Battery Conditioners - Good deal on eBay...

[stimshady]

If anyone is looking for a battery conditioner, I have just bought one of the below. The same product as the official AM one, just without the logo printed on...

Looks like a good deal to me.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Battery-Conditioner-Char...

[BravoV8V]

This item (from the same seller, no connection) is a much better deal:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141390752389

[stimshady]

BravoV8V said:

This item (from the same seller, no connection) is a much better deal:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141390752389

I think the first one is the replacement model of the CTEK one you have mentioned... is cheap though!

[Jon1967x]

I'd go with the CTEK one - 5 Amp version seems to be the best option and I wouldn't worry about the Aston Martin reference

[avinalarf]

Jon1967x said:

I'd go with the CTEK one - 5 Amp version seems to be the best option and I wouldn't worry about the Aston Martin reference

Why ?
What does the CTEK do better than the one that Matt's purchased ?

Edited by avinalarf on Wednesday 10th September 11:06

[stimshady]

too late, I've already gone with the first one, at least it's the same as the current AM one, just without the logo..!

And from £240 (from AM) to £95 is good with me

[HappyBoxster]

This seems like as good a time as any to ask, are these considered complusory items with regard AM ownership?

[stimshady]

HappyBoxster said:

This seems like as good a time as any to ask, are these considered complusory items with regard AM ownership?

Depends if you leave your car long enough for the battery to go flat!

[outofstepuk]

HappyBoxster said:

This seems like as good a time as any to ask, are these considered complusory items with regard AM ownership?

No, I find driving the car does the trick

[HappyBoxster]

And how long is that with AM's, specifically Vantages: days/weeks/months?

[stimshady]

outofstepuk said:

No, I find driving the car does the trick

Living in London, my main mode of transport is the DLR (and taxis)! So the AM is really a weekend toy, it can easily not be used for a few weeks, especially if I've got a couple of busy weekends in London... so for me I do need something to keep it topped up.

After 2.5 weeks you can have problems where it won't start.

[BravoV8V]

avinalarf said:

Why ?
What does the CTEK do better than the one that Matt's purchased ?

They do the same job but one is £60, the other is £95. Seems obvious to me!

(Incidentally, that isn't a particularly good price for the CTEK unit. It just looks good up against AM pricing. I imagine the same applies to the other unit).

[gibbon]

HappyBoxster said:

And how long is that with AM's, specifically Vantages: days/weeks/months?

I've left mine for 2 weeks, maybe slightly longer and had no issues. (2006 v8 vantage), but try to drive at least once every two weeks.

[stimshady]

The CTEK does look a bit crap though - not that such things should matter, but hey, we're driving Aston Martin's, so maybe it does!

[avinalarf]

BravoV8V said:

avinalarf said:

Why ?
What does the CTEK do better than the one that Matt's purchased ?

They do the same job but one is £60, the other is £95. Seems obvious to me!

(Incidentally, that isn't a particularly good price for the CTEK unit. It just looks good up against AM pricing. I imagine the same applies to the other unit).

Regardless of the price difference,is the newer (more expensive) model more effective.
As the latest model one might assume it has some benefits over the CTEK.

[john ryan]

'I've left mine for 2 weeks, maybe slightly longer and had no issues. (2006 v8 vantage), but try to drive at least once every two weeks.'

After six weeks non use mine doesn't seem to lose any charge (2007 V8V) - but I leave it unlocked (in a locked garage). An extreme test maybe - I also try to use every couple of weeks if possible.

[V8 Animal]

I use a accumate with the fag lighter attatchment.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

[cayman-black]

This is the best value. New model with the red button.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CTEK-NEW-MXS5-0-Battery-...

[Ian365]

A modern trickle charger monitors the voltage of the battery (measured via the 12V socket in the boot) and reduces its current output as the battery voltage increases under charge. It's an extremely simple electronic circuit and it costs very little to produce a reliable product.

The 'conditioner' part of the name of expensive versions is flim-flam really. All electronic trickle chargers based on the above work in the same way - reducing their output in stages until full charge is achieved. In time, as the voltage drops off, the charger sees this and increases its output thereby 'conditioning' the battery. This method allows the charger to be connected indefinitely.

Lidl used to sell one a while back for not much; badged 'Ultimate Speed - Car Battery Charger ULG 3.8 A1'. I found one on fleabay for £17 - it's worked perfectly for the past year, as expected. There's very little to go wrong, even on cheap ones.

[Jon1967x]

All I know is my CTEK one which is about 6 months old goes through about 6 different stages while conditioning / charging the battery. The 5 amp reference is how quickly it can recover a flat battery - some of the cheaper/lower powered ones take much longer to charge and some trickle charges can maintain a level but would struggle to charge from flat.

CTEK also do a 7A one but thats a, costs more, and b, geared more to truck and lorry batteries which have much bigger capacity.

If I've not driven mine for 2 weeks I'd stick the charger on over night.