 Finally an up to current technology battery charger Plus! | | Review Date: December 14, 2003 | | Reviewer: Eric D, South East, MI | This charger makes use of an inverter type power source which is more efficient then old transformer type chargers and much lighter too. This compact unit not only does an excellent job of charging but also includes a means to evaluate the battery condition. The digital display shows charge amperage along with a number of codes that can tell you if the battery has internal short, open cell or sulfated plates and more. If the battery shows sulfated plates this unit will run a 24 hour battery conditioning cycle to remove it.
1. You are getting with this unit a battery charger that will handle the charge time for you and shuts off when done automatically.
2. Checks for proper alternator output voltage.
3. Checks overall battery condition.
4. Will recondition sulfated batteries.
Clips and cables stow neatly in a compartment built into the charger. Both battery clip leads and 110V power lead are six feet long. 5 year warranty. I am very pleased with this unit.
This is an update as of Aug 15, 2006.
My unit is still working great, and my clamps are holding up just fine. Some of the negative post about breaking clamps, I wonder if they changed from the unit I have? |
Outstanding Battery Charger | | Review Date: March 12, 2005 | | Reviewer: M. D. Shaw, Melbourne, FL United States | I received my Vector VEC1093 this week. And tested it in the garage with my 12 year old son today. I have a car and a motorcycle that have 12 volt batteries. My car battery was just replaced and I want to get more life from this new battery (Sears Diehard Gold). My motorcycle sits usually except for weekends and this is very hard on the battery, but this one needs a low ampere charge. The VEC1093 surprised us with it's ease of use and performance as advertised. We put the motorcycle on two amps charge and the three stage process with beeps at each stage started quick and ramped down within a minute to what read 0.00 amps, then at a very low charge rate completed the charging. Green light signaled complete charge and FUL appeared at the digital readout, which read 0.00 two minutes before. Essentially the same result starting at 10 amperes for my car. It will also re-condition batteries ( my next test on my motorcycle). This replaces a Sears 2/10 charger that I have had for 15 years, but never seemed to help my batteries. And could not start a car. This one has starting power at 100 amps and extremely fast three stage charging up to 40 amps. Awesome clean DC charging and state of the art diagnostic features with re-conditioning. I searched and this is the BEST charger I could find. And it did work perfectly.
Now, my son is confident he could use it on both our car and our motorcycle. Better product than I expected.
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A great product | | Review Date: February 20, 2004 | | Reviewer: Car guy in so cal., vista, ca United States | | I own an auto repair shop. My technition put his lab scope on this battery charger and said its output is the purest form of DC power he has ever seen, evan better than a cars alternator. Best battery charger I have ever owned, and I have owned a lot of them. I just ordered another one for home. |
Great Charger | | Review Date: December 6, 2006 | | Reviewer: Jim, Virginia | I'm an electrical engineer working in power electronics and also an old car buff. I got this about 2 weeks ago after my old charger was damaged by water. At 40 amps it charges faster than many roll-around chargers. I haven't used the 1 minute start feature yet. So far I'm really pleased. I read a couple of reviews complaining of the clamps breaking and I can only say that they seem very heavy duty and work great. Some people probably think it's made cheaply since it is so very light. Older battery chargers had heavy iron core transformers and sheet metal cases so the contrast to this plastic case and aluminum heat sink is very dramatic. Small, light and automatic 40 amp charging.. Hard to complain about that. LED display is hard to see in direct sunlight. Cord and Cable store in the rear compartment so no tangled cords. I got it directly from Northern Tool online for the same price as amazon. I like being able to phone if there's a problem with an order. I like amazon but you CANNOT phone them and talk to a human. You can read the specs at vectors web site called battery-care. Overall...a great charger.
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Excellent performance | | Review Date: June 7, 2007 | | Reviewer: Jean Robert Jr Gay, Haiti | I was first using a charger (for an power inverter) that couldn't charge my batteries. I have 2 bank batteries (4 each), a 3 years old one, and a new one. The ancient one gave me performance that I never thought it could have given me : they are 3 years old !! and they keep working ! I haven't tested the new one performance yet !
It's a smart charger. It gave your batteries the good charge at the needed rate ! and it automatically stops when the batteries are full.
