Battery chargers

[ernieh]

JUst after a bit of advice, please...Due to a medically enforced off-the-road period, my car will be unused for at least 6 weeks. I had a low charge warning up last week which I dealt with by running the engine for 15 minutes or so, but thought it might be worth investing in a battery charger longer term.

I was looking at a CTEC MXS5 to top-up and maintain my battery and wondered if any of you had any experience of this model or if there were any better suggestions?

Many thanks for any help,

Ernie

 

[Wighty]

JUst after a bit of advice, please...Due to a medically enforced off-the-road period, my car will be unused for at least 6 weeks. I had a low charge warning up last week which I dealt with by running the engine for 15 minutes or so, but thought it might be worth investing in a battery charger longer term.

I was looking at a CTEC MXS5 to top-up and maintain my battery and wondered if any of you had any experience of this model or if there were any better suggestions?

Many thanks for any help,

Ernie

For occasional trickle charging try the Maypole which is half the price of the Ctec ( I've had a Maypole for a year or so)

 

[Milu]

I have a ctek 5.0. Been great for the last 3 cars. I have a quick connector so it's easy to put on/off even regularly

 

[Chrishazle]

Lidl often do a conditioner for £15, worth a punt if you don't envisage using it often - and if they still have one available! I've not heard of the Maypole one before, but have seen many requests for recommendations for battery conditioners on the 4 car forums I frequent, top recommendation is always CTEK, so is certainly worth considering if you envisage using it regularly.

FWIW I've been using a battery conditioner on my 968 for over 20 years now, I connect it up whenever the car is in her garage, and because the 968's battery is in the boot and the wires from the conditioner to the battery are very thin, I can close the rear hatch (coupe, while I had her) or boot lid (cab) without damaging the wires or the hatch/bootlid seal - which means the car is locked and alarmed while garaged. Car has been parked up for anything between a week and 4 months, always starts first time, and I am also convinced it markedly enhances battery life, as the battery on the coupe was 10+ years old when I sold that car, still going strong, whereas the coupe was 4 1/2 years old when I bought her, had already had 1 battery change and needed another within 2 years of purchase (before I started using the conditioner).

 

[EmilysDad]

I have 2 CTek chargers. a 80mA connected to my bike and a 3.6 A that I connect to my Smart while it lives in the garage. Never had a problem with either.

 

[LostKiwi]

I have a Ctek MXS10 I use for the R230 (a 10A version of the one you mentioned). I've used it for 10 years or so and it's been excellent.
I also use 2 X Maypole 4A chargers that cost considerably less for the cars in storage in France. They've both been fine for the past 18 months they've been in use.
The only observations would be that a 4A charger isn't really up to charging large batteries from a flat or near flat condition - for that you really need at least 7.5A unless you can leave it 24 hours.
Also a CTEK won't charge a completely flat battery. It needs at least a small amount of charge before it will recognise it's connected to something (you can fool it by wiring a battery in parallel to get it started).

 

[grahamcol]

I have CTEK 3.6 amp charger which I've been using for about 12 years. I charge the battery on both cars regularly since neither gets a great deal of use these days. The battery on my 202 was new when I purchased the car almost 11 years ago and is still going strong. I firmly believe it makes a difference.

 

[Gazwould]

+ 1 for the Maypole .

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Maypole-Mp7423-6v-12v-4a-Smart-Car-Battery-Fast-Trickle-Charger-Acid-AGM/1942859756?iid=283277999939&chn=ps&ul_ref=https%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F710-134428-41853-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%252Fp%252FMaypole-Mp7423-6v-12v-4a-Smart-Car-Battery-Fast-Trickle-Charger-Acid-AGM%252F1942859756%253Fiid%253D283277999939%2526chn%253Dps%26itemid%3D283277999939%26targetid%3D594043211230%26device%3Dm%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D1006734%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D1660961677%26adgroupid%3D69691738771%26rlsatarget%3Dpla-594043211230%26abcId%3D1140486%26merchantid%3D101749149%26gclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIwvL_mMvw3wIVzLTtCh3ljwcYEAkYBiABEgLafvD_BwE%26srcrot%3D710-134428-41853-0%26rvr_id%3D1821090158125%26rvr_ts%3D53202d9c1680a88bc1323f51ffff3fdb


Reverts back to chosen charging mode if power is disrupted .

