12v Battery Charger

[l5foye]

Can anyone recommend a good quality 12v Battery Charger capable of charging at 10 amps or more? Don't mention CTEK-the last one I bought lasted 14 months and the factory were looking more than the purchase price to repair it. I bought a Noco Genious -it wouldn't charge up fully. My friend bought the largest Noco
one available and it exploded ! I have a stack of defunct battery chargers. I'm beginning to think there is
a jinx where battery chargers and I are concerned.

 

[Deletedmember130310]

What rating is your Noco Genious and what rating is your battery?

 

[Deletedmember130310]

have a look at the Optimate / Accumate range = do they same job as CTEK. I've had mine >10 years with no trouble

 

[219]

I still have the big Crypton charger which I inherited from my dad ; it must be at least 50 years old and is on wheels standing about 3 feet tall off the floor .

My dad had it for the workshop in his haulage business .

It charges 6V , 12v and 24v batteries as well as jump starting vehicles with dead flat batteries, delivering up to 200A at any voltage .

I’ve cranked over cars with dead flat batteries like they had a new battery in them , and even moved such cars around on the starter motor with it , and never as much as tripped the breaker in it .

Don’t know if they are still in business, but best battery charger I’ve ever used .

The one linked below is a smaller model , but I’d guess equally unburstable.

old vintage Crypton battery charger 12 volt suit garage work shop | eBay

This is more similar to the one I have , but still smaller as doesn’t do 24v


Crypton battery booster/charger | eBay

 

[Eddy77]

I've been using one of these for a few years:

Ring RSC612 12A Smart Charger

Faultless (and up to 12A charging).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S8969OG/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

 

[alabbasi]

Why do you need 10 amps? Are you looking for a quick charge or something that can do a float charge? Battery Minder, Battery tender etc is probably better in most cases even though they have 4 amps. They'll charge a battery till fully charged and then maintain it.

 

[c63chris]

If you've blown so many chargers it would suggest its somethig to do with what you are doing? 10Amps is a lot. BTW had a CTEK for 3yrs and no issues at all, just works and its on most days on the SL which is a bit of a garage queen!

 

[Smart320]

Have had 2 CTEK's for 6 years, both working perfectly

 

[219]

I have two of the Aldi/Lidl CTEK clones which keep the batteries in my not in use cars in good order . They are only £15 or so when on offer a couple of times a year , and have been absolutely fine .

 

[l5foye]

Thanks for all the replies. The battery I am trying to charge is a small one out of a vintage car -type 063 from memory-45Ah.
It is down to 4 volts. A trickle charger got it up to 4.5 volts over 72 hours ! My idea was that a 10 amp charger would speed things up.
I have been round cars for more years than I care to mention and I do know how to connect a battery charger.

 

[219]

Thanks for all the replies. The battery I am trying to charge is a small one out of a vintage car -type 063 from memory-45Ah.
It is down to 4 volts. A trickle charger got it up to 4.5 volts over 72 hours ! My idea was that a 10 amp charger would speed things up.
I have been round cars for more years than I care to mention and I do know how to connect a battery charger.

You wouldn’t blow one of those big Crypton chargers , but you’d have to keep an eye on the current not to overcharge.

I used to whack it well up to get things moving , but you had to watch for gassing in each cell and rein in on the charge as a duff battery with sulphated up plates would break down and pass more current . It was amazing how you could bring old batteries back from the dead - with care .

You could do worse than pick one up for £40 or £50

 

[survey]

I have two of the Aldi/Lidl CTEK clones which keep the batteries in my not in use cars in good order . They are only £15 or so when on offer a couple of times a year , and have been absolutely fine .

I have 2, both owned for many years. Excellent chargers

 

[markjay]

Just to say... that my car does around 5,000 miles annually, and Mrs MJ's car does 1,000 miles.

I can't really trickle charge either car because I live in a block of flats in Central London and the cars are parked in the street.

But I have never ever had the need to trickle charge any car we owned in the past 20 years.

I do make sure the cars are in regular use...

To my mind, unless the car is driven very infrequently, if it needs constant charging then something is not right - either the battery needs replacing, or there's a rogue electric consumer in the car.

 

[219]

Just to say... that my car does around 5,000 miles annually, and Mrs MJ's car does 1,000 miles.

I can't really trickle charge either car because I live in a block of flats in Central London and the cars are parked in the street.

But I have never ever had the need to trickle charge any car we owned in the past 20 years.

I do make sure the cars are in regular use...

To my mind, unless the car is driven very infrequently, if it needs constant charging then something is not right - either the battery needs replacing, or there's a rogue electric consumer in the car.

If you did need a trickle charger, one of those solar panels which sit on the dash or parcel shelf would do the job .

 

[Ted]

As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t charge at more than 10% of the capacity, so a 45Ah battery should have a max charge of 4.5 amps.
More than this can cause it to gas excessively, or overheat (buckling the plates.
I know that there are theories that a bit of overcharging is good as the excess gassing can cause sulphation to be removed, but I wouldn’t do it outside a very controlled environment.
I started my employment (auto electrician) in the battery shop and we used Crypton chargers to charge up the banks of batteries. They were pretty much indestructible.

 

[219]

As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t charge at more than 10% of the capacity, so a 45Ah battery should have a max charge of 4.5 amps.
More than this can cause it to gas excessively, or overheat (buckling the plates.
I know that there are theories that a bit of overcharging is good as the excess gassing can cause sulphation to be removed, but I wouldn’t do it outside a very controlled environment.
I started my employment (auto electrician) in the battery shop and we used Crypton chargers to charge up the banks of batteries. They were pretty much indestructible.

Yes , I only ever did it if it was a battery that was otherwise unresponsive.

By ramping up the charge voltage with the caps open , keeping an eye on current, gassing and temperature, it was sometimes possible to rejuvenate a dead battery .

But I agree you had to be careful.

 

[John N]

Can anyone recommend a good quality 12v Battery Charger capable of charging at 10 amps or more? Don't mention CTEK-the last one I bought lasted 14 months and the factory were looking more than the purchase price to repair it. I bought a Noco Genious -it wouldn't charge up fully. My friend bought the largest Noco
one available and it exploded ! I have a stack of defunct battery chargers. I'm beginning to think there is
a jinx where battery chargers and I are concerned.

There's a theme running here, please don't ever buy any Battery Charging Equipment ever again, also don't borrow anyone else's as it appears to be doomed at the outset if you are in the vicinity!

 

[Monkeylegend]

I bought a £25 Halfords car and bike battery charger for 6 and 12 amp batteries up to 70 amps last year. It has kept my SL batteries fully charged over winter when it was SORN with no issues.

 

[GeeJayW]

Surely if it's down to 4.5V, it's Donald Ducked?

 

[219]

Surely if it's down to 4.5V, it's Donald Ducked?

You mean he might have to Donald Trump it ?

In all seriousness, even a deeply discharged battery can be brought back , but it might not be the same again .