Another new Griffith owner - trickle charger question
Another new Griffith owner - trickle charger question
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Discussion

jonnylayze

Original Poster:

1,640 posts

255 months

Friday 9th April 2010
quotequote all
Hi there - My S2 is finally set to make way for a Griffith - I've just bought a pre-cat 4.3 (teenage bedroom poster syndrome....). Anyway, have a query about trickle chargers.

On the S2 - which has no immobiliser - I fitted a battery cut out switch uunder the dashboard which was good for security, and helped to maintain the power of the battery.

The Griffith has an immobiliser and because I don't want to cause any problems in this regard, I'm minded not to fit a battery cut out but still want to ensure that the battery doesn't drain if the car isn't used. I want to buy a trickle charger and was really looking for some advice about what people feel is best. I've seen this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Solar-panel-to-charge-12v-ca... on the dreaded ebay but it looks almost too cheap to be any good (ignoring the ridiculous postage at £10.99). Any feedback would be gratefully received.

PS - here's a pic of the car in convoy with my dad's Taimar SE on the way home in the sunshine. What a great day smile






BliarOut

72,863 posts

268 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
Get the Aldi charger when they come back on sale biggrin

rigga

8,806 posts

230 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
Do you have a power supply for where the car is stored? if so then a trickle charger with a cigar plug adapter is the way to go... im guessing not though as you mentioned solar chargers,in which case most have too little output to be of use,but this one seemed to get some good responce as its 4w for 12v batteries... had a look at one last weekend and it looked pretty neat,would need to add the desired connections of your choice,but they sell everything else so thats not a problem.



http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=34806...

jonnylayze

Original Poster:

1,640 posts

255 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
I have access to power - just thought that the solar power might bump up my eco credentials wink However, it's useful feedback to hear that they don't push out enough power. Can anyone reccomend a mains one?

rigga

8,806 posts

230 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
Optimate,Acumate......loads all pretty much the same really,had an Optimate for around 10 years now on various bikes and now the Griff,excellent bits of kit.

BliarOut

72,863 posts

268 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
The Aldi one is a ctek but without the price!

MPoxon

5,329 posts

202 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
Hello and welcome,

With regards to solar charging I asked the same question earlier this year and had some good responses:

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

The Red Baron

299 posts

212 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
The solar-powered trickle charger sounds like a good idea, but if the sun is out we're normally using the car.

It's over winter, when the sun doesn't shine that they sit for extended periods without use. Fat lot of good a solar-powered charger will be then.

Optimate, or Acumate IMHO.

blitzracing

6,422 posts

249 months

Saturday 10th April 2010
quotequote all
As blair out says, the Aldi or Lidl chargers are a good bet, they cost about £12 and have all the same features as a £60 charger (people forget electronics are dirt cheap these days- you are just paying for a name otherwise), but they only come up for sale a few times a year. Depends if you are in a hurry or not.