The only problem is that I thought I could charge my batteries at 100 Amp rate ! but I was wrong : this is an engine start system... |
Smart Worker | | Review Date: August 24, 2007 | | Reviewer: Zak Rudy, California | This battery charger lives up to it's name; it's smart. And if you use it correctly it's very rewarding. I charge an 80A deep cycle outboard battery with it on the 40A setting and it's usually done in an hour.
It's desulfating cycle is highly effective, it can literally bring a car battery back from the dead and save you the cost of a new one. There's only a few things necessary to make this charger work well: make sure the battery is on a level surface, and heed the somewhat non-traditional grounding methods such as using a 6ft extension cable from the neg. terminal if the battery is unmounted and plugging the neg. to the chassis if it is mounted in the car. You also want to follow the error messages as it will tell you what your battery needs, to be restored or the connection adjusted.
One more thing, watch for Amazon to put this one on special; when I bought it less than a year ago on a promotion it was a real deal at 90+. Also the model I have looks different than this one (mine has no yellow colors). But it has the same model# and as far as I can tell is the same charger. |
vector product is well made | | Review Date: August 2, 2005 | | Reviewer: F. Branham, mexico mo | | it has batt. check on it and works,the clamps are super duty, it is automatic on all amps setting does not over charge, it will recondtion your batt. 100 amp boost works only on 40 amp then hold on 100 amp buttom the instructions are not to clear, it is built tuff well worth the money |
A great charger for the home auto mechanic. | | Review Date: December 10, 2006 | | Reviewer: Hugh, United States | I tried it through all of the features and it is what they advertise. I am very satisfied.
I do not think it would hold up under the heavy use of a commercial auto business, but if you want a super hi tech, light weight, 40 amp charger that will do an excellent job for the home auto mechanic, this ones for you.
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not what is described, but still a great product | | Review Date: September 23, 2003 | | Reviewer: Simon Barber, San Francisco, CA United States | | this charger does NOT charge at 100Amps - the max charge rate is 40 Amps - the 100 Amps is an engine start mode only (5 seconds max). Having understood that this is a great unit - does a very good job of charging fast. |
My VEC1093 has worked great since April 2004 | | Review Date: June 1, 2008 | | Reviewer: Eric Lajuene, Schenectady, New York United States | | I bought this on April 12, 2004. I've used it a lot for my RV battery bank recharging. I don't know how others are using their chargers but I cannot figure out how they are breaking the clamps. They are heavy plastic and seem tough enough to me. They have been for over 4 years of regular use. I'll definitely get another one if needed but at this rate I don't think I'll need to replace it for quite a while. I do keep it in the original box between uses and I don't throw it around or let it bang around in the back of my truck. Seems like it'll last if you don't beat it up. It does have a processor in it and I don't throw my laptop around either. 8-) |
Battery conditioning restored my dead battery - Paid for its self. | | Review Date: June 2, 2008 | | Reviewer: LithKnight, Stamford, CT USA | I bought this device when I accidentally killed the battery on my SUV. I left the dome light on (for days) and it eventually killed the battery. When I tried to recharge the battery it just didn;t want to take a decent charge. I did some research (I am an engineer by trade) and found out about battery sulphate formation.
This charger has a battery conditioning mode which is basically a desulphate cycle and it works. I charged the battery, ran the conditioning cycle a few times on the battery (it takes up to 24 hours per cycle) and it saved the battery. That was over a year ago at this point.
There are many ways a battery can die and sulphate formation is only one. So I am not saying this will fix ANY battery. However, all lead acid battery sulphate to some degree so now the battery conditioning cycle is something I do once a year on all my batteries.
This charger is also a nice charger. It does 2/10/20/40 amp charging and 100 amp start boosting. The cables all store tidy in the back and the handle is, well, handy.
This charger was well worth the extra over a base charger in by opinion.
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Vector Battery charger 1093D | | Review Date: September 25, 2009 | | Reviewer: Jerry V. Mcdaniel, California, USA | The product arrived on time and was as advertised. However, when I maiied the warranty card, it came back "Address Unknown".
