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?

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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."

[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.

[PositronicRay]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

http://www.wilko.com/electrical-accessories/wilko-...

[PositronicRay]

Hi OP here Happy new year all

I've ordered the Ctek eyelet comfort connector (incidentally it comes fused)

http://www.ctek.com/gb/en/chargers/Comfort%20Indic...

And a Ctek 2.5m extension. (which won't be long enough)

http://www.ctek.com/gb/en/chargers/Comfort%20Conne...

Ctek say you shouldn't use a longer lead because of voltage drop. I'm thinking that during a maintenance cycle (rather than a charge) current draw will be minimal, so I'll extend the 2.5m cable to suit.

If I need to charge a battery, and have a higher current draw, I'll just use a shorter cable.

I found this handy "current draw/voltage drop/cable size calculator" which answered my original question.

http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/cable-sizing-selecti...

Thank you all for your contributions.

Edited by PositronicRay on Monday 2nd January 08:14