Battery Charger

[warrenpfo]

I would like to get a battery charger to not only use when away for extended periods to “trickle” charge my battery but also to charge the odd flat battery one gets when you leave your lights on etc.

I see you can get the old style larger box jobbies that weigh a ton will charge 12v or 24v and run off 240v or 115v. You can also get a dedicated trickle charger but not sure if it would charge a flat battery fast enough.

Then one gets one of these intelligent charges that ctek make. They seem to be able to do all the above charges can do and more but am not sure if they worth the cash.
I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a charger and am happy to get a second hand one but want to make sure its going to last and do a good job.

Any advice welcome

 

[Gary Stockton]

Can't go wrong with a CTEK 7000 - excellent bit of kit! Not cheap, but damn good at what it does.

Cheers

 

[warrenpfo]

Is that the XS7000?

For about £100

 

[Gary Stockton]

Yep that's the one - been using one for ages - the leisure battery is left permanently attached. Has some very good features.

Cheers

 

[Crispin]

I'v got 3 of them, 25A, 10A and 7A, very happy with them all. If you're in no hurry, the 7A charges the two 120 batteries from dead to full in a day.
All of them work flat out every day, all day for about a year and never given me any hassles.

 

[warrenpfo]

Showing my lack of electric know how should I assume the higher the amp rating the faster the charge? So it's best to get the 25A one.

 

[Crispin]

Yes, to a point.

There is a point where a high current will ruin a battery. It depends on the manufacturer. My 270Ah batteries can take no more than 70A each and was advised to not do it "unless I had to"

With a smart charger, it will give it lots of current and as the battery starts reaching a full SoC, it'll tail off and change modes to trickle charge.

Get what you think you can afford, the smaller ones will do a large battery, just a lot slower so if you're not in a hurry....

You can get ones which are to small. With CTEK ones give a short charge and then monitor the voltage. If the voltage did not change then it assumes the battery is to large or dead and cannot accept a charge. My 7A happily charged the two 75Ah batteries in the 120 which could not turn the motor.

There are chargers out there which claim to be smart but are not. Don't recall the names but the CTEK ones are good and I believe the Ring ones are ok.