Which trickle charger?

[yanyan]

Hello,
I have a Mk 1 Ford Fiesta XR2 (therefore, no fancy Dan electronics to worry about) which spends probably 10 months of its life in my garage.
I'm looking to buy a trickle charger that I can leave turned on all the time when the car is in the garage.
I'm homing in on a CTEC MXS 5 (£70 odds) which seems to fit the bill.
Before I "add to basket" in Amazon, can anyone advise me further?
Many thanks!

[InitialDave]

I have a couple of small CTEKs, never had an issue with them.

[J4CKO]

Ctek, had the 0.8 and it did the job, lent it to a neighbour and their wonky Polo electrics killed it, bought a 5 amp one and its much more beefy, the 0.8 is more for caravan batteries and the like, 0.8 is a lot slower.

[watchnut]

The CTEC is a great charger, I keep it on my MX5 and it does the job great. A sound investment

[B17NNS]

Another vote for CTEK

[TC7]

Iv had my ST hooked up to an Accumate in my garage all year round for the last 5 years or so as it also mostly sits unused unless the weathers fine. Never had an issue with it. Once you've put the quick connector on the terminals it takes seconds to plug in and unplug when you use the car.
I got one for my mums TT a few years ago as that sits quite a bit as she uses a company car most of the time, and my dad who's tighter than a ducks arse (he asked if i could make the led turn off showing its charge level as he couldn't bare to see the electric being used all the time ) admits he didnt notice a change in their electric bill so he keeps it plugged in all the time, as buying 2 new bosch batteries in as many years before i convinced him an accumate would stop the battery failing about killed him

[anonymous-user]

They all trickle charge and bulk charge in the same way. Charging lead acid batteries is fairly simple. Most also desulphate - a boosted voltage that clears lead sulphate crystals from the plates.

I use £14 ones from lidl / Aldi - they work perfectly and also kick out a fair few more amps (8) than the basic accumates, which speeds up emergency charging no end. The only caveat is that they require a button press to start charging after a power cut, so if you suffer occasional power cuts, you need to return to the charger to restart it , which isn't ideal if you are away for months at a time.

I use mine to recharge batteries for a remote site, and to keep my TVR charged over winter

[Earthdweller]

I have a Ctek on my Z4 and an Aldi one on the lawnmower .. both work just fine

[Miserablegit]

I have quite a few optimates and have had the first of them for 12 years. Used on cars, bikes, tractors, mowers. They are all still working and are fit and forget

[anonymous-user]

Ctek MXS5, just works.

[CABC]

J4CKO said:

Ctek, had the 0.8 and it did the job, lent it to a neighbour and their wonky Polo electrics killed it, bought a 5 amp one and its much more beefy, the 0.8 is more for caravan batteries and the like, 0.8 is a lot slower.

I prefer the .8 one as it's fine for maintenance. Need more then you've got a problem.
Ctek broke Use optimate
Also on a timer

[Penelope Stopit]

The thing to do is to slowly discharge and then charge and keep repeating the process If the car is stood for months.....not all the time though
There must be chargers on the market that do this, I don't need to use the above method and have no idea what's out there

[yanyan]

The CTEK MXS5 charger arrived today on Amazon "same day" free delivery!
It's now connected to my car's battery and doing its business.
Many thanks for everyone's input.

[Penelope Stopit]

If it discharges and charges it is, if it doesn't it isn't

[SlimJim16v]

Lead acid batteries don't like being discharged below a certain voltage.

[Penelope Stopit]

Lead acid batteries don't like being fully charged and then left stood doing nothing