Battery charger options...
Discussion
So after fitting an Odyssey PC925 AGM gel battery last year I did the stupid thing of letting it completely drain over winter. With it being absolutely flat as a f@rt I've not been able to rescue it despite following various methods described elsewhere on the forums. It's dead, it is no more, it has ceased to be, thus it is now bound for the local council recycling centre.
I'll be getting another Odyssey (probably the PC925) but want to invest in a "proper" battery charger / conditioner that can be left attached to the car without it overcharging the battery, rather than having to continually check my existing standard charger. With various Accumates, C-Teks, etc. on the market - with varying features, prices and output ratings - what do people use and which make / model numbers?
Thanks in advance...
I'll be getting another Odyssey (probably the PC925) but want to invest in a "proper" battery charger / conditioner that can be left attached to the car without it overcharging the battery, rather than having to continually check my existing standard charger. With various Accumates, C-Teks, etc. on the market - with varying features, prices and output ratings - what do people use and which make / model numbers?
Thanks in advance...
Personal choice.
Mine being C-Tek. Had it 4 years now and perfect.
Here you go.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RADNCQ/ref=dra_a_c...
Mine being C-Tek. Had it 4 years now and perfect.
Here you go.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RADNCQ/ref=dra_a_c...
Edited by TJC46 on Tuesday 14th February 20:41
You will need to make sure your chosen charger supports AGM type batteries if you are using an Odyssey battery.
I am in the process of fitting an Odyssey battery to my Griff. I did read that if you let one of these batteries discharge completely then it is useless. Not good news for me as I have not changed by battery for 8 years and let it go flat on numerous occasions through my own stupidity, fortunately it has always recovered.
As an insurance policy against myself I have fitted a battery brain so if I do leave the lights on or forget to put it on the trickle charger, the device cuts the power to the car until I come to start it so the battery does not become completely discharged.
http://www.batterybrain.co.uk
I am in the process of fitting an Odyssey battery to my Griff. I did read that if you let one of these batteries discharge completely then it is useless. Not good news for me as I have not changed by battery for 8 years and let it go flat on numerous occasions through my own stupidity, fortunately it has always recovered.
As an insurance policy against myself I have fitted a battery brain so if I do leave the lights on or forget to put it on the trickle charger, the device cuts the power to the car until I come to start it so the battery does not become completely discharged.
http://www.batterybrain.co.uk
Matthew Poxon said:
You will need to make sure your chosen charger supports AGM type batteries if you are using an Odyssey battery.
Well I didn't know that 
I swapped to an odyssey battery a couple of years ago and have continued to use the same trickle charger (accumate) and haven't come across any issues. I make sure I plug the car in religiously after a drive though to ensure it doesn't go flat.Accumate works well- provided you remember to actually use it and plug the thing in ....
....otherwise you end up with a sulphited battery despite having a trickle charger fitted! (stupid boy!)
More seriously - accumate works well, and only 50 or so quid (thereabouts) - I have two - one for each car the spends significant time in the garage.
Dave Batty hardwired mine in - so I just plug it into the wall socket in the garage when I park it up for long periods..
....otherwise you end up with a sulphited battery despite having a trickle charger fitted! (stupid boy!)
More seriously - accumate works well, and only 50 or so quid (thereabouts) - I have two - one for each car the spends significant time in the garage.
Dave Batty hardwired mine in - so I just plug it into the wall socket in the garage when I park it up for long periods..
carsy said:
Just out of interest Matthew where are you putting it. Original place or boot.
Hello Ian, I am copying eff eff's design and going for 2 x smaller batteries wired in parallel to fit behind the seats.Lots of ideas in this thread for those interested... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Accumate is hard wired into the boot.....never had a problem with it. Just to avoid over charging I have a 24hr timer inbetween the plug socket and connection to the charger. Currently it comes on for 4 hrs a day which keeps the accumate 'state of battery ' light green.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Edited by RDV8 on Wednesday 15th February 09:48
A decent charger should cycle the battery voltage- it should have a charge cycle that raises the voltage just to a point the battery would start to gas (fully charged), and then drop the voltage to a standby level, and only increases the voltage again once the battery voltage drops to a preset level. This stops overcharging and gassing, but should also stop sulphating on the plates. Any decent charger with a micro processor should do this- certainly the Lidl and Aldi £14 chargers work this way, so its not expensive tech'.
As no one has mentioned the most important element of all, I'll step in...
If you are charging an Odyssey battery you are charging an AGM battery, and if you're charging any AGM battery you need a charger with an AGM setting... and make sure you select that setting. An AGM charging algorithm is very different to a traditional flooded battery charging algorithm, do not underestimate this difference.
