Dead Battery - not enough driving

[cat5]

Hi;
My dad doesn't drive his car much, but takes it out every weekday to pick up his granddaughter at school. The school is only a couple miles, so he doesn't run the car very long each time he starts it.

Today, the battery was dead. When the guy came to jump start it, the battery was heavily discharged (I had measured 3V on the terminals prior to the jump), but charge voltage was 14.5, so the alternator is good.

I also have evidence that there is no short or anything left on in the car while it is not running, so the problem appears to be simply that his short trip driving is taking more out of the battery on start than can be put back in during the trips.
The service guy recommends running the car for about 20-30mins each day, but I suggested buying a battery charger to keep the battery topped off.
He disagreed, saying that the charger would overcharge the battery.

I find it hard to believe that in this day of microchips in everything, I could not buy a battery charger that won't overcharge the battery.

Can anyone recommend a good charger for this purpose?

Thanks

FW

[Moppie]

There are plenty of good quality trickle chargers around now days.
The Marine industry probably has the most to choose from, as this is a huge problem for yachts.


If your looking for something a little more simple just find a plug in charger that has an auto cut off when the battery is charged.

[abaird]

I bought a black and decker charger from wal mart for like 30 bucks for my camaro that sits alot in winter and it is supposed to keep batteries topped off.