Trickle chargers

[PJT]

What model/brand do folks tend to use?

CTEK MXS 5 seems to be well thought of.

Has anyone had any issues.  I was going to connect the rings straight to the battery in the boot rather than into the access panel.  Can the cigarette lighter be used?

I hAd a flat battery yesterday, so it’s the first time I’ve removed it from the Exige.  I think it was in the wrong way.  Much shorter cable to the negative terminal, but this was boot side, so I had to slide the battery out a little, undo the connection, so I could slide it out on the much longer positive so I could undo that one.  I was going to put it back the other was, as it seemed to make sense with the cable lengths.  That way I can connect both terminals then slide the battery back in.

There is also a breather/ vent pipe which I’ve never had on a battery before.  On reading stuff, that seems to need to go through a hole to the outside.  It was just stuffed in beside the battery.

[Daveb99]

Hi Pete.  I’ve used these for years on different cars, much cheaper than CTEK and have a 4A charge rate as well as trickle/maintenance, so will recharge a flat battery faster.  Can also be used easily with smart plugs in the garage as you don’t need to press any buttons after powering it on.   

Will Blackham uses them, as do many people on SELOC.

Nothing against CTEK but these are far better bang for your buck.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAYPOLE-MP7423-Electronic-Car-Battery-Charger-4A-Fast-Trickle-Pulse-Modes-4-AMP-/332552434699?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

 

[timbo]

Most of these chargers are pretty generic internally and use the same IC for monitoring the charging process

The way they work is to charge until they see a drop in voltage (delta-V), which is an indicator that the battery is fully charged. Then they swap to trickle charge mode.

I've been using a pair of Aldi Auto-XS branded ones for a while now, with no issues, cost around £14 each.

[Stik]

I've been using a Maypole one on mine, i like that it has a voltmeter built in.  I connect it to the OBD port under the dash, i find that easy to get at and i had a spare obd plug hanging around. 

I'm not sure where the vent pipe on my battery goes, it disappears deeper into the boot, presumably to outside somewhere.  Having a vent is important in our cars because the boot is a pretty well sealed space and you don't want to risk hydrogen building up in there. Lead acid batteries produce hydrogen when they're charged at a high current, such as running a car that's got a fairly flat battery since it'll draw a hefty current from the alternator as it charges back up.  (This is why battery chargers always make a fuss about turning them off before disconnecting the leads, otherwise taking off clips from battery posts often spark a bit, and you don't want to ignite a cloud of hydrogen that's hanging around.  it's unlikely, but better safe than sorry i suppose, and they cover their own arses that way...)

[PJT]

Thanks Guys,

There was an Evora on facebook a while back with an engine fire, I wonder of that's what happened.

I'll look for a little hole to pop my pipe into!  Hopefully stop some explosions.

The Maypole looks interesting and is a third of the price.

The real answer to my issue is to use the car more though.....obviously.

 

[Trebor_UK]

I use a solar trickle charger, and have been using it for 6 or so years without issue.  Have a small panel mounted at around 40 degrees on the back wall of the house and 7m of cable round into the garage where the charger lives.

Doesn't do any fancy conditioning but has prevented me from having a flat battery when the car is left for a few weeks. Even through winter it puts enough in to prevent a flat.  My Evo would be flat in 2 weeks in winter if left alone, I left it 7-8 weeks sometimes with this trickling it and it always started.

I have an older version of this - Solar Trickle Charger

Used the croc clips to begin with but used CTEK cables and connectors for the Lotus due to difficulty of access direct to the battery, and installed a fuse in the loop to the connector in the car just in case somehow it ever gets shorted.

 

 

[martenr1975]

Hi Pete, I've gone for a ctek mxs 3.8 with the cigarette lighter adapter so I don't need to ferret about in the boot to connect to battery

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-accessories/ctek-cigarette-plug-adapter-166606.html

[winthattt]

On my S2 Exige it had “jump start” posts under the passenger side front service panel. I connected my charger pig tail connector to those posts and left the connector poking out between the service panel and the screen. I do something similar with my S1.  Connecting the charger takes seconds.

 

 

[kayj_prod]

I use an Optimate 3... I leave short tails connected to the battery and then just connect use the quick connector to plug in to the charger. Just realised it is getting on for fourteen years old now!

[PJT]

Got myself hook up with a Maypole.

[Daveb99]

Nice one Pete, great chargers 👍🏻

[Biscuits4cheese]

I have the ctek 5 and the cigarette lighter attachment it’s great, got it on a 20% off deal from Halfords, ordered free delivery  4.30 pm Tuesday delivered 1.pm the next day.

[Mutley00]

I've used the Aldi chargers for over 30 years with no problems at all. Wasting your money buying anything else!

[MG4Lotus]

I have a Selmar Turbo6 which I bought about 45 years ago (I used to be a biker). It's switchable between 6v and 12v. I've probably used it less than a dozen times. I can't remember how much I paid for it but I'm determined to get value for my money. I have used it on the Evora once.

[Mutley00]

Aldi alert - their chargers are currently for sale on 'the middle aisle'