Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I thought there would be more to this charger when I ordered it - as in more functionality than a compact charger. However, this charger offers nothing more than what most of the more powerful compact chargers offer. All of the components in the cabinet of the SE-1555A could actually fit in a shoe box - the cabinet is mostly empty space. The 150 Amp start assist is slightly more than what is offered in most compact chargers - but I have not been able to get the charger to deliver the assist as of yet. I am a military pilot by trade and it is common practice to use ground service equipment to power an engine start. This is done to greatly extend battery and starter motor life (for electrically started power plants) . I have used a Black and Decker compact charger with a 100 Amp boost for the past few years (on mornings I'm not in a rush), and it was useful in extending the life of my Die Hard battery. The B&D charger still works - but I figured the start assist was not designed for every day use and therefore I bought the SE-1555A to take over the starting duties - under the assumption the SE-1555A was more of a heavy duty charger capable of handling the daily abuse. However, this SE-1555A will not deliver the 150A (up to 150 Amp) starting boost unless it senses the battery is low - and therefore it provides no starting utility if the battery is fully charged. The overall construction of this starter is rather cheap as well. The fit and finish is poor - what you might expect if it was built from scratch in a high school shop class (no offense to high school shop classes). The casing is cheap sheet metal with large seams, gaps, and the power transformer on the bottom of the unit was heavy enough to bend and distort the case during shipment. It is another example of a cheap product made under the name plate of a once reputable company. This unit was made in Mexico. The product description states this charger has a battery and alternator tester. This is misleading as there is no separate diagnostic function to actually "test" a battery or alternator. The "test" procedures utilize nothing more than the voltage readout to determine if the battery/alternator are within a "normal" voltage range... they offer a very basic chart in the operating manual to help you 'determine' if the battery/alternator is "good". This is essentially useless beyond the most basic and simple "no kidding" the battery/alternator is well outside of a normal voltage range. Additionally, the voltage readout only reads actual voltage when the charger is not charging the battery. When the charger is actively charging - the voltage readout displays "12" volts, and not what is actually being put out by the charger (which can go up to and over 16 volts according to Schumacher tech service - I've seen as high as 15.83V using my multimeter). A true battery and alternator diagnostic requires a load test - which goes well beyond a simple voltage test. A bad battery and/or alternator can output the correct voltage, but will not support a normal load. The only way to truly determine if either are bad is to have a diagnostic load test accomplished. I have a group 51 battery sitting on my work bench right now that puts out 12.8 volts after sitting for a week - but it will not start my easy to start Honda Civic VX (it will not hold a load). The SE-1555A was connected and apparently determined the battery only required a short charge cycle. After it showed the battery at 100%, the battery showed a voltage of 13.4V (well within the "good" range listed in the SE-1555A manual) - but the battery would barely turn over my Civic two or three times and then would quit. I then hooked up the SE-1555A again and let it charge until it showed 100% (again)... it yielded the same results. I took the battery down to Auto Zone and they load tested it, and their true diagnostic test showed it was actually a bad battery. Long story short - the battery/alternator "test" procedure is basically bunk on this charger. Another issue with respect to the product description: The Schumacher customer service representative I spoke with stated it is not designed to charge AGM or gel batteries. This contradicts the product description on Amazon - to which I brought to the attention of the Schumacher customer representative. She then informed me that I was mistaken and that the Amazon product description did not state it would charge AGM and Gel batteries... she repeated this to me as I was reading the product description directly to her from the Amazon page. Overall, I am disappointed in this product. The $100 would have been better spent on a quality compact charger. This charger was returned. Thankfully one of the benefits of using Amazon is the return option. A benefit well used in this case.