Please Recommend a Battery Charger

[_Hoppers]

I’ve had a few regular runs for hospital appointments for my son, thankfully we shouldn’t be needing so many now. My 320D will probably be sat for a few weeks now so I’m thinking I should probably get a charger to maintain the battery.

Do I need anything in particular, or will a cheapo charger do?

[citizen smith]

I use an Accumate, either plug it into the cigar lighter or connect to the battery with crocodile clips.

[d_a_n1979]

_Hoppers said:

I’ve had a few regular runs for hospital appointments for my son, thankfully we shouldn’t be needing so many now. My 320D will probably be sat for a few weeks now so I’m thinking I should probably get a charger to maintain the battery.

Do I need anything in particular, or will a cheapo charger do?

I've had this for years now; used on all BMWs I've had, when necessary.

Connect the hard lines to the terminals so you just need to use one plug and leave it to trickle away

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-5-0-Reconditions...

[cornershop]

If you look at the outer casing of smart chargers, they all have a ‘Mode’ button to allow you to cycle through the various options.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they are made in the same factory. I certainly found my 25 GBP Ring charger just as effective as my Ctek MXS 5.0

[Pioneer]

d_a_n1979 said:

I've had this for years now; used on all BMWs I've had, when necessary.

Connect the hard lines to the terminals so you just need to use one plug and leave it to trickle away

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-5-0-Reconditions...

This is what I use on everything from my Lambo to an old Transit van. Never let me down

[_Hoppers]

Thanks for all your suggestions comments folks. The CTEK one looks identical to the BMW version!

[g3org3y]

Pioneer said:

d_a_n1979 said:

I've had this for years now; used on all BMWs I've had, when necessary.

Connect the hard lines to the terminals so you just need to use one plug and leave it to trickle away

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-5-0-Reconditions...

This is what I use on everything from my Lambo to an old Transit van. Never let me down

+1

[4rephill]

_Hoppers said:

Thanks for all your suggestions comments folks. The CTEK one looks identical to the BMW version!

CTEK supply smart battery chargers/conditioners to all of the top marques, right up to the likes of Ferrari.They are identical in every way to CTEK 's own brand models, apart form having the manufacturers logo on them.

I bought a CTEK smart battery charger/conditioner for my Ferrari 348 - Absolutely superb bit of kit! (no longer have the car, but I still have the CTEK unit)

I don't think you can do any better TBH.

[FiF]

Can't speak for other manufacturers but the thing I like about CTEK is that they have a number of accessories which allow you to connect to the battery not just by standard croc clips. I particularly like the convenience connection with ring eyelets that bolt onto the battery terminals. It has a traffic light system to show battery charge so you can arrange the indicator into a position such that you can immediately see if it needs a charge. Useful if you have several vehicles, indicator on each one, only need one charger.

[Mr-B]

I have a couple of ultimate speed smart chargers from Lidl when they have had their offers on, about £14 and have always done a good job. The only downside is you have to keep an eye on the website and wait till the motoring offers come in which may be only a couple of times a year. It will do 6 and 12 volt, and will "maintain" a battery so you can leave it plugged in all the time

[triple5]

I’ve been a CTEK user for years and after my MXS 5.0 recently let me down I looked for alternatives.

Went with a Noco Genius 5, it comes with all the same type of connection options as the CTEK only much better made. In particular the connectors are more robust.

My CTEK problem issue turned out to be a problem with the connectors in the end, which I’ve now replaced. Wouldn’t look at anything other than Noco now.

[Depthhoar]

If you go to an Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz or Porsche main dealer for an OE battery charger/conditioner you'll be supplied with a re-badged Ctek model.

Needless to say, the dealer will part you from 4 or 5 times the cost of the equivalent Ctek model.












There'll be a good reason why they're all reselling what in reality are Ctek chargers.

[bmwmike]

Depthhoar said:

There'll be a good reason why they're all reselling what in reality are Ctek chargers.

Yes, it shows how good ctek's marketing department is. I don't think ctek are particularly good quality and certainly not on a level suggested by the retail price.

[21st Century Man]

triple5 said:

I’ve been a CTEK user for years and after my MXS 5.0 recently let me down I looked for alternatives.

Went with a Noco Genius 5, it comes with all the same type of connection options as the CTEK only much better made. In particular the connectors are more robust.

How long does it take your Noco to charge a battery?

I bought a Genius 5 last summer and I've only just used it, but it doesn't seem to work. It seems to be stuck on the first red 25% charge pulse. 24 hours on my car and the battery voltage has remained unchanged at 12.1 volts, same with my campervan, which was still flat after 24 hours on charge (I didn't measure the voltage, but I jumped it and went for a run, now it's a healthier 12.7 volts). The manual says 12 hours to fully charge. Googling and it seems a common complaint, there are many reports saying it can take several days with many giving up on it and returning. My old CTEK would top up in a couple of hours and would fully charge from flat easily during the course of the day.

[triple5]

21st Century Man said:

How long does it take your Noco to charge a battery?

I bought a Genius 5 last summer and I've only just used it, but it doesn't seem to work. It seems to be stuck on the first red 25% charge pulse. 24 hours on my car and the battery voltage has remained unchanged at 12.1 volts, same with my campervan, which was still flat after 24 hours on charge (I didn't measure the voltage, but I jumped it and went for a run, now it's a healthier 12.7 volts). The manual says 12 hours to fully charge. Googling and it seems a common complaint, there are many reports saying it can take several days with many giving up on it and returning. My old CTEK would top up in a couple of hours and would fully charge from flat easily during the course of the day.

Not tried it from flat and not measured the time, but always gets it back to charged (Green light), within hours. No issues at all with mine.

[21st Century Man]

Thanks. I think mine's faulty. Will return.

[anonymous-user]

Ctek ftw. The charging algorithm is different to the noco not to mention better.

[Mr-B]

Just FYI Aldi doing their special buy motor accessories from next Sunday, trickle charger £13, seems to work OK on my hibernating MX5.

edit: Seems they are available now too rather than just from next week.

Edited by Mr-B on Sunday 7th February 11:43

[mercedeslimos]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Mine has got a fly lead that you bolt to the battery terminals and plug in/unplug when not needed.

[21st Century Man]

My Noco Genius 5 was replaced, the new one is working fine. Charged a flat in 6 hours and topped up others in a couple of hours. It's good when it works.