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

My Lidl charger is on its fourth year now. Have used it on our SL for the past three winters without a problem.
The only issue I have with it is that should the power fail to it, then it reverts back to its first setting which is not 12v car.
Ctecs return to the set setting after a mains failure.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Chrishazle]

That's the difference between £14 and £60!

 

[ernieh]

Many thanks to all for their suggestions; I have now ordered a Ctec MXS5.

Ernie

 

[Grotbag]

Im going to ask a very silly question (but I don't know the answer so please no stupid answers.)
What is the difference between a CTEK 3.6 and a CTEK 5.0.
Can you use either with any car battery
Phew..

 

[John Laidlaw]

Amp output, 3.6 or 5.0. For maintenance use (trickling) you’d hardly notice much difference really, my old Lidl one was 4.0 I believe (going from a poor memory), but it did just fine. I wouldn’t have wanted to use it on something near flat mind as I doubt it would be up to that job!
LK will be along with more in depth knowledge on the subject later , I don’t do long posts (as you’ve probably noticed!!)

 

[LostKiwi]

Amp output, 3.6 or 5.0. For maintenance use (trickling) you’d hardly notice much difference really, my old Lidl one was 4.0 I believe (going from a poor memory), but it did just fine. I wouldn’t have wanted to use it on something near flat mind as I doubt it would be up to that job!
LK will be along with more in depth knowledge on the subject later , I don’t do long posts (as you’ve probably noticed!!)

Got it in one John.
For trickle charging /keeping topped up a 3.6 will do most applications. To charge from flat the bigger the better, a 3.6 won't cut it. That needs at least a 5 but preferably bigger.
(And my post was shorter than yours...)

 

[AnthonyUK]

Im going to ask a very silly question (but I don't know the answer so please no stupid answers.)
What is the difference between a CTEK 3.6 and a CTEK 5.0.
Can you use either with any car battery
Phew..

It is the current output. The lower one will just taken longer to charge.
Divide the Ah rating of your battery by the charger output to get a rough idea of how long it will take to fully charge.
For maintenance charges it is not so important but for the negligible price difference you may as well go for the 5.0.
On Amazon it is at a high point price wise so just keep an eye if you are not desperate for one as it does vary as I bought another recently when it was under £60.

https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/CTEK-MXS-5-0-Reconditions-Motorcycle/product/B00FC42HAA

 

[Grotbag]

Thanks guys

Looks like it will be the CTEK MXS 5.0, about £70 on Amazon.
There are cheaper ones out there, should I bother looking or stick with CTEK?

 

[John Laidlaw]

Thanks guys

Looks like it will be the CTEK MXS 5.0, about £70 on Amazon.
There are cheaper ones out there, should I bother looking or stick with CTEK?

Lidl and Aldi have them on special sometimes, I think my one was £15 at the time. Only drawback with those is that you have to reset every time the electrical supply is interrupted- so if you’re away from the charger and it goes off for some reason it won’t just switch back on when power is restored.
Personally didn’t find that a problem, but some people might

 

[LostKiwi]

Thanks guys

Looks like it will be the CTEK MXS 5.0, about £70 on Amazon.
There are cheaper ones out there, should I bother looking or stick with CTEK?

There are much cheaper 4A ones on Amazon that work well. The same caveats as before apply.

I use two of these for vehicles I have in long term storage.

Maypole 7423A Battery Charger Auto Electronic 4A 12V https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009A83P1E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ppdzCb654S0D4

 

[Chrishazle]

I believe it's only the Lidl conditioner that does not switch back on after a power cut, whereas the Aldi one does. Not personal experience, just what I read on another forum recently. IIRC Lidl had them on special from last Thursday and Aldi were still selling theirs.

The pros and cons of CTEK against others has been debated many times, especially WRT Lidl/Aldi which have variable reports. Some folk have used them for years without problem, others have had problems early or after 3 years (by which time the warranty has expired). I've only seen one report of a problem with a CTEK in many years on 4 car forums.

 

[LostKiwi]

Agreed. Ctek are ultra reliable.