The address on the envelope was correct. |
1093D charger | | Review Date: October 25, 2009 | | Reviewer: M. B., Los Angeles, CA United States | I've had mine for 3 years now. Love it. I don't like to drag it out, cause it means I have a problem. But as long as I have a low battery, this is the cure. I have several deep cycle batteries, 2 cars and an RV that get charged with it. Easy to set up, and use. Display and controls work and are useful.
WILL not charge a completely dead battery. There needs to be about 9v in the battery, before the charger wakes up, otherwise it shuts off the output to keep you from arc-welding the clamps together.
Mike |
Get modern technology | | Review Date: January 13, 2008 | | Reviewer: B. Templeton, California | Compared to earlier generation chargers that used transformers, there is no comparison. Switching power supplies are vastly lighter, cheaper and more powerful. They are what you want.
The main downside of this charger is slightly cheap parts, the noise of the fan, and sometimes being "too smart" for its own good. For example a totally discharged battery will not charge on it, you have to give it a boost with an old charger so that it generates enough voltage for the Vector to accept that it's there. |
Awesome charger - terrible clamps | | Review Date: February 17, 2009 | | Reviewer: Ron O, Eugene, Oregon | | If you buy this charger, I suggest immediately investing a coulple of bucks on some decent quality metal clamps to replace the flimsy plastic ones. Other than that one weak spot, the unit is brilliant. With the desulfating function, I have brought several starter batteries back from the brink after months of sitting undercharged. The charger is a little quick to throw a fault code if the battery is very weak, but a few tries at the lowest setting, with a desulfate cycle thrown in between them usually does the trick. Of course, overly discharging a lead acid battery is highly destructive to the battery anyway, but this charger is the closest thing you will find out there to a miracle cure. It is also very well suited to maintaining a perfect charge on banks of RV batteries during winter storage. It comes on and tops off the batteries only when it detects the need, so there is no danger of overcharging and boiling off electrolite. |
Hope my next one lasts longer | | Review Date: August 22, 2009 | | Reviewer: Thomas Gallina, New York USA | | Owned for 2 Months. Bought it, checked it out, it had great technology, very smart. Went to use it again and a big spark came out the bottom when I plugged it in. DEAD, N/G, KaPut. Went to my Black & Decker center and they are sending me a new one. Hope my next one lasts 50x longer. But I am afraid that may be wishful thinking. I have one 35 year old commercial shop charger that is still working and I have two Sears chargers 2/6 amps and 2/10/50 amps that look like they went through the mill, BUT THEY BOTH STILL WORK. I wanted to get rid of my three old units and replace it with one new charger. But now it looks like I will have to hold on to my Vintage Sears 2/10/50. |
So far ok but just waiting for trouble. | | Review Date: October 13, 2009 | | Reviewer: L. Steven Holmes, Deer Park, WA USA | Vector VEC1093 Smart Battery Charger (2/10/20/40/100 Amp)
I have had this unit for about six months. Each time I use it, it does just fine. However, the first time I used it on a low battery the charger would go to a fault-F02. After reading the directions again, all I needed to do was bump the charging rate from 2 volts to 10 volts and the fault went away and the battery charge just fine. I really like the "Recondition Battery" function on this unit. Has saved me money. So why just three stars? The case. It is top heavy! Just a little tap or bump or pull on the cable and over it goes. The fan unit should be mounted on the top. NOT ON THE BOTTOM. When I read how poor the service is with Black and Decker I am scared to use this unit. But what should I expect from a company that send its manufactering over to China and not keep it here in the U.S of A. I believe that if I had it to do all over again, I am not sure if I would buy the VEC1093. Not because of the design of the electronic's, because of the design of the body. |
Vector 1089A 12V Battery Charger | | Review Date: April 16, 2010 | | Reviewer: James A. Wiedl, Cape Coral, Fl | | I purchase the Vector battery charger from Amazon and the invoice said it was sold by DAM Distributors. I sent in my warranty card to Vector Manufacturing and it came back. I found out that Black & Decker purchased the product line. Now the unit is defective and I cannot find out how to get a warranty repair done. Any suggestions. |
Vector Battery Charger | | Review Date: March 15, 2006 | | Reviewer: William W. Boles, Marysville, WA 98270 | | This charger is soooooooo cheaply made. Have only used it once, but fear the plastic construction will break easily. Because of the inferior products used, it is very, very, very overpriced. Found some at another retailer for a much lesser price, but better constructed. Would have sent it back, but needed to use it right away and did not want to incur another postage cost. Also found that there is no explanation regarding the button labeled "alternator". A manual would be helpful. |
After a year of service | | Review Date: November 5, 2005 | | Reviewer: D. Hardy, Milford, NJ United States | Upon receiving this charger I though it would prove to be quality product. Unfortunately not the case.
