Numpty questions about Trickle Chargers

[Trevor Lunnon]

With reduced usage over the winter and a number of failed starts, I've come to the conclusion I need a trickle charger, quick search of Tech Talk and chargers of choice seem to be CTEK Multi MXS3600 or Optima 4. However I have a couple of very basic questions (apologies if they seem a bit dim!) :

1) Is any significant heat generated by a trickle charger? Car is garaged with an indoor cover, is it Ok to keep bonnet on and cover on or are there issues with heat and/or fumes? (Don't really want to remove the battery from the car)

2) Other half of my double garage is fitted as an office (3 inch insulated stud partitions with MDF boarding) that I use most days of the week say 8am-6pm. Do I need to worry about any fumes that may be generated from the charging battery? On solution could be to only have the trickle charger on at night or possibly just weekends but does that defeat the point of a trickle charger?

Thanks for your help.

Trevor

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

No problem leaving a battery on the car connected to a conditioner like an Optimate.

[richy]

I leave my Optimate connected to the battery via a power socket, with an indoor cover on the car. The garage is well ventilated, mind you, with gaps under the doors!

No problems (so far!!)

Richy

[Roger Ford]

The only "fumes" given off by a charging battery should be hydrogen gas. Too much of it and you might blow something up, but you're definitely not going to get poisoned by it. Though having said that (and Googled to check I wasn't talking b'locks) you might get a slight mist of sulphuric acid. Still not going to do you any harm, though too much of it might not be good for the car. A trickle charger shouldn't really cause any gassing, though.

 

The biggest problem you're likely to find is trying to drive off with the charger still connected. Or perhaps you're more competent than I am.

[St Eve]

Trevor – I have been using a CTEK XS3600 since November last year. It was recommended by the Lotus agent from whom I bought the 7. Your anxieties are familiar, but I have had no trouble at all. I use the car regularly but last December (lots of snow everywhere!) it was garaged under an indoor cover for 4/5 weeks. Regular checking – both then and since – revealed that there is no cause for worry. Given all I hear about the immobiliser flattening the battery in c.3 weeks, I am glad I bought one.

Steve

[NickK123]

Having bu55ered previous battery by letting it run down too often (owing to immobiliser) been using Banner charger ever since and not had any issues. Garage part of house, hence took a close interest in all safety issues and nothing to report. Wired short lead into battery and connection now via plug - takes 20 sec to plug/unplug charger. As said previously, top tip: ensure unplugged before leaving garage!

[Trevor Lunnon]

Thanks for the comments, anxieties sorted and just need to make a purchase. Hadn't crossed my mind the driving off still connected and now you've mentioned it, I can a guarantee that will happen pretty soon!

Thanks, Trevor

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Fit a power socket in the cockpit, wired straight across the battery with an in-line fuse in the +ve line, then you can plug the conditioner in without removing the bonnet .... and you can also see the cable in the car, to prompt you to remove it before driving !!!!

[Alan Reeves]

I have just bought an Optimate 6, as soon as I mentioned car they said it should be the 6 not the 4 ? I know nothing re electrics so ...I do have an older Optimate for the Motorbike and have used constantly to great effect.

 

Tell me why do Caterhams come with a non sealed battery, I would like to change mine and wonder what I should go for or is that the wrong route.

 

alan

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Alan - mail follows shortly

[Racing Snake]

Trevor no problem with fumes or heat in over 10 years of use with an Optimate

[PhilK]

I saw a tweet on 10th from CTEKChargers saying they are offering £5 cashback on the MXS 3.6 - not sure if its still valid but maybe worth checking?

[Sheds Moderator]

An Optimate is great, but do bear in mind that a Halfords £10 battery conditioner will do just as good a job, as will one from Machine Mart. I have used both of these, the MM one has a slightly higher output so I set a timer to swich it on for a few hours every day, and that way you know you won't overgnarge the thing. All the "this charger senses the state of charge of a battery and the rate of charging is diminished as the battery approaches fully charged" stuff is just physics, they all do that.

[Bob L]

Can I be rude and hijack a part of this tread, when you use an Optimate or trickle charger it sound like some members are not disconnecting the battery terminal/s from the car i.e. the alternator is still physically connected to the battery while charging. Has anybody had any issues with this because I thought such a practice was positively frowned upon (no pun intended or related jokes please 😬).

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Always leave it all connected when plugging Optimate into 12V power socket connected across battery.

[Roger Ford]

It's not a good idea to use a "fast charger" with the battery connected, since they can put quite high voltages (16-17V, maybe?) which could be too high for the rest of the system. Also some chargers can "pulse" high voltages for short periods, which can fry your electronics if you're unlucky. But maintenance chargers are designed to be used connected, and don't use high voltages or pulse charging.

