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I've had to jump start my van a couple of times recently due to lack of use and I'm aware the battery might be past its best. I don't want to buy a new battery yet as I'm not planning on changing my driving habits any time soon but I'd like to keep it topped up enough to start.
As usual, I'm baffled by the array of chargers available. I expected there to be 2 or 3 to choose from but there's dozens of the bloody things.
Do I need any magical features? Do the expensive ones do anything special? Should I buy the cheapest basic one, plug it and forget about it?
I'd prefer to buy one from here- https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-chargers/
I live almost next door to a Halfords and I've got a trade card.
Any tips?
I've got a halfords one that's over 20 years old. Does the job, now't fancy. I'd also reommend a solar charger if the van is going to be stood. Just shoved mine on the dash, with the wires through the door and onto the battery terminals - OK if the vehicle isnt going to move for weeks.
I've got a solar charger but it hasn't done the job. Van is parked on the dark side of the house in the shade.
Can you leave it plugged in? A battery maintainer like an Optimate or similar would keep the battery topped up. The terminals could be via a quick connect so you wouldn't have to open the bonnet to disconnect the thing. A maintainer is designed to be left connected. I've just had a look at the prices for an Optimate \O/ Have a Google for "Battery Maintainer"
I can leave it plugged in and the battery is in the passenger footwell so really easy to connect and disconnect.
I've just been reading some reviews, the charging times seem to vary wildly from 8 to 30 hours.
Alternatively, does anyone want to buy a very good condition Peugeot Boxer?
Alternatively, does anyone want to buy a very good condition Peugeot Boxer?
if you’re selling it for less than the price of a new battery then colour me interested 🙂
CTEK CT5 Time to Go here. Picked it up in the "Middle of Lidl" at a discount
Gives you an indication of when the battery holds enough charge to start the engine successfully and when it's fully-charged. Recondition, Normal and Advanced Glass Mat (AGM) battery modes
Comes with a ring terminal fly lead so that you can bolt it to a particular battery and just plug-in easily. Also has croc clips to use on other batteries. Plug it in weekly, monthly or whatever to suit
https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/ct5-time-to-go-uk £80 at Halfords (£100RRP)
+1 we use one of these, only downside is it wouldn’t charge a totally and nearly dead battery, which my old school brute force Halfords charger would charge, once revived the CTEK did it’s recondition thing nicely.
You need a multistage smart charger that is suitably to be left on constantly.
I’ve just been reading some reviews, the charging times seem to vary wildly from 8 to 30 hours.
Ignore that because:
1) The charger manufacturer doesn't know how big your van is, in reality it is probably more like 16-60hours if they've assumes an average car.
2) If the van is totally flat then it's wrecked the battery anyway.
You need a multistage smart charger that is suitably to be left on constantly.
But basically this +1
There's 3 types of charger.
*One's that charge the battery by supplying it with ~14V and just leaving it there until either a timer runs out, you turn it off, or it goes pop. These may have a manual switch to turn it to 'float' but yo still shouldn't leave it like that 24/7/365.
*Ones that just keep it topped up, i.e. a dedicated float charger, may have some other clever functions but that's basically what it is. Usually aimed at motorcycles or classic cars that get plugged in between infrequent uses.
*Clever ones that do all three (although be aware that using van chargers on a car, or car chargers on a motorbike is still a bad idea. You plug it in and leave it, doesn't matter if it's overnight or over winter.
I've got a Noco G7200, cost £80 but has resurrected multiple apparently dead batteries so it's paid for itself. The battery in the fiesta seems to die every September, then a reconditioning charge on the NOCO and magically it limps through another winter. Also has a "power supply" mode where it outputs 13.5V / 5A, which is good for mimicking those old chargers when the battery is too dead for the 'smart' charger to even detect it.
Thanks for the info everyone. After reading some reviews I figured out what I needed. Still not sure why there needs to be 5 or 6 different models from every manfacturer.
I've ordered one of these- https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-chargers/ctek-mxs-5.0-t-uk-battery-charger-665079.html
I decided against rushing to buy one that was in stock because this one gets better reviews for automatically doing the repair/desulfation thing before every charge. That might come in handy as I've no idea what condition the current battery is in. Plus, it's only £55 with a trade card.
If I need a new battery so be it. At least the next one won't just sit there slowly dying.
Still on the fence about selling the van or not though. The Mrs really wants to keep it but she doesn't have to do any of the conversion graft! I've been messing around in vans for 20 years, I've lost the enthusiasm.