I have had this charger for a year. All of the labeling has come off the unit. The lableling is barley better than a soup can. The worst thing is that both of the clamps broke at different times.
Called Vector and they said to send the unit back to them. I asked if i could just send the broken clamp back for a new one, the girl on the phone said no. If I changed them myself it would void the warrenty. Bogus !
Pay $15.00 to send the unit back for a broken clamp.
Very poor customer care policies on such an expensive charger.
The charger is still charging but would not spend the additional $$$ it costs for this unit. There are many other 3 stage chargers that would perform equally or better.
I have yet to get the 100 amp quick start to work.
Hope this is helpful
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Poorly Constructed | | Review Date: July 17, 2008 | | Reviewer: E. Jerome Morton, Neu Jersey | | This battery charger is much better than a standard manual charger in so much as it properly charges a battery through stages. It will not charge a battery that is "dead" without faulting. Best to give your battery a boost from a manual charger, then switch over to the Smart charger. The battery clamps are very poorly made and will easily break. Replacement parts are not available through the manufacturer. |
Vector VEC1093 - Plastic Clamps Broke | | Review Date: February 15, 2006 | | Reviewer: R. Hudgens, Corpus Christi, TX | Battery clamp broke in only 4 days. The clamps were plastic and one snapped, probably due to the spring tension of the clamps. Vector suggested I ship it back to them (at my expense)and they would send me a new unit. I suggested they have their Chinese suppliers design a more durable battery clamp.
Otherwise, the VEC1093 charger appears to be as advertised and does a good job. I would buy another if they ever redesigned the battery clamps.
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Not as advertised | | Review Date: December 27, 2005 | | Reviewer: George R. Miller, USA | | I bought this charger based solely on the advertisement...Big mistake....Had it a very short time and both the clamps broke. I called the manufacture and they said to send it back and they would replace the clamps. Shipping cost would be my responsibility of course. They told me they will replace the clamps with the same cheap ones the broke when I had it. As far as I am concerned, customer service on this charger stinks. I would not recommend anyone buy this charger if dependability is a requirement. |
Parts NOT available! | | Review Date: November 14, 2007 | | Reviewer: Judy Heflin, Lee County, Florida | I purchased a model VEC1093 at Sears three years ago and have been very happy with the unit. It performed as advertised until the negative terminal clamp broke a couple of months ago.
I have read other reviews that say that the unit will be repaired if the purchaser pays for shipping. I would like to inform all that that option appears no longer available.
I began by calling Vector at 800.618.5178 they said I could send it to any Black & Decker (Dewalt) service center for repairs. Called the nearest Dewalt service center and they informed me that NO parts are available for my $1 part on my $100+ charger. I spent two days following this vicious circle and finally called Noble Direct. They are the company that currently sells this product on Amazon.
The person I spoke with two days ago said they would attempt to help me. Today I called them back to find that NO parts are available for the Vector charger.
Great product but with NO support it is worthless so I recommend that you avoid this product and all other Black & Decker items!