 

You'll notice all the high-end manufacturers recommend CTEK chargers. The CTEK sales rep at Autosport claimed this was because theirs were far safer than other makes, but I suspect it's more to do with the fact that you can get "Porsche" and "Bentley" branded CTEK chargers for only a mild markup.

[skeetsy]

Hi

 

I use an Oxford Optimiser 900 (I have two ) since I bought one initially to keep the battery in our T4 Camper in good nick, and since it had a Caterham on the box I obviously had to buy one when I got my Seven 😬

 

I made an adapter for each of them so that I can just plug the thing into the lighter socket on each vehicle, so in each case the battery is left connected as is everything else and I've been using them for more that a year with no issues

 

Prior to getting the first one the van battery had been losing it's charge over a period of weeks and I had thought about investing in a new battery, but I decided to try the trickle charger first and I'm very glad I did - it saved me a fortune on a new battery

 

Al the best

 

Richard

[Bob L]

Thanks for these threads guys – saves me disconnecting in future and I may well install the 12V socket as most have done.

 

What I noticed is when I disconnect the battery there was always a click (relay?). Anyone any idea which relay this might be, ECU perhaps? It’s a 99 vintage 1.8K.

 

[Jonathan Kay]

I have just received an email from Amazon UK about lots of discounts on CTEK chargers. (I hate it when sites "know" what I've been looking at elsewhere.)

 

Jonathan

 

 

 

[stephen grant]

Just something to consider; if (like me) you rig up a 12v socket to plug the conditioner into.....Just note that the more expensive CTEK chargers feed 7 or 8 Amps at peak when charging; make sure that your in-line fuse (which you really should fit in the +ve line from the socket to the battery), your socket and your cables are all rated above that ampage. Otherwise, you might want to get one of the cheaper conditioners that push out less peak amps.

 

stephen

[Sheds Moderator]

All the more reason to choose a cheapie. There is no need to put 7 or 8A into a battery unless you earn a living recharging truck batteries. A 7 battery will charge overnight on £10 worth of 1A charger. If you want it running now, you have another car and jump leads, so use these to start the engine and let the alternator do the work.

 

The expensive ones are just garage jewellery. Buy one if you want to but charging a battery is a simple task that a little wall wart charger will do just as well as £50 worth of current-sensing automatic charge optimising gadget that you may have convinced yourself will make the battery last longer. It won't, all it does is make you feel better because a £20,000 car deserves a £100 charger and an expensive one has to do a better job, doesn't it? Doesn't it?

[Smutly1]

I started off with a cheap(er) Draper trickle charger but regretted it after frying my battery. These chargers give a constant trickle charge so if you don't keep an eye on the battery water level you run the risk of drying it out, I did so bought an Optimate and have never looked back. These chargers check the battery condition and only apply a charge if required.

[Sheds Moderator]

An Optimate will dry your battery just as effectively as a Draper one. The way that they "only charge as required" is by having a low charge voltage so that as the battery voltage rises the PD falls and the charge current falls to a maintenance level (typically a couple of hundred mA).

 

All the sensory stuff is a red herring. It's just a regulated supply, the circuitry doesn't provide for any voltage sensing on any I have seen.

 

 

[Jonathan Kay]

AccuMate Info

 

AccuMate’s advanced 4-step charging program:

(6V values in brackets)

 

STEP1: Boost –

 

Constant current charging of 1.2A up to 14.3V (7.15V)

 

Yellow CHARGE LED on

 

STEP2: Absorption –

 

Voltage held at 14.3V (7.1V) until current drops below 200mA

 

Yellow CHARGE LED on

 

STEP3: Maintenance –

 

Float voltage held at 13.5V (6.7V) for ideal long-term battery care

 

Green MAINTAIN LED on

 

STEP4: Interactive standby –

 

Active only once a battery has reached step 3:

 

 

Monitors if current exceeds 200mA or voltage drops below 13.2V and cycles between step 2 and 3 to prevent the battery from losing any charge due to permanently connected devices such as an alarm or parasitic drain caused by aged or faulty vehicle wiring. With interactive standby your battery will always be ready to start your vehicle.

 

Jonathan

[Sheds Moderator]

That's interesting Jonathan, and the first I have seen actually back up a claim to do clever stuff. Thanks.

 

I still think that it's difficult to justify spending a huge sum when what most of us want to do is keep a battery alive on a car that's not being used, and charge it up if it goes flat. I've had excellent results from the battery conditioners that cost very little (the battery lasted for about 5 years and then died when I could no longer charge it as a result of smashing the charger ) and I've subsequently used a 500mA charger on a timeswitch for a couple fo hours a day, with good results. OK, it won't deliver 7A into a fully flat battery and charge it in an hour, but I don't need a charger to do that. If it's that bad I get the jump leads and 5 minutes later the engine is running.