Ctek question

[PositronicRay]

I've used one of these for the last 8 yrs and very good too.

I can't now park my car near the garage and power point. I've been running a mains extension around 8m, and lobbing it in the boot.

Any reason why I shouldn't extend the lead on the battery side and leave the Ctek in the garage? I think I've some 2 core mains cable somewhere, would this be fit for purpose?

[GreenV8S]

Electrically it would be fine, as long as the cable is protected from the elements and from physical damage. Just be aware that anything compromising the cable's insulation would potentially short out the whole battery - it would only need a couple of cracks in the insulation and a bit if water to short it. A fuse at the battery end would protect you from the worst of the danger but any risk of damage to the cable would be a worry. I assume this is on private property with no chance of anyone but you encountering the cable.

[Penelope Stopit]

You are ok to do that as long as a volt drop is not created, here is the cable rating http://www.ctek.com/mt/en/chargers/Comfort%20Conne...

[PositronicRay]

Yes private property and the run would be down the side of the house, a fuse is a good idea.

The link to the extension cable is for 2.5m, would I be ok going up to 8m?

[Penelope Stopit]

See this, 2.5 cable is well over the 10 Amp rating so you should be ok http://www.cable-ratings.co.uk/

[Penelope Stopit]

I doubt you will need a fuse in the cable as the unit will have built in protection

[PositronicRay]

Penelope Stopit said:

I doubt you will need a fuse in the cable as the unit will have built in protection

Just in case the cable gets snagged or rodent damage.

[GreenV8S]

Penelope Stopit said:

I doubt you will need a fuse in the cable as the unit will have built in protection

Unit will be at the house end - the fuse would be to protect the battery from a short in the cable.

[eltax91]

Are you not better off with a solar trickle charger instead?

[phillpot]

Penelope Stopit said:

See this, 2.5 cable is well over the 10 Amp rating so you should be ok http://www.cable-ratings.co.uk/

2.5mm cable will be more than adequate but that chart is somewhat irrelevant as it is for "twin and earth" and "steel wired armoured", both are solid core cables (lower capacity than equivalent size multi strand cable) and amp ratings are at mains voltage not 12 volt.

[PositronicRay]

eltax91 said:

Are you not better off with a solar trickle charger instead?

I like proper battery conditioners, better than just a trickle charger. Keeps everything tickety boo during winter when this car only gets occasional use.

[Penelope Stopit]

phillpot said:

Penelope Stopit said:

See this, 2.5 cable is well over the 10 Amp rating so you should be ok http://www.cable-ratings.co.uk/

2.5mm cable will be more than adequate but that chart is somewhat irrelevant as it is for "twin and earth" and "steel wired armoured", both are solid core cables (lower capacity than equivalent size multi strand cable) and amp ratings are at mains voltage not 12 volt.

An AMP is an AMP, do you not know this. The higher the voltage, the more AMPS can be drawn, funny though
More Google will find more ratings, the OP will no doubt look around

[Penelope Stopit]

GreenV8S said:

Penelope Stopit said:

I doubt you will need a fuse in the cable as the unit will have built in protection

Unit will be at the house end - the fuse would be to protect the battery from a short in the cable.

This is really funny, I nearly fell back off my chair when reading this
A fuse will protect a battery hey. Thats a classic. Thank you very much

[Penelope Stopit]

PositronicRay said:

eltax91 said:

Are you not better off with a solar trickle charger instead?

I like proper battery conditioners, better than just a trickle charger. Keeps everything tickety boo during winter when this car only gets occasional use.

I dont know why people are led to believe that charging and charging and charging a stood still battery is the best thing to do
A nice slow charge and then a nice slow discharge is the best way of looking after a stood still battery. Does a CTEK do a charge discharge cycle?

[E-bmw]

Penelope Stopit said:

GreenV8S said:

Penelope Stopit said:

I doubt you will need a fuse in the cable as the unit will have built in protection

Unit will be at the house end - the fuse would be to protect the battery from a short in the cable.

This is really funny, I nearly fell back off my chair when reading this
A fuse will protect a battery hey. Thats a classic. Thank you very much

Now read it properly then!

"the fuse would be to protect the battery from a short in the cable"

Means exactly that, if the + & - were shorted out the battery would have a short on it, the fuse in the leads would blow on high current (that is what fuses do) & therefore protect the battery from a short.

[eltax91]

PositronicRay said:

eltax91 said:

Are you not better off with a solar trickle charger instead?

I like proper battery conditioners, better than just a trickle charger. Keeps everything tickety boo during winter when this car only gets occasional use.

Fair enough. I'm not sure about your physical layout. But in my case I can park 'nose in' quite close to my garage. So I have run my ctek right up to the front wall of the garage and mounted it on an internal wall. I've then drilled a hole in the wall and mounted the ctek plug in it, recessed back a little but so I can still close the rubber cover.

On the car end I've wired one of their permanent battery connectors in to some wire I ran from the fuse box to the front bumper.

When I use the car I now simply connect/ disconnect one of their extensions to each end and off I go

[PositronicRay]

Penelope Stopit said:

PositronicRay said:

eltax91 said:

Are you not better off with a solar trickle charger instead?

I like proper battery conditioners, better than just a trickle charger. Keeps everything tickety boo during winter when this car only gets occasional use.

I dont know why people are led to believe that charging and charging and charging a stood still battery is the best thing to do
A nice slow charge and then a nice slow discharge is the best way of looking after a stood still battery. Does a CTEK do a charge discharge cycle?

"A CTEK smart battery charger will undergo a series of stages during the charging process to disulphate, revive, charge, condition and maintain all types of lead-acid batteries, prolong their life and saving the user time and money in the future.

Furthermore, a smart battery charger will stay in constant communication with the battery throughout the procedure, charging only to meet the needs of the battery and therefore eradicating the possibility of over-charging or under-charging the battery and reducing its lifespan as a result."

[AMG Merc]

Penelope Stopit said:

I dont know why people are led to believe that charging and charging and charging a stood still battery is the best thing to do
A nice slow charge and then a nice slow discharge is the best way of looking after a stood still battery. Does a CTEK do a charge discharge cycle?

...yes, and more.

[AMG Merc]

PositronicRay said:

I like proper battery conditioners, better than just a trickle charger. Keeps everything tickety boo during winter when this car only gets occasional use.

Agreed.. And battery conditioners also trickle charge (at least all of mine do).

[PositronicRay]

eltax91 said:

PositronicRay said:

eltax91 said:

Are you not better off with a solar trickle charger instead?

I like proper battery conditioners, better than just a trickle charger. Keeps everything tickety boo during winter when this car only gets occasional use.

Fair enough. I'm not sure about your physical layout. But in my case I can park 'nose in' quite close to my garage. So I have run my ctek right up to the front wall of the garage and mounted it on an internal wall. I've then drilled a hole in the wall and mounted the ctek plug in it, recessed back a little but so I can still close the rubber cover.

On the car end I've wired one of their permanent battery connectors in to some wire I ran from the fuse box to the front bumper.

When I use the car I now simply connect/ disconnect one of their extensions to each end and off I go

Garage in the back garden with narrow access, plenty of space @ the front of the house however.

I could get my Midget and Alpine down and into the garage. With the SL I'd have to adopt a Daisy Duke style of exit.

Battery in the boot, Ideally I'd like to be able to unplug and go. Without having to coil up a mains cable. The perfect solution would be an outside power point, but not sure it's worth the fuss.