battery charger / conditioner

[John_W]

Best not to let them go flat, Clemo. I’ve lost two Range Rover batteries that way (unused during 3-week holidays now that I’m retired) but the Elan battery is regularly connected in winter to a battery conditioner and lasted over 10 years. The Range Rover has so many electronic gizmos that it drains the battery while doing nothing. Mind you the Elan only lasts a couple of weeks or so if you don’t top it up.

Go for a medium spec basic “battery conditioner” that has a “programme” meaning that you can leave it connected for a long time, but not a more basic on/off trickle charger.

[GeoffSmith]

Agreed. Definitely not a dumb trickle charger.

[Rambo]

But isn't the CTEK 0.8 just a "dumb trickle charger " And Dave's Lidl version must be even dumber than that

[clemo]

Thanks for the above advise guys .. Does this sill mean a Phil type exploding charger is what i require?!

[daveiow]

It comes to something when the choice of entertainment on a Sunday evening is between Caitlin Jenner on I’m a Celebrity or reading this thread
For the love of God just get a Ctek 3.8

[clemo]

It comes to something when the choice of entertainment on a Sunday evening is between Caitlin Jenner on I’m a Celebrity or reading this thread
For the love of God just get a Ctek 3.8

BOOM ... i will.
on black friday.

[clemo]

or 5.0

[daveiow]

Night all

[GeoffSmith]

But isn't the CTEK 0.8 just a "dumb trickle charger "…

No, it's an intelligent trickle charger which can cope with 100A.hr batteries so absolutely fine for tucking your car up for the Winter.

[GeoffSmith]

It comes to something when the choice of entertainment on a Sunday evening is between Caitlin Jenner on I’m a Celebrity or reading this thread
For the love of God just get a Ctek 3.8

¿Quién es ese?

Monday night discussion topic: How do you vent the explosive mix of hydrogen and oxygen from your battery when you put it to bed with your intelligent trickle charger? Top down? Rear deck open? Battery on the bench?

The reason I ask is that mine has the venting pipe connected to the battery but when I asked a few years ago, not many people seemed to have one or a compatible battery.

[dapinky]

But isn't the CTEK 0.8 just a "dumb trickle charger " And Dave's Lidl version must be even dumber than that

Mark, it appears that you are incorrect on both counts.... and what makes you say that a Lidl version *must* be dumber?.......it has a selection of programs and 'charge levels', so is probably quite bright, really!

Anyway, I've made a definative decision - I'll see what comes up on offer, but keep the Lidls one for now

[dapinky]

Now that the 'oppinions' are out there, maybe it's time to pull the trigger....

...but I'm going to wait for a bit....

...oh has anyone used the NOCO-35

Anyway, at the moment, the xs0.8 can be had for £37 from Halfords or Amazon (my Halfords doesn't stock them, though, so it'll take a few days)

The mxs3.8 is a few pennies within £55 from Amazon (other sellers are a bit more by the time you add delivery)

If anyone sees a good 'Black Friday' deal on either item, please let me know.

[Fredjohn]

Just to add my 2p worth: I use both a CTEK 3.8 and 2 Halfords cheapos. They keep all my Lotuses fully charged as well as my motorhome, on a rota basis. And if I have need of a deep re-cycle on any of the batteries I use the CTEK to recover it.

The Halfords units are not "intelligent", but seem to do the job really well. And all of them came with a variety of different fly leads, so you can permanently attach one to the battery and just plug in when required. So the M100 has 2 fly leads permanently attached which come up and over the bulkhead and hang by the seat belt for quick and easy attachment to either the Halfords or the CTEK units.

The other fly lead is the spring clip variety which "does" when moving the CTEK around, or the cigarette lighter type for the permanently live boot socket of the Evora.

I also have a small solar panel charger which I take with me in any vehicle "just in case".

All bases covered I think!

PS daveiow: the Evora 410 is provided with a charger because it has a lithium battery which requires a special charger. I understand you can't use a regular charger/conditioner like a CTEK 3.8 on lithium batteries. CTEK do a separate lithium charger.

[Steve A]

If anyone sees a good 'Black Friday' deal on either item, please let me know.

Or anything else come to that
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=26417&p=336624&hilit=black+friday#p336624

BTW I've used the Ctec Zafir 90 for the last 12 years and have the same battery.

[uk08462]

My old Optimate had a run in with a garden sprinkler (don't ask) so has now been pensioned off after 9 years.

I replaced it in July with a NOCO Genius G3500UK 6V/12V 3.5 Amp UltraSafe Smart Battery Charger and Maintainer (around £48 from Amazon) which is excellent and I am very happy with it.

[Simon_P]

Agreed. Definitely not a dumb trickle charger.

I agree definitely not. I killed 2 car batteries with a halfords cheapo and know other people who have also they are just a transformer - The cheapo ones are permanently on and kill the battery because they are permanently overcharging.
Just about any charger/ conditioner will do as long as it cycles on and off.

The cheapo chargers are good for recovering batteries that are completely flat.

[GeoffSmith]

Agreed. Definitely not a dumb trickle charger.

I agree definitely not. I killed 2 car batteries with a halfords cheapo and know other people who have also they are just a transformer - The cheapo ones are permanently on and kill the battery because they are permanently overcharging.
Just about any charger/ conditioner will do as long as it cycles on and off.

The cheapo chargers are good for recovering batteries that are completely flat.

In a nutshell.

[Tuga2112]

can someone explain to me why these chargers are so wanted ?

when i leave a car parked for a long period i just unplug the battery. My mr2 was parked for 2 years. i reconnected the battery and it started first time. same thing happened to my 4runner, Celica and blue Elan (yes, a lotus starting first time after 18 months stopped, who would have guessed ?).
the alternative is to drive the car (elan) onse or twice a month during the winter, which is not that hard and arguably healthier for the car.
solar trickle chargers can only be used if you dont use a car cover or if your garage has some decent size windows (which seem pretty rare)
a non-solar trickle charger in the garage sounds a bit superfulous considering you can unplug the battery anyway.

[dapinky]

Joao,

I understand your views, and don't fall out with them...... but I just can't be bothered with getting under the stowage cover to disconnect the battery (and then the central locking won't work, I can't get into the boot and I lose the radio pre-sets - oh, first-world problems ).

For me, it is far easier to pull into the garage, connect the battery conditioner, and job done.


..... and from what Simon h says, the NOCO 35 I mentioned earlier is another contender for a Black Friday deal

[GeoffSmith]

I just can't be bothered with getting under the stowage cover to disconnect the battery…

It's a lot more difficult with a hard on. Allegedly.