Schumacher PS-120A Mity-Mite Jump Starter Charger Review

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(More customer reviews)Want to feel like a superhero? Keep one of these devices in your trunk. The next time you see someone stranded at the trailhead or in the mall parking lot with a dead battery, waiting for dad or hubby or AAA, you'll make their day. Pop the hood, connect the cables, crank the key, unhook the cables, and they're on their way. The whole thing takes less than a minute. If you're the dad or hubby who's always running out to the rescue, this handy piece of equipment will make your job a lot easier. And if you're the one who's found himself stranded, here's a simple, self-sufficient solution to keep it from ever happening again.
The local auto parts places often advertise similar no-name units for lower prices. They're usually bright yellow. I've owned a couple, and have had mixed results. The power switch broke on one the first time I used it, and the battery wouldn't hold a charge either. What's more frustrating than pulling out a portable jump-starter to rescue someone with a dead battery and discovering that the jump-starter also has a dead battery? The other "no-name" model I bought is still working well, but a 50% success rate isn't anything to brag about. You can look at the reviews for similar units sold here on the site and see what I mean.
I grabbed this model because Schumacher is a well-established brand much less likely to sell no-name poorly-made junk. It seems well-built, is very compact, and hasn't given me any problems yet.
I'm surprised more small businesses don't own these. If I owned a bar, restaurant, or retail store, I'd keep one of these charged and ready behind the counter -- think of the goodwill they could generate.
One disadvantage to this unit: some models include additional features like a flashlight (which makes it easier to see under the hood in the dark), an air compressor, or a cigarette lighter outlet, which lets you use the device as a portable power supply. I've even seen one model with an integrated voltage inverter, which lets you power standard 120 volt household products. However, these all add size, weight, cost, and complexity to the product. If you're looking for a compact jump-starter that does its job well, this one's a good choice.

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The size of the Schumacher PS-120A Mity-Mite power source unit has nothing to do with its capabilities. With its 12 ampere hour battery, this unit packs some power, making sure you'll never be stranded by a dead battery again. Forget about flagging down a stranger for help or fumbling with unruly jumper cables, the PS-120A is a rugged jumpstarter that will charge your battery and get you back on the road. Compact, lightweight, and easily transportable, it gives you portable power anywhere. Plus, it still retains most of the same features as its larger brothers.
Compact and Portable A little bigger than a lunchbox, the Mity-Mite consists of a compact 12-volt battery with attached jumper cables encased in a rugged portable plastic shell. It fits in your trunk, or in the back of your cab, and it even takes up little space in the garage.
Easy to Use To revive a car with a dead battery, simply connect the Mity-Mite's two cables to the battery terminals of the stranded car and turn the key. After providing a jump (or every few months, if stored), the unit should be recharged by plugging it into a wall outlet with the included cord.
Features The display is comprised of easy-to-read battery status LEDs, which tells you when internal battery is at full power, 75 percent charged, or at 50 percent or less. A simple push of the button instantly turns on the display. The sure-grip, copper jaw, 200 amp, plastic clamps are designed for connecting to top and side post batteries. The #8 gauge, 18-inch cable stays flexible in the coldest temperatures. The LED indicator indicate whether the unit is in charging or charged mode to help easily monitor the status of the internal battery. Storage mounts on the back of unit keep the clamps in place for safety when not in use.
Warranty Every Schumacher power source comes with a one-year limited warranty (90 days on battery).

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Battery Tender 800 Waterproof 12V Battery Charger Review

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(More customer reviews)Deltran Battery Tender 12-Volt 800 milliamp Waterproof Battery Charger
The Battery Tender Waterproof Tender operates in essentially 3 stages. It first initiates an absorption charge that attempts to charge your battery to 14.5 VDC at up to 0.8A (or 800mA). This bit of information was not readily advertised, so I was concerned when I heard my battery making gurgling noises while the LED was "amber" for the past 8 hours. This battery was only 2 years old with less than 5000 miles and had been maintained since day 1, so I was sure it wasn't a problem with the battery. It turns out that it was nothing to be concerned about since this charger was designed to be used for long-term storage of batteries.
My previous charger, a Black & Decker / Vector 2A "smart" automatic maintainer tried to keep my battery voltage at 14.75 VDC at 2A for over 24 hours. Needless to say, I was concerned when I saw this happening with a brand new Battery Tender. I dug around on their website and discovered a PDF that indicated the Tender would try to reach 14.5 VDC for the absorption phase, at which point it would switch to a trickling charge and finally the maintenance charge. I logged all of the readings and confirmed that once the battery reached 14.4-14.5 VDC, it would start to trickle down finally remaining at about 13.12-13.22 VDC @ 20-100 mA. A modern car's parasitic draw is about 10-50 mA, so the maintenance charge is to compensate for the parasitic draw and for self-discharging of the battery. I discovered the Tender does a much better job at a maintenance charge because I have yet to see the Tender go into the Amber-LED mode, whereas my Vector/B&D occasionally switches back and forth even on a fully charged battery. I logged some data from the Vector/B&D and discovered that once the LED is green, it provides NO current to the battery. In essence, the Vector/B&D just shuts off once it reaches 14.5 VDC - which is not as useful as providing an actual maintenance charge. The Battery Tender wins. Quite a few people have commented that their Sears "smart/automatic" maintainer and other brands constantly switch between the Green and Amber modes. I suspect those chargers are doing the same thing as the Vector/B&D. They just shut off when the battery is "charged", which is not very good for the battery. It needs to hold a maintenance charge to prevent sulfation.
The Tender Waterproof is fully encapsulated with a thermally conductive potting material. This makes the unit quite heavy for such a small device. It uses a quick-disconnect 2-terminal fitting that is commonly used for battery chargers/maintainers. It comes with ring terminals or large battery clamps all fused with a 7.5A ATC fuse. I made my own wiring harness with smaller alligator clips since I don't have room under the hood for large clamps, and I do not want to permanently install a set of ring terminals that can short out or cause other problems in the long-run.
Pros: Battery Tender has an excellent reputation for making reliable chargers. The Waterproof unit is quite durable and is insulated from shock, water, corrosion, extreme temperatures and other environmental variables.
Cons: At 800mA max current capacity, this charger will work rather slowly for 50Ah or larger capacity batteries, so expect 10-12 hours upon hooking it up to a battery before the LED turns green. The benefit of this is that it prevents boiling the battery or generating a lot of heat due to excessive current.
Overall: If you're using the charger in an environment subject to cold or hot temperature swings with plenty of moisture, such as in a detached garage for your motorcycle, boat, stored vehicle, or even a daily driver, I highly recommend the Waterproof unit over the Tender Jr or Tender Plus.
UPDATE:
I decided to purchase an additional Battery Tender Waterproof because I needed another charger for my daily driver and because I experienced no problems with the first unit.

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The Battery Tender Waterproof 800 12-volt/.80-amp Battery Charger is the ultraportable solution to the challenge of keeping vehicle batteries optimally powered when not in use, and in situations where water may be present. It is able to charge any lead-acid battery, including standard and sealed AGM and GEL Cell battery types, and is also designed to be easy to use in small spaces, to utilize a 3-step charging program and safely function in a fully automatic mode. Taken together this makes the Waterproof 800 an excellent means of ensuring that the batteries for your ATV's, watercraft, motorcycles and boats are fully and safely charged and ready to go when you are.

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