What does "Smart Charger" mean?

In short..?

It means that particular charging manufacturer's marketing department has been working overtime to come up with a way to make you think their technology is more sophisticated than "the other guys'" technology.

There are many terms used today to describe one brands technological superiority over another.

As a consumer, it's easy to get glamored by advertised battery and charger "technology" but it's really important to remember the rechargeable lead acid battery was invented over 150 years ago, and neither the rechargeable lead-acid battery, nor the chargers have changed a whole lot since then.

Charging a battery is a simple matter of manipulating time, voltage, and sometimes current. So, when you see the words "Smart Charger" just know it has automatic shut off's and reprogrammed circuits, but nothing about the unit is actually "analyzing" your battery... The charger is simply reading voltage and reacting according to it's design.

Most automatic battery chargers use a basic three stage profile that continues to work very well in optimizing a battery's life. There is simply no need for extreme technology here, and any brand that claims to extend battery life by leaps and bounds, or fully charge a battery in half the time of a comparably sized charger should be viewed with suspicion.

In addition, there are so many variables a battery is exposed to, it's very difficult to measure battery life outside of lab testing, that's why battery manufactures generally rate the life in "Full Cycles" or at 3-5 years, and that is what you should expect is you properly maintain your batteries.

For more help in choosing the charger that's right for your batteries, call your local Powerstride Battery.