Trickle chargers

[HaveaCuppa]

I’m storing my car over the next few months and need to get myself a trickle charger to keep the battery in decent nick while it’s laid up.

CTEK chargers seem to be the ones to go for but is there anything else out there that’s worth considering? What are people using here?

Halfords sell some decent looking ones for half the price of a CTEK charger?!

 

[JamesBryan]

I've got one of these from years ago, meant for leisure batteries but 12v is 12v 😂

Numax Leisure Battery Charger 12V 10A

The Numax Connect and Forget Leisure 12V 10A Battery Charger This automatic charger is easy to use and hassle free. Just connect the battery to the charger using the connections provided, and turn it on. The Charger will check the state of the battery and employ the correct charging regime...

www.tayna.co.uk

 

[Bluebeard]

I’ve had a ctek charger for a little over 2 years. I can’t remember the last time we switched it off. Been a brilliant bit of Kit and we move it from car to car daily and it’s still working perfectly.

 

[clio_ross]

I’ve got one of these:-

Halfords Advanced Smart Battery Charger Plus - 6A | Halfords UK

Shop the latest Halfords Advanced 6A Smart Battery Charger Plus - 12V For Vehicles Up to 3L at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

the Clio lives on it whenever it’s not in use. Used it on lots of other cars as well and it’s been faultless. Currently £36 if you have a trade card. Also comes with both crocodile clips harness and ring connectors harness, for is you want to have a quick disconnect on one car.

 

[Yarp]

I’ve got one of these:-

Halfords Advanced Smart Battery Charger Plus - 6A | Halfords UK

Shop the latest Halfords Advanced 6A Smart Battery Charger Plus - 12V For Vehicles Up to 3L at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

the Clio lives on it whenever it’s not in use. Used it on lots of other cars as well and it’s been faultless. Currently £36 if you have a trade card. Also comes with both crocodile clips harness and ring connectors harness, for is you want to have a quick disconnect on one car.

I’ve got exactly the same one and it works great. The wire splits so you can poke it under the scuttle so you don’t have to pop the bonnet every time you want to connect/disconnect it

 

[Rich-D]

I've got a CTEK MXS 5.0 and it's great

 

[Stefan.]

As above got the ctek 5.0 it's brilliant wouldn't go with anything else

 

[Sash]

These Noco chargers and boost packs are pretty good
NOCO GENIUS10, 10-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, and Battery Desulfator with Temperature Compensation https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07W3QT226/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[SharkyUK]

Another vote for CTEK 5.0 - use it with the cigarette lighter attachment to keep my Porker's battery conditioned.

 

[Bluebeard]

Another vote for CTEK 5.0 - use it with the cigarette lighter attachment to keep my Porker's battery conditioned.

Do they really work?? I’ve always been dubious.

 

[Walnut3]

I've had a couple of CTEK 5.0s, one for 4 years and one for 2, used both the cigarette lighter on the Porsche (works as it is always wired on) and the quick connect on the Clio.

About a month ago the Bosch battery in the former would no longer hold charge (according to the CTEK), ran a reconditioning cycle and it's been working again ever since. That battery is 4 years old.

I leave the quick connect ends plugged permanently and noticed garages plug into them when I have the cars in for longer services.

Having said all of that I have simply followed the marketing and reviews by choosing CTEK, there might be cheaper alternatives that are just as good but I have never tried any of them.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Cheers for all the reply’s folks. I’ve picked up a CTEK mxs5 with the brothers trade card for a shade over £60, which isn’t bad at all.

 

[Richors]

Maypole ones are pretty good and around £25 if anyone needs one in the future. I've used them for years.

 

[JackJack]

I've had a maypole one for years too, no issues with it.

 

[R3k1355]

I’ve had a ctek charger for a little over 2 years. I can’t remember the last time we switched it off. Been a brilliant bit of Kit and we move it from car to car daily and it’s still working perfectly.

Do you disconnect the battery to hook it up or just connect it with everything hooked up?

 

[Richors]

Do you disconnect the battery to hook it up or just connect it with everything hooked up?

No need to disconnect the battery mate

 

[Hyperhatch]

Another vote for Ctek from me. I also bought this quick connector for £5. Literally takes 2 seconds to put the car on charge

 

[Chocice]

I have used a cheap and cheerful streetwize trickle charger for about £20 and it worked fine, I never had a problem aside from a mouse which chewed through it, I must have left it on for 4 years in the garage.

 

[Bluebeard]

Do you disconnect the battery to hook it up or just connect it with everything hooked up?

If the battery is dead dead, then we disconnect it, but if it’s just a car that’s been parked up a while and we want to top it up, we just leave it plugged in.

 

[Martin_172]

I use a pair of Silverline trickle chargers on my 2 motors, used them for the last 2 years and they have both been spot on and keeping the cars topped up, they are about a tenner each too!!!!

Silverline12 Volt Trickle Battery Charger Car Van Motorhome Caravan Motorbike12v 5024763036545 | eBay

 

[Bluebeard]

I use a pair of Silverline trickle chargers on my 2 motors, used them for the last 2 years and they have both been spot on and keeping the cars topped up, they are about a tenner each too!!!!

Silverline12 Volt Trickle Battery Charger Car Van Motorhome Caravan Motorbike12v 5024763036545 | eBay

I’ve never seen them. Is it just a plug and two crocodile clips with nothing in between?

 

[Martin_172]

I’ve never seen them. Is it just a plug and two crocodile clips with nothing in between?

Yeah exactly that! ive used it overnight to charge completely dead batteries and the car fires up perfectly the next day!

 

[Chocice]

My concern with the silver line one is overcharging the battery as it is essentially a dumb charger with no automatic monitoring and switching of modes, I believe the streetwize charger is the cheapest automatic charger and definitely worth the extra couple of quid: Streetwize SWTBC Automatic Trickle Charger - 12 V Car Battery Charger with LED Charging Indicator, Short Circuit Protection https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0012U5BO2/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[SharkyUK]

Do they really work?? I’ve always been dubious.

Yeah, works a treat mate. No problems at all. You do need an always-on cigarette lighter connection though of course! (My Porker has an additional point nicely tucked away in the passenger footwell for just this reason).