Lidl Battery chargers back in stock

[rswift]

Just noticed this, design seems slightly updated since last year.

I've got 2 of these, and they work a treat for £13 !

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?actio...

[r11co]

Looks exactly the same as the one I bought 2 years ago. Better than the previous design though that eventually stops working properly because the voltage detection circuit goes out of whack (the one I threw out when I replaced with one of these, which at that money is no heartache).

[996TT02]

r11co said:

Looks exactly the same as the one I bought 2 years ago. Better than the previous design though that eventually stops working properly because the voltage detection circuit goes out of whack (the one I threw out when I replaced with one of these, which at that money is no heartache).

So is this "design" any good?

I believe I have one of the earlier ones, the issue is that it is reluctant to start charging, I too figured that it thinks that the battery is fully charged when it is not. Not sure whether a fault per se, I use to to top up a battery that is normally still (say) 90% charged which probably would be showing more than 12V if the car has just been turned off.

To get it to work I sometimes have to turn the lights on for half a minute or so, presumably the voltage drop then allows the charger to start charging.

If the battery is very flat then again it tends not to want to charge and I have in the past had to jumper the bad battery so that there is some voltage for the charger to register that it is actually connected to a battery.

Either way I have resurrected my old "analogue" charger, you just connect it, and it will charge! And blow a fuse if you cock up, no protection bla bla.

[Renovation]

I bought one last year - it's ok BUT it simply won't charge flat batteries that my £50 CTEK will.

If the CTEK saves even one battery it's more than paid for itself and for that reason I wouldn't recommend the Lidl one

[PlayersNo6]

Excellent chargers, I have the previous model. Initially got it for the Panasonic gel battery on my NB MX-5 but now use it for trickle charging the XJ8. Believe it's got CTEK innards.

[t400ble]

Renovation said:

I bought one last year - it's ok BUT it simply won't charge flat batteries that my £50 CTEK will.

If the CTEK saves even one battery it's more than paid for itself and for that reason I wouldn't recommend the Lidl one

Another CTEK vote here

[Claudia Skies]

That's a neat price if it can get you out of a corner.

Catch is - you often end up buying the charger and then a few weeks later a new battery as well.

Good price though.

[rswift]

My advice is, if you've got one car and need a better charger, then spend a bit more and get one that will work from flat. I've got one ... Can't remember which, and too cold to go and look, which is great, but was £80. If you have several cars....as I do, and some (ahem) pending further work ... £13 is a bargain. 2 of my cars are 6v, and this keeps these rare and expensive batteries in fine health.

[Dog Star]

glad I spotted this! (I'm paging through looking for the dashcam thread).

I need a new one as one of mine was stolen last April (I need one for each bike).

[r11co]

996TT02 said:

So is this "design" any good?

In a word yes, and your description of the problems with the earlier versions is exactly my experience. The voltage display on this one at least gives you a clue what is happening.

These chargers are also great for using with battery conditioning circuits (ie. the slow desulphators). I managed to completely revive a BMW OEM battery this way. Took a month mind....