Car battery chargers

Richard53

The CTEK are a neat design and nice to use, but mine failed and I won't be buying another. I tried a smart charger from Halfords, but it didn't work, and neither did the replacement, so no joy there.

Optimates are brilliant for small batteries (motorbike, mower etc) but they take forever to charge a large one. However, I have successfully recovered two batteries that appeared totally dead with my Optimate and got at least another year's use out of them, so the charger has more or less paid for itself.

For charging the car battery, I have a big old metal-cased German thing that puts out 8 amps and seems to do the job very well. I wouldn't leave it connected more than overnight, though. A proper smart charger can be left on indefinitely, if needed.

Gloomendoom

gravitytolls wrote: »

We bought a new one this week for £22. Chap in the shop told us they all do the same thing but the 'cheaper' ones take longer. He said ignore the guidelines suggesting type of engine they're suitable, they're all the same essentially.

So we did and he was right.

He was correct, it doesn't matter if your car has a petrol, diesel or a steam engine. However, batteries do differ and you can wreck them by using an unsuitable charger. There is a bit more to it than "the cheaper ones take longer."