Which battery/trickle charger?

DJ · Post by DJ » Mon Jan 27, 2014 11:53 pm

My 6 year old CTEK charger has packed in. Stuck on standby which seems to be a problem with them after a while.

Car only gets used at weekends in summer and can easily go 4 weeks + between use in winter

. So looking for something that I can leave in all the time when not in use with quick disconnection leads. Was considering CTEKs MXS 5.0 given it is 8 step charging module and 5 yr warranty. Any other alternatives out there or other points to consider before buying?

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/ctek ... ioner.aspx

s29ttc · Post by **s29ttc** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:13 am

I've used this since having the Elise with no issues

http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/Battery ... Homes.html

Post by **campbell** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:06 am

I've had a Halfords one for years.

Very basic but does the job well enough.

But some say it's just better to pop a lead off the battery (black, I think, but Robin will correct me!) as tricklers can lunch the battery. Apparently.

robin · Post by **robin** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 8:51 am

Hi,

You're stuck between a rock and a hard place, unfortunately. Known good battery conditioners are probably the best solution for people that still have a working alarm. The alarm has a battery that is charged off the main battery/alternator. When you disconnect the battery (black/-ve lead as Campbell said) the klaxon battery will discharge and eventually die.

Lower quality trickle chargers can be designed around a constant current source model where they attempt to pass 100mA or whatever through the battery all the time; this appears to work, but eventually if you don't run the car often enough the battery will overcharge and you'll damage the cells.

Cheers,
Robin

P.S. I don't have any experience with any particular model, so cannot say which one is good, which one is bad - sorry.

flyingscot68 · Post by **flyingscot68** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:03 am

I've been using Optimate 4s on the bikes for a while now. They run thorough regular tests of the battery and charge accordingly. They've brought back to life a couple of batteries which other chargers wouldn't charge. Not quite powerful enough for the car battery though.

They now make the Optimate 6 for cars and I've ordered one for my Evora which has a dead battery. You can leave these plugged in for years and they look after the battery.
Hoping this will 'repair' my dead battery rather than buying a new one.

Andy G · Post by **Andy G** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:24 am

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessorie ... ers-tested

Autoexpress did a test on them - see above

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:41 am

s29ttc wrote:I've used this since having the Elise with no issues

http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/Battery ... Homes.html

The "smart" charger is a good idea as it won't over charge your battery.

It also comes with plug/connector that means you can fit it to the battery and have easy access to the connection to plug it in.

DJ · Post by DJ » Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:01 pm

Something ironic that a new trickle charger costs £65 whereas last month I bought a new battery for my wee Fiesta and it only cost me £38.

I got 6 years out of both.

Shame they are out of stock on that link Scott, as that seems a good price and would probably have purchased that one. Definitely want a trickle charger to avoid overcharging and the disconnected earth isn't an option as want option to just go when I want to use the car, as well as keeping my alarm battery.

Cheers for link Andy. That report is 3 yrs old though and some of the product offerings have changed. Looks like Scott's AccuMate is best for job at a reasonable price.

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:44 pm

Eliseparts do the acumate too, albeit slightly pricier. May be worth a call to them to see if they can move on the price;

http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show ... nditioner/

whaleys · Post by **whaleys** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:11 pm

I have an Optimate 6 and have been very impressed by it...

http://www.optimate.co.uk/optimate%206.htm

It handles very large batteries up to 240 AH, pricey but at the rate I was going through batteries, it kind of pays for its self.

G

Corranga · Post by **Corranga** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:24 am

I use an Oxford Oximiser on the Lotus, and the Vx when we had it, and now the Alfa when I'm not using it for a week or so, cheaper than either battery would be and can't really see how another charger could do the job any better...

DJ · Post by DJ » Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:17 am

For anyone else looking for a trickle charger, I went for a CTEK MXS 3.8 from these guys for £49 delivered. Halfrauds wanted £65 for same model

. Really helpful on the phone and courier delivered the next day.

http://www.eurobatt.co.uk/ctek-mxs-3-8-charger/

cstrachan · Post by **cstrachan** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 12:26 pm

Just wait for Lidl to do car week again and get the rebranded ctek for £20, had mine 3 years now and no problems using it on the VX.

T6 KFR · Post by **T6 KFR** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 12:56 pm

Dominic wrote:
s29ttc wrote:I've used this since having the Elise with no issues

http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/Battery ... Homes.html

The "smart" charger is a good idea as it won't over charge your battery. It also comes with plug/connector that means you can fit it to the battery and have easy access to the connection to plug it in.

+3

I have used this one for years!

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Scottish Elises