In my personal opinion a bigger charger is always better, there have been a flood of small chargers on the market in the last 10 years but 90% of them are really just low amp maintenance chargers, typically they are not what I would consider a proper workshop charger or the sort of thing a professional mechanic would choose.
You don't always need lots of amps but the day you do you'll soon wish you'd bought that proper and traditionally sized charger, this type of charger is built bigger for a reason, and it's all to do with heat. It doesn't matter how clever the charger is its very hard make a small body charger at a reasonable price that can get rid of the heat generated when higher amperage is required.
I myself fitted an Odyssey PC1500 some seven years ago, Odyssey batteries really are the best you can get but they do not cure parasitic drain issues and they still require careful maintenance if they're to give a good service life. So the next thing I did after fitting my Odyssey was to buy a really good full sized charger with the proper AGM setting feature.
The Ring RSCPR50 wasn't cheap, but quality is seldom cheap, by using it as designed I'm hoping to get 14 years out of my £200 Odyssey PC1500 battery, a battery that's currently only half way through it's expected life.
If you are charging an Odyssey battery you are charging an AGM battery, and if you're charging any AGM battery you need a charger with an AGM setting... and make sure you select that setting. An AGM charging algorithm is very different to a traditional flooded battery charging algorithm, do not underestimate this difference.
In my personal opinion a bigger charger is always better, there have been a flood of small chargers on the market in the last 10 years but 90% of them are really just low amp maintenance chargers, typically they are not what I would consider a proper workshop charger or the sort of thing a professional mechanic would choose.
You don't always need lots of amps but the day you do you'll soon wish you'd bought that proper and traditionally sized charger, this type of charger is built bigger for a reason, and it's all to do with heat. It doesn't matter how clever the charger is its very hard make a small body charger at a reasonable price that can get rid of the heat generated when higher amperage is required.
I myself fitted an Odyssey PC1500 some seven years ago, Odyssey batteries really are the best you can get but they do not cure parasitic drain issues and they still require careful maintenance if they're to give a good service life. So the next thing I did after fitting my Odyssey was to buy a really good full sized charger with the proper AGM setting feature.
The Ring RSCPR50 wasn't cheap, but quality is seldom cheap, by using it as designed I'm hoping to get 14 years out of my £200 Odyssey PC1500 battery, a battery that's currently only half way through it's expected life.
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Wednesday 15th February 13:55
Matthew Poxon said:
carsy said:
Just out of interest Matthew where are you putting it. Original place or boot.
Hello Ian, I am copying eff eff's design and going for 2 x smaller batteries wired in parallel to fit behind the seats.Lots of ideas in this thread for those interested... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
jesfirth said:
Hi matthew. I just had to renew my Shorai battery having had an alternator fault that drained it completely and killed it. sodding expensive at £350 for the battery but weighs almost nothing....
2.2kg!!! My new super light Odyssey batteries are 7kg each, a good saving over the OEM battery at 18kg. That Shoria battery is something else! 
All,
Apologies for not returning to reply since my original post - I've been away from the web for a few days. Thanks for all your comments, info and enlightenment. Like others I wasn't aware of the need for a specific AGM charge cycle/function, so will make this a "must have" and will also heed the words and opt for a larger charger with higher amp output. Given that my chosen supplier doesn't stock Accumate but does stock C-tek, I'll spend some pennies on a decent C-tek model.
Having seen that the PC925 is currently out of stock at my intended supplier, I see that the PC1100 is in stock, has higher cold crank capacity, is near enough the same price as the PC925, and is also slimmer (front to back) to allow an extra inch or two in the footwell. Hmm, ticks a few boxes...!
Thanks again everyone.
Now, time to find the credit card...!
Apologies for not returning to reply since my original post - I've been away from the web for a few days. Thanks for all your comments, info and enlightenment. Like others I wasn't aware of the need for a specific AGM charge cycle/function, so will make this a "must have" and will also heed the words and opt for a larger charger with higher amp output. Given that my chosen supplier doesn't stock Accumate but does stock C-tek, I'll spend some pennies on a decent C-tek model.
Having seen that the PC925 is currently out of stock at my intended supplier, I see that the PC1100 is in stock, has higher cold crank capacity, is near enough the same price as the PC925, and is also slimmer (front to back) to allow an extra inch or two in the footwell. Hmm, ticks a few boxes...!
Thanks again everyone.
Now, time to find the credit card...!
This is the Odyssey Approved List of battery chargers:
http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents/ODYSSEY_ap...
Interesting the Ctek version they recommend does not appear to have an AGM mode
http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents/ODYSSEY_ap...
Interesting the Ctek version they recommend does not appear to have an AGM mode
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