Comments on: Black & Decker VEC1086BBD Smart Battery 6/4/2 Amp Battery Charger

By: Peter Trzop

Peter Trzop — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:06:35 +0000

This charger only works on very light jobs. People having success with this easy to use product tend to have batteries not needing much help to recharge their batteries. The problem comes if a battery charge is too low. This product is a great example of being too safe to actually work effectively. Go for an old school charger that will work no matter what. Use this one for light jobs only, since that is all it will work on anyways.
Rating: 2 / 5

By: Marine

Marine — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:01:32 +0000

I bought a new battery for my lawn mower. Also bought this charger to replace a 20 year old one. Followed the instructions for charging a small lawn mower battery at the low rate setting for over 24 hours. The charger indicated that the battery was charged after that period and apparently had stopped its action. However, the battery failed to have sufficient charge level to start the mower. I had to resort to a booster to start the mower. I would use the mid level charging rate in the future.
Rating: 2 / 5

By: George B. Hasko

George B. Hasko — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:24:46 +0000

I saw the price and decided to go with the Black and Decker instead of a Battery Tender and what a mistake. One problem is that it will not charge a completely dead battery. I had to take my lawn tractor battery out and bring it over and add some juice from my car battery before the charger would charge it. When you turn it on it sounds like it is working by the fan noise but you need to make an amperage selection manually and I am not always sure which one to select without getting the manual out. I recently used it to charge my dead car battery and it keeps giving me fault warning and not sure why. The Battery Tender is truly the best charger you can get for your vehicle because it works everytime I have used it and and is truly “plug and Play”.
Rating: 2 / 5

By: Frederick J. Eichinger

Frederick J. Eichinger — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:10:09 +0000

I have a car sitting in the driveway with a nearly dead battery. I read the directions, hook it up, it runs for 2 minutes and says "Full".
Car still won't turn over (but lights etc. work) but I can see the power draining each time I try to start it.

I reset the charger, try again, 2 minutes, "Full"...I do this 3 or 4 more times changing the charge rate, with same results.

This product does nothing!! What a waste of money! Rating: 1 / 5

By: D. Cheek

D. Cheek — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:23:35 +0000

I purchased this product thinking it would save me from being stranded on a deserted road with a dead car battery. Not so. Not till I purchased it, unpacked it, and thoroughly scrutinized the manual that I discovered that the charger needed to be plugged in to an outlet to work; in other words, it’s only useful if you’re within extension-cord distance from your home. A lot of the reviews on this site for this product are from people using it to charge small recreational vehicles, mowers, etc. If you want to use this product for your car, forget it. It also requires a very specific type of extension cord; in the “preparing to charge” portion of the instructions, users are instructed to “clean the battery terminals” and then “add distilled water to cells until battery acid reaches level specified by battery manufacturer.” The manual also suggests removing the battery from the vehicle in order to charge it, in some instances. I didn’t intend to become a car mechanic by purchasing and utilizing this charger. Find a portable one; this one’s not worth the trouble.
Rating: 2 / 5