Lotus Elan Central

by **ppete100** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:22

thinking of buying a trickle charger/ battery conditioner to keep battery topped up during winter. anyone have any experience with these, are they worth buying? if so, which one to get?

by **ab2cv** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:30

ppete100 wrote:thinking of buying a trickle charger/ battery conditioner to keep battery topped up during winter. anyone have any experience with these, are they worth buying? if so, which one to get?

I think the C-TEK ones are quite popular. I think they're worth having if you need to leave the car for more than a week. Certainly easier than getting a jumpstart (esp. in the rain!) given where the battery is on the Elan.

I think I might have spotted some of these in Costco the other day whilst looking for something else (~£35 but don't quote me on that!)

Alan

by **ailwyn** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:32

I use an Opti-Mate conditioner, seems to work well on my bike and cars.

by **dedmans** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:33

Just in case you did't know ,there is a live jump start feed under the bonnet at the rear left of the engine bay. Earth to the engine.

by **ailwyn** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:35

dedmans wrote:Just in case you did't know ,there is a live jump start feed under the bonnet at the rear left of the engine bay. Earth to the engine.

I think this is only on the S2.

Ailwyn

by **paulwatkins** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:35

This is the one I've got. It's made by Optimate:

CLICK HERE!

I haven't used for a winter storage yet, but it has been fine up until now, I can't see it having any problems

by **Dico** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:36

Where does the positive lead got to?

edit- Blimey, two responces in 1 minute. Ailwin has answered

Alan, yes there were some at Costco.

by **John_W** » Wed 03.10.2007, 19:40

Pete,
They are a good idea if you use your car less over the winter. Mine spends the winter in the garage connected to a battery conditioner.

I have a CTEK 3600 Charger and Conditioner from Hamilton Classic. It cost £50 and can be used as a charger as well as a conditioner. It can be left permanently connected using a quick-connect/disconnect plug which I wired into the battery with the socket near the map pocket inside the car.

You can get cheaper ones if you just want a conditioner to leave permanently connected, but I liked the idea of the CTEK 3600 also being able to recharge a flat battery overnight if necessary.

John

PS: I see from the link I posted that it's won a Classic & Sports Car "Best Product" award. I bought it because it came top in a "Practical Classics" test of battery chargers. I also note that they now have a CTEK 7000 which is a bit more expensive but looks a bit better in that it delivers double the amperage when needed, so should work better if you need to use it as a normal charger.

PPS: What a lot of replies. The nights must be fair drawing in. Oh, and I've got an Optimate as well, but it just does the low amperage conditioning and can't be used for quicker battery charging overnight.

by **GeoffSmith** » Wed 03.10.2007, 21:28

If there is any chance of leaving it on charge for more than a day, then make sure you get a conditioner.

Geoff

by **mvf906** » Fri 05.10.2007, 10:45

hi i have a halfords battery conditioner which works well, i think it was £19.95 last year

by **router** » Mon 08.10.2007, 11:27

Ive also got the optimate, you cant go wrong with these things. Excellent product on cars bikes and leisure batterires

by **Wryka** » Sat 13.10.2007, 08:41

Accumate for me !

I've got one on the Elan and one on the Griffith

Cheaper than buying new batteries each spring - as you keep charging flat ones they do loose their charge quicker.

by **Russc** » Sat 13.10.2007, 10:29

Yep i`ve got the halfords one as well, just left plugged in and connected.

by **clemo** » Sat 13.10.2007, 11:19

why not just disconnect it and then recharge it next year?

by **GeoffSmith** » Sat 13.10.2007, 11:43

clemo wrote:why not just disconnect it and then recharge it next year?

Because batteries age quicker if left uncharged.

by **clemo** » Sat 13.10.2007, 13:52

geoffsmith wrote:
clemo wrote:why not just disconnect it and then recharge it next year?

Because batteries age quicker if left uncharged.

ok that i understand but for arguements sake:-

i have had my bosch battery in now for 5 years. it cost £38.
every year i disconnect it and it runs down over the winter.
not dead but to a minimal power.

i also understand that batterys like to be run down before taking a full charge ,apparently better than just topping up all the time.

not to mention the actual cost of the charging appliance £50 is that with or without posting?

then the cost of the trickle charging ?
permenantly using electricity

i reckon my battery will last almost as long as yours even if it doesn't i still have a full £50 in hand to buy another with ..

the only advantage i can see is that you can jump in your car and go whenever you want.

but if like me its a garage queen , on a SORN then your not going anywhere either ..

so false economy?

by **GeoffSmith** » Sat 13.10.2007, 14:02

512 MILES THIS YEAR NOW BACK IN BED FOR WINTER

In your case Dave, probably not. Why not sell the battery on eBay and buy one from a scrappy for a fiver next time you want to use the car! :-D

I want the car to start first time, even if it's been laid up for weeks during the Winter, as it's likely to be cold and raining and its a last resort to get to work and I'm already late. The cost of the electricity is minimal and you don't know how much my conditioner cost. :wink: