halfords battery conditioner/charger

[A.C.E]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

anyone tried this? i was looking at the c-tek or optimate, but they aren't in stock.

[falkster]

I'd be very interested in one also! I've just sorned my two car and just take the battery off. Clearly the benefit is not having to take the battery off but other than that and the cost of having one of these on permanently? Is it really worth it?

[A.C.E]

my car is tucked away now but on cold crisp dry days, it will be out so i need to keep the battery topped up, plus i dont want to remove the battery from the car.

[uk89camaro]

I have one, works fine. You don't need to disconnect the battery.

Mine isn't sorned, so makes the odd spin out over winter a bit quicker to mobilise.

[twazzock]

Possibly worth having a look at this thread:

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...

Meant to be as good as a C-Tek, but much cheaper. I bought one from Aldi but haven't used it so can't really comment.

[falkster]

uk89camaro said:

I have one, works fine. You don't need to disconnect the battery.

Mine isn't sorned, so makes the odd spin out over winter a bit quicker to mobilise.

I do sound extremely tight but how much do they cost to run?

[A.C.E]

uk89camaro said:

I have one, works fine. You don't need to disconnect the battery.

Mine isn't sorned, so makes the odd spin out over winter a bit quicker to mobilise.

do you leave it on constantly whilst you aren't using your car? it'll be on maybe 3 weeks or more constantly on mine if the weather is anything like last year. so, you reckon go for one then?

[A.C.E]

falkster said:

I do sound extremely tight but how much do they cost to run?

tight arse!!! it's only charging 12v, and i reckon it's a damn sight cheaper than a new battery.

[LuS1fer]

I use an Accumate. I can't find the exact one now but it's 12v not the 6/12v version.

Cheapest link to the model that appears the same is here at £39.95 at the MGOC: http://www.mgocspares.com/acatalog/sec_MGBV8genlec...

Mine has been in more or less constant use on my Z06 and now mustang since 2004 and the notoriously fallible original Mustang battery is still in perfect nick.

[456mgt]

A.C.E said:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

anyone tried this? i was looking at the c-tek or optimate, but they aren't in stock.

I have 4 or 5 of these. They work perfectly well and I leave them attached to the cars all the time. They're especially good because the crocodile clips are nice and small for those situations where the battery is tucked away and hard to get to.

[Jimbo.]

I have the slightly (!) bigger charger/maintnenance doo-dah:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

...and it's one of the best bits of garage kit I've got. Has recovered several otherwise shagged batteries and kept 'em healthy.

[Cotty]

A.C.E said:

falkster said:

I do sound extremely tight but how much do they cost to run?

tight arse!!! it's only charging 12v, and i reckon it's a damn sight cheaper than a new battery.

I kill a battery every two years in my E30 as I don't use it enough. I have complementary home start with the AA. The guy checked everything over and said its just not being used enough. He said I needed to use it at least 1/2 hour a week just to get the battery "juices flowing".

Now puchased a newer car that I do not intend to use every week I asked around and was suggested a battery conditioner.

I had lots of suggestions on this thread
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... battery conditioner&mid=382

[Ozzie Osmond]

Cotty said:

I kill a battery every two years in my E30 as I don't use it enough. I have complementary home start with the AA. The guy checked everything over and said its just not being used enough. He said I needed to use it at least 1/2 hour a week just to get the battery "juices flowing".

^^^^^^ Absolutely this.

[Huff]

No, that's not required. Just fit a battery isolator or unhook one battery terminal if you aren't going to use it for a while. It is slow but ultimately deep discharge from small loads/electrical 'leaks' (like an alarm, the onboard clock or even the alternator diodes ) that kills batteries in a week or three - when a charged SLA can stand alone 3-5months+ and still start a car.

Conditioners use very little power if the battery is charged in the first place; they'll settle to a 'float' coltage around 13.8v and only make up the leakage, something well under 50mA. At that rate, and assuming only 50% efficiency, it cost about £2-3 a year to run 24/7.

Edited by Huff on Monday 7th November 22:09

[Huff]

Afterthought for information: a 20mA draw, typical of most cars even without the alarm set wastes 10Ah of capacity in 2-3weeks.

If you only had a 40Ah battery in the first place, it's now down to 80% of nominal capacity, and unlikely to start the car. Even a whopping 80- 90Ah lump will get to this point in a month or so. Keep the baattery under 80% for any length of time and it *will* losing capacity or start dying permanently - car batteries are 'starting, lighting, ignition' only; they cannot withstand deep discharge.

[Cotty]

Huff said:

No, that's not required. Just fit a battery isolator or unhook one battery terminal if you aren't going to use it for a while. It is slow but ultimately deep discharge from small loads/electrical 'leaks' (like an alarm, the onboard clock or even the alternator diodes ) that kills batteries in a week or three - when a charged SLA can stand alone 3-5months+ and still start a car.

Your idea is sound, reagarding battery life, but that unconects the alarm from the battery

[A.C.E]

churz for the replies, looks like i'll be getting one then.

[falkster]

Cotty said:

I kill a battery every two years in my E30 as I don't use it enough. I have complementary home start with the AA. The guy checked everything over and said its just not being used enough. He said I needed to use it at least 1/2 hour a week just to get the battery "juices flowing".

Now puchased a newer car that I do not intend to use every week I asked around and was suggested a battery conditioner.

I had lots of suggestions on this thread
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... battery conditioner&mid=382

I just tape the reciept to the battery!!

[richardxjr]

My £25 Halfords one just stopped working in less than a year.

My Aldi £12.99 one is much better

[IanA2]

Optimate or Accumate are good alternatives, I have three of the latter and they work fine. About £50.00 from Amazon iirc.