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Vector 1093 | | Review Date: November 22, 2005 | | Reviewer: dmcfar1, Meadville, Ms. USA | | Bought this unit new instead of reconditioned . Used it appx. 5 times and it broke.(had it for 5 mo.) The shipping is appx 14.00 everytime it is sent back for repair. They sent me a reconditioned one back and it didn't work. These do not appear to be of very good quality chargers. I ordered a schumacher 1275A-PE to replace it. If you get one of these then good luck to you........ |
Not worth the bother | | Review Date: December 27, 2008 | | Reviewer: Wilhelm Watz, Rathdrum, ID | | Being a licensed electrician I was interested in this unit and I purchased the VEC1093D. The advertising does not tell you that this charger will not charge batteries that have less than 4 volts left. In other words you are purchasing a battery charger that will not charge a dead battery! If the battery wasn't dead why would one need a charger? It would not charge a brand new car battery that become fully discharged. I had to jump the car and let the alternator charge the battery. Some smart charger. You can turn it on and it will charge for awhile and walk away thinking it is charging and find a fault code and the battery still dead when you return. Sometimes it will give a different fault code on the same battery each time it is turned on. The labels on the front started curling off within a week. This "smart charger" is a waste of time and money. Get an old fashioned charger with a knob or switch on the front - they work every time. |
Will not work in cold temps. | | Review Date: January 17, 2009 | | Reviewer: Cara Randall, Milan, IN, USA | | On 1/16/09 the temp here in Indiana dropped to 8 below zero. My diesel truck did not start and the 2 batteries were run down trying to get the engine to start. I brought my VEC1093 out from the garage (it was about 45 degrees in the garage) and attemped to charge the batteries. It has always functioned fine in warmer weather, but alas when I needed it the most it malfunctioned. It kept reporting that the battery was fully charged after 5 min. I wish it was. The 100 Amp booster did not work either. I had to get my 17 year old 20 amp Schauer and it charged the batteries enough to start the engine after 1 hour. The Vector functioned fine after it was warmed. What good is a battery charger that doesn't work when cold?? |
Junk Rippoff | | Review Date: March 6, 2010 | | Reviewer: R. Garvison, | | I finally through mine in the garbage today and decided to tell everyone about it. It is Junk, The clamps broke but worse is if your battery is completely dead it will not charge. Why would someone make a charger that would will not charge a dead battery. Junk!!!!Rippoff |
Junk Don't by it!!! | | Review Date: May 9, 2010 | | Reviewer: Catherine Rose, USA | I bought the 2/6/12 amp product at a local but national parts store chain thinking it was going to be a good one.
But it will not charge a battery that is dead and is still good. Sometimes the battery is new but not in use for a few month on one of my collector cars and needs the charge. Also the clamps are crap and break. The spring in the clamp is too strong for the plastic housing and they break in half at the clamping point.
No support from where I bought it either. They don't carry the product anymore... |
Heard great things, but wouldn't shut off on my deep cycles | | Review Date: April 26, 2005 | | Reviewer: G. Smith, Orange County, CA USA | This review is for the 2/10/20 Amp version, but my guess is that the technology is the same.
Everything I read on this charger told me it was the best I could get (reviews, the user manual, the product description, etc.) However, they (I bought two) simply would not consistently shut off when done charging my deep cycle marine batteries.
I have fairly large batteries (one series 27 and two series 29) and am not sure if that has something to do with it. They get stuck at about 3.2 amps and don't shut off; one night I went to bed and one battery was at 3.2 amps and the next morning it was at 5 amps and the battery was hot and boiling over (not so SMART!). The other battery had been fully charged and the charger shut off. I switched chargers and batteries around and could not find one charger or one battery that it consistently happened on, so it can only be the charger's design. Yes, my batteries are fairly new and I maintain the water level religiously.
Beware if you have bigger marine batteries...the first few times you try any of the Vectors make sure you are home and can check on them now and then to make sure the charger shuts off!
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Inadequate Charger | | Review Date: February 25, 2006 | | Reviewer: L. Wyatt, | | I found the charger did not work when I really needed it. My car battery was totally dead after several days with the dome light on (didn't know at the time). When the charger was connected to the battery, the charger would not start charging and would display an error that it was not connected to the battery. The owner's manual confirmed that the battery charger will not work if the battery has less than 4 volts in it. For me, this is unacceptable. There should some sort of override on this. |
Clamp broke.... plastic junk | | Review Date: May 22, 2006 | | Reviewer: Jonathan Benson, USA | | Ground clamp broke... only matter of time before the other one breaks as they are both made out of PLASTIC. I plan on replacing both myself and if/when the charging portion does not work as it should, it is going in the garbage and I will never buy another Vector product again. Customer service is horrible. Save your money -- there are better chargers available for same or less $$$. |
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