Are all car battery chargers pretty much the same?

longwalks1

As above, need to buy a good battery charger for my car, its got a huge battery on it (cant remember the amps etc), are they all much the same, or do you get what you pay for?

Can anyone recommnd a decent one to get please?

Thanks

Gloomendoom

No they are not all the same. An ordinary lead acid battery can be charged with just about any battery charger but the more sophisticated gel and AGM batteries need special chargers.

The modern automatic type are the best bet as there is virtually no chance of overcharging.

Aldi do a good value automatic unit but it is only occasionally available.

longwalks1

Thanks Gloom

I spent so much on ther car and the new battery last winter not to ofussed about the price as long as I get a decent one, Halfords do one or 2 'smart chargers', think one is about £50, hows that sound?
Never bought one so dont really know what im looking for

garethgas

Its important to know the Amps of your battery because not all chargers can cope with bigger ones. The Lidl/Aldi ones mentioned above are a cheap version of the CTEK range but I'm told they're just as good. But even these have an upper limit regarding capacity so its important to find that out first

mikey72

Lidl have a decent one for £13, from Thursday, if you wait though, the Aldi one is a bit better looking, and usually comes up around this time of year.

Strider590

britishboy wrote: »

Thanks Gloom

I spent so much on ther car and the new battery last winter not to ofussed about the price as long as I get a decent one, Halfords do one or 2 'smart chargers', think one is about £50, hows that sound?
Never bought one so dont really know what im looking for

Sounds like someone's taking the golden liquid.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ctek-CTE-XS3600-Battery-Charger-Functional/dp/B000RHWCNY

It does bulk and maintenence charging..... It's one of the best chargers on the market, by one of the best companies in the business and that is a good price, though I managed to get mine for a little less.... So have a quick search about.

I have a kitcar which spends a lot of time off the road, I use that charger to keep the battery healthy.

Only downside is it can get quite warm on a full charge cycle and does (in my opinon) need to be bolted down onto a cold surface (it's clearly designed for this) or at the very least take precautions not to cover it with anything. Mine is bolted to a small metal plate, which also helps to stop it getting knocked about in the garage.

mikey72

That's same as the Lidl one, the Aldi has a digital diplay, which is around £13 as well.
Save yourself the extra £32.

Strider590

garethgas wrote: »

Its important to know the Amps of your battery because not all chargers can cope with bigger ones. The Lidl/Aldi ones mentioned above are a cheap version of the CTEK range but I'm told they're just as good. But even these have an upper limit regarding capacity so its important to find that out first

Amp rating of the charger merely affects the charging time. The charger can only charge at it's set limit, it's limit is a measurement of how much current it can supply before it's output voltage starts to drop.... Thus self regulating.

60AH battery @ 3A charge = 20 hours from dead to full charge (not taking into account losses).

120AH battery @ 3A charge = 40 hours from dead to full charge.

120AH battery @ 6A charge = 20 hours from dead to full charge.

mikey72 wrote: »

That's same as the Lidl one, the Aldi has a digital diplay, which is around £13 as well.
Save yourself the extra £32.

So it's claimed, but i've seen no proof to that fact, other than here say that it contains a CTEK PCB (which could only mean it's a "cut down" version of the CTEK charger, if only by firmware).

I'm not disputing it though (no proof either way) and I do regularly stock up on cheap tools from Lidl and Aldi. I just don't trust them enough to leave something like that connected to a potential hydrogen fuelled explosive device on a permanent basis.

longwalks1

Cheers all

This is the battery I got:

http://www.battery2u.co.uk/type-I1-varta-car-battery-silver.aspx

longwalks1

So the higher the Amp rating of the charger, the faster it will charge a battery? Seen lots of 6Amp ones online, can you get any higher?

And a lot of the adverts say '6 Amp charger, suitable for up to 1800cc petrol engines' Is this a golden rule or not? Surely a battery off of a car dioesnt matter what car it came from? (mines 3 litre diesel incidently)

Cheers

mikey72

Strider590 wrote: »

So it's claimed, but i've seen no proof to that fact, other than here say that it contains a CTEK PCB (which could only mean it's a "cut down" version of the CTEK charger, if only by firmware).

I'm not disputing it though (no proof either way) and I do regularly stock up on cheap tools from Lidl and Aldi. I just don't trust them enough to leave something like that connected to a potential hydrogen fuelled explosive device on a permanent basis.

I think if the Aldi or Lidl blew up batteries, some one would say.
I use one, they're fine.
All the functions are the same, so it's not even cut down.

CTEK is good if you want the right badge in the garage, but beyond that, it's not worth paying over three times the price.