With winter well on the way, I think it might be time I gave my battery a bit of a boost. I do a lot of driving in the dark and its quite infrequent, 2 things which don't help the battery much. I got in it yesterday, after it had sat a few days (and was also bitter cold) and it didn't turn over with its usual enthusiasm. (Not just 'cos the oil is viscous, but the fuel pump sounded slow too)
Question is, which battery charger?
Practical Classics tested them not so long ago and a Sparkrite (SBC6) came out with the 'best budget buy' accolade.
Like this one, I would ideally like a one with a battery charge/charging display and the ability for it to switch itself off/convert to trickle charge once the charging cycle is complete. Also, all this for a reasonable price (SBC6 was £20). I don't want to spend that much on something i'll only use once a year
Any recommendations?
|
Good and cheap are contradictory.
The CTEK 3600 is good but £55.
If you want to spend significantly less than the SBC6's £20, you're not going to get quality or features.
|
|
I got a Gunson's Gold three-stage automatic charger which does what you want. Got it 5 years ago for about £30 and its been fine.
|
|
Unscrew the battery cell tops and make sure all six cells have liquid above the top of the plates. If not put some in so that they do.
|
From memory, the battery is entirely sealed (Bosch Silver) so I can't access them.
Decent and cheap aren't necessarily a contradiction. Blend the two together and you get value for money.
They tested the CTEK 36 and it came out with the 'recommended' accolade. But £55 is far too expensive. £20 is about what I wanted to pay (I should have made that more clear in my original post). Incidentally, the SBC6 was mail order only, and was wondering if any high street shops had anything similar?
|
take the beastie for a spin on sunday afternoon when no accesories are needed and if the battery and alternator are doing their thing a trickle shouldnt be necessary,havn"t used one for years since i got rid of the dynamo on my old morris
|
|
|
|
The quality is appreciated long after the price is forgotten. I bought a multi-function unit from Halfords and paid about £60 for it (so I suppose I could have bought the same thing a bit cheaper elsewhere). It has a compressor and hose for tyres, a flourescent work light, a 13 amp 3 pin socket, a 12v socket and booster leads. It's brilliant, well made and I feel certain it will keep going for years. Invaluable when we had a 14 hour power cut and worth every penny and on a freezing winter morning when you need every ounce of juice you can get, you may wish you'd spent a few quid more.
|
it doesnt make the tea then?
|
|
I plug my teasmaid into it for that, so far she hasn't complained.
|
|
My view is that once the battery starts to go you might as well think of replacing it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
>>I got a Gunson's Gold three-stage automatic charger>>
Had a similar Gunson one for around 10-12 years. Only had to use it less than a handful of times, but it gets neighbours' cars in action after only around half-an-hour's charging.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
Provided the battery and alternator are in good condition, I can't see that you need worry about a charger. I regularly leave my Megane for several weeks without being started when I am using another car or if I'm abroad.
|
|
The battery will charge perfectly well whether you have lights and electrical accessories on or not. All that'll happen is you'll get slightly poorer MPG as you're putting additional load on the engine.
|
|
|
Ok folks. Thanks for those replies.
The battery is a relatively new unit being only fitted for 13 months, so I have no reason to suspect that?s a problem.
Maybe it was a one off (Haven?t driven the car since so can't comment)
Maybe it would be a good idea to check the output of the alternator?
There are a few chargers EBay which are the same as those that I mentioned earlier, and they have quite a good discount over retail prices. Plus I always think its a good idea to have a one on standby.
|
|
|
|
|
|
