequently asked questions

What makes your battery charger better?
Save A Battery is better because its a small, powerful and stronger than most small transportable charging units. Secondly, it maintains and rejuvenates a battery, the longer it's connected, the better the battey gets, its that simple. It has a Load Tester built-in that can be used to test the battery and cycle a weak battery back to health. Thirdly, it has a built-in diagnostic voltmeter so that tests on all 12 volt electrical components can be performed.

Why are your cables different?
Since there are so many different ways a battery charger can be used, we designed versatility into our units. Our Modular Cables System allows for cables with multiple functions to be used through the same port. The gold contacts improve reliability and work better in harsh environments. We offer seven different types of battery connections. Alligator Clip-on, Cigarette Lighter, Battery 5 amp LUG, Extension DC and AC and Voltproble. The bright yellow cable color is to aid in seeing the cable on the ground to avoid accidental unplugs. Our unique cable end mounting loops make it easy to tie down the cables perfectly in place, with no dangling.

How do you mount your chargers?
They can be mounted on the wall, placed on the ground or mounted in the vehicle and cables. The unique mounting bracket is easy to install and allows the charger to be removed and used remotely.

How does the Maintainer work?
Our microprocessor controlled circuitry is smart, it knows what to do and adjusts the charger to do the right thing. When the charger is plugged in it immediately goes out and looks at the battery. If it finds a problem the charger will let you know. It wont turn on, it wont short circuit, it wont hurt the battery. It will simply light up the fault light on the front of the charger. When it sees a potentially good battery it will then go into charge mode and as the battery is charged, it switches modes until it finally goes into maintenance mode. Here it will stay, checking, monitoring, rejuvenating and waiting until it is disconnected. The longer the charger is on, the longer the battery will live. Its that simple.

Can I really save my battery?
If the battery has not been left in a discharged state for long periods of time, the answer is yes. This is what makes us different from the competetion... after the battery is connected to a charger the sulfinated plates can actually confuse a regular charger into believing the battery is charged when it really is not. When you try and use the battery it simply doesn't have the strength to work properly. Our approach to bringing a battery back to life is by using our unique Load Test circuit and actually cycling the battery between the fully charged state and a completely safe but discharged state. The process is simple, charge the battery, then turn on the load test and low voltage alarm switches. The load tester will slowly drain the voltage down until the alarm sounds and you simply flip the load switch off and it will charge the battery back up to full. Repeating this process is called "Deep Cycling" and it will get your battery back to health. Most good batteries of average size will last days before the alarm sounds, but a weak battery will sound in minutes or hours. The cycling between the two states of charged and safe discharged with the pulse circuitry built into our charger
will rejuvenate most batteries after 5 or 6 cycles.

Can I use the charger without plugging it into the wall?
An impressive and unique feature of the All-In-One and Tester models is the ability to monitor any battery for low voltage without actually having to plug it in to the AC outlet. By simply connecting the unit to a battery, the low voltage alarm that is built-in will sound an alarm when the battery needs to be recharged. Connecting these units will never result in damage to the battery because the alarm will notify you of the low voltage condition well in advance of possible disaster occuring.

How is a battery constructed and what makes it work?
Lead Acid Batteries have been around for a long time, the technology is old but still very effective and affordable. Batteries will store energy and make it available to you when needed. This energy however, has to be replenished and maintained or it will dissipate and your car will not start as well as shortening your batteries life by a considerable amount. New cars increase the toll on batteries, with the stereos, alarms, electronic gadgets, etc. Understanding what's inside will make things a little clearer as to how to help them live a long time.

What is inside of a battery and what types of batteries are there?
If you were to open up a Lead Acid battery you would find a large amount of lead plates (and other materials). These plates are divided in cells, for a 12 volt battery you will find 6 cells. Each cell produces approximately 2 volts and are connected together in series, so 2 x 6 = 12. These plates and cells are surrounded by a bath of sulfuric acid and water. This solution is called the electrolyte and on some batteries you can actually remove the cover and see the liquid. Newer maintenance free batteries do not allow inspection of the liquid. This electrolyte causes a chemical reaction which produces electrons and that is what makes the battery work. (Ok... this is a very simplified answer but actual details would be a book all to itself). There are a variety of Lead Acid designs that differ a little, they include Wet Cell, Gel Cell, and Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM). All of these technologies are similar but offer additional features and benefits. The most common is the generic Lead Acid which is offered in two forms. The first is known as a Cranking Battery and the second is a Deep Cycle Battery. Basically the Cranking Battery is used in most vehicles and is designed to provide a large amount of energy for starting and are usually designed with more plates. Deep Cycle batteries do not provide this high energy level but rather they are designed for long term energy needs and can live with being deeply discharged and recharged many times. This type of battery is found in RV's, Boats, Golf Carts, etc. where a smaller extended load is being used.

A fully charged battery that is checked with our tester should read 12.6 to 12.9 volts. It should also be noted that there is very little difference in voltage between a fully charged battery and a dead battery which is about 11 volts. It is also important to note that a battery that goes below 12.4 volts is already starting the sulfation process and its performance and longevity will begin to deteriorate. That's why its so important to keep a charger connected when not in use... to keep this from happening.

What are the battery ratings and energy scales?
Batteries are rated by the amount of energy they can hold and their ability to produce current at a determined rate. The four ratings are AH, RC, CA, and CCA.

• AH... stands for Amp Hour and represents how many amps can be removed from the battery in how many hours. In other words a 20 AH battery on a motorcycle will provide 1 amp of power for 20 hours. The larger the AH the larger and higher the capacity of the battery.
• RC... stands for Reserve Capacity and isn't as commonly used as AH. It is the amount of minutes a battery will last with a 25 amp load and not go below 10.5 volts (fully discharged).
• CA... stands for Cranking Amps, this is rated measured at 32º F. It is the number of amps that can be delivered for 30 seconds while the battery stays above 7 volts. It's an indication of what a battery can put out quickly when trying to start a vehicle.
• CCA... stands for Cold Cranking Amps, and is similar to CA but at a lower temperature. The rating is done a 0º F, for 30 seconds and again until the battery gets to 7 volts.

What factors negatively effect battery life?
These are listed below. Preventing these from happening will ensure additional longevity to your battery.

• Don't leave a battery uncharged for extended periods of time.
• Never add tap water to a battery use distilled water only.
• Try and keep stored batteries below 110º F.
• Don't overcharge or undercharge a battery.
• Never short the battery lead together... very dangerous, possible explosion.
• Keep the battery terminals clean and tight so that current flows properly.
• When working with batteries remove jewelry, have good ventilation, remember that sulfuric acid is very dangerous, keep off skin and away from eyes.