Best Battery charger

[simonl]

I have maybe 7 or 8 battery chargers. Each has a significant design error of one sort or another, whether it's the inability to charge from a battery that's too flat or that if left as a permanent float charge it will won't fulfill that role after a mains interruption.

I've finally got one that I just cannot fault, for £35

Ctek Xs0.8 Motorbike Battery Smart Charger

Contains: charger, clamps connection, eyelet connection,
Suitable for charging car and motorcycle batteries up to 32Ah & maintaining charged batteries up to 100Ah
No need to disconnect from battery
Recovers deep discharged batteries from 2V
6 Step program provides complete care from recovery to maintenance
Suitable for all lead-acid battery types
Can be left connected for months
Water and dust resistant and shock proof
5 Years guarantee

It suggests it won't charge beyond 32Ah - it does, but obviously takes a long time.

I have no links with the product other than recommending it. I get lots of satisfaction from buying something that I just couldn't improve upon.

[A1an]

Great little MAINTAINANCE chargers.


I used one for charging a 75ah battery from flat and it fried it, not really the chargers fault, more.....operator error.

[spartacus]

Some of the Halfords range battery chargers are pretty good. I usually put the boat battery on trickle charge prior to use. In my experience an exhausted battery should just go to the council recycle centre. You know it'll let you down on the water when you least expect it.

[willk]

I have a pair of their larger MX-7 units. My experience with them has been very good. They will charge small batteries but deal with the 120AH units on the rib. They sit on maintenance charge all winter - applying a trickle or more when needed. I run them through a watt meter and can see the supplied power fluctuating. I've used their re-con mode to revitalise a couple of weak batteries with surprisingly good results.

[breezeblock]

whats peoples thoughts on solar chargers for a bit of standby topping up

[simonl]

Originally Posted by A1an

Great little MAINTAINANCE chargers.


I used one for charging a 75ah battery from flat and it fried it, not really the chargers fault, more.....operator error.

I think that IS the charger's fault. I reckon you had a dud. I somehow left my boat ignition on & it was at 8V on a 75Ah battery. i.e. empty.
My puny charger coped no problem., although it took over 24hrs.

Here's my thoughts around it:

Any 'empty' battery, be it 20Ah or 200Ah is capable of accepting a charge current way above what this puny charger can deliver, so the charger has to be able to limit it's current whilst retaining constant voltage.
Now it has to be able to maintain that (current limited) charge current (at a constant charging voltage) for 12hrs or more. The charger will hit temperature equilibrium inside the device within say 30 mins. So whether it's on for 12hrs or 120hrs really shouldn't matter -it can either cope or it can't.

I can't find anything to suggest a slow charge does any damage to a battery. In fact it seems generally better. Using the 'wrong' charger might take 3 days but that's all that's wrong with 'too small a charger.'

One caveat: There is a need to *periodically* use a highish charge current related to battery size. This is required to equalize the individual cells, preventing a dud cell. In doing so it has to overcharge the better cells, expelling some of the goodness.


I'd send it back...

[Xk59D]

Originally Posted by breezeblock

whats peoples thoughts on solar chargers for a bit of standby topping up

smaller ones are only of real use to keep a healthy battery topped up while sitting on the trailer, given how often you use it i wouldn't bother at all, put the money in the fuel tank.

[Pikey Dave]

I have a £100 Ctek & a £15 Lidl special, can't fault either of them.

[simonl]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I have a £100 Ctek & a £15 Lidl special, can't fault either of them.

My Lidl one let me down - I thought I could leave it as a permanent float/trickle charger - then discovered that it doesn't turn itself back on after loss of power.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by simonl

My Lidl one let me down - I thought I could leave it as a permanent float/trickle charger - then discovered that it doesn't turn itself back on after loss of power.

I don't think that's a fault in the unit more a safety feature.
Like a no volt release on a machine once power is interrupted (maybe intentionally) you need to restart the machine

[simonl]

Originally Posted by beamishken

I don't think that's a fault in the unit more a safety feature.
Like a no volt release on a machine once power is interrupted (maybe intentionally) you need to restart the machine

No volt release on a motor I don't question, but I think it's just poor design rather than deliberate nanny state nonsense

[Maximus]

The best battery charger is one you can attach remotely via the dash on the Consul...
I have a separate charging point...whith a small 12v Charger modified to fit the Waterproof Bulgin plug.
You can also take a state/level of charge reading without having to access the Terminals which is much easier,quicker and because of this you do it more often.
Works for me

[simonl]

Originally Posted by Maximus

The best battery charger is one you can attach remotely via the dash on the Consul...
I have a separate charging point...whith a small 12v Charger modified to fit the Waterproof Bulgin plug.
You can also take a state/level of charge reading without having to access the Terminals which is much easier,quicker and because of this you do it more often.
Works for me

I think that'll work for me too - thank you