Best battery maintenance device

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I guess its something to do with what the marketing guys call "perceived quality" but I had better be careful here lest I start to bang on about the quality of plastics used on the lower dashboard as the frequently favoured indicator used by many car reviewers to assess the engineering integrity of any particular model. There's an element of truth in this of course as a decent bit of plastic trim may indeed be a comfort as you stare at it while waiting on the hard shoulder for the recovery vehicle.;)
 
We have two cars that are not in use for most months of the year.

I have fitted battery isolators on both cars and this works fine.

The battery retains sufficient charge to start the car even after being disconnected for months (the longest I've tried is 12 months).

The only caveat is that both cars are low-tech - a 1998 Toyota and a 2002 Honda - not sure I would risk fitting a battery isolator on the W204 (or any other modern car).

In short, my view is that if the car will not be used for a while, disconnecting the battery should be sufficient and there should not be a need for trickle-charging it.
 
In short, my view is that if the car will not be used for a while, disconnecting the battery should be sufficient and there should not be a need for trickle-charging it.
I agree, but for one thing - practicality. If for some reason my main car is unavailable, I'd rather just go to my 'spare' and unplug the trickle charger, rather than having to fart around with a spanner and get greased up reconnecting a battery, which may have discharged anyway despite being disconnected. But, I do see your point...
 
I've used an Accumate (specifically designed for long term maintenance charging) on my R129 for the last 11 years or so - it's connected whenever I park it in the garage. The big advantage for me being that it has a wall mount (this was an optional accessory), so it's out of the way:

AccuMate 2.jpg

AccuMate 6V & 12V Battery Maintenance System

There's a short flylead permanently attached to the battery terminals, which the lead from the charger plugs in to. Specifically on the R129 there's a white lever to turn off the boot light. This resets whenever you close the boot, so you need to remember to do it each time (you can't have it permanently switched off). But it's obvious from the charger display if the light has been left on

The battery in my R129 is now over 14 years old so this setup has worked very well for me :) Even though the battery is 100 Ah and the AccuMate is officially recommended for up to 75 Ah.
 
In the box my Ctek came in were two rubber plug/grommet type things about 15mm long, does anyone know what they're for? I'm guessing it's something to do with the two holes in the charger itself but I can't see what.
 
In the box my Ctek came in were two rubber plug/grommet type things about 15mm long, does anyone know what they're for? I'm guessing it's something to do with the two holes in the charger itself but I can't see what.
Photo would help, but aiding some type of wall mounting?
 
I agree, but for one thing - practicality. If for some reason my main car is unavailable, I'd rather just go to my 'spare' and unplug the trickle charger, rather than having to fart around with a spanner and get greased up reconnecting a battery, which may have discharged anyway despite being disconnected. But, I do see your point...

Practicality is my middle name.... :)

Honda.jpg


You turn the green dial and off you go. This is the Honda BTW. It's parked in an underground car park and used about twice a year (it belongs to a relative that is currently away from the UK but wanted to keep the car). No issues whatsoever. Same with the Toyota. As I said, not sure I would muck about with a car that has modern electronics though....
 
As I said, not sure I would muck about with a car that has modern electronics though....

That's a pretty neat device if you have easy access to the battery and don't have to worry about radio codes etc. after disconnecting power.

On the R129 the battery is behind paneling in the boot though, and I suspect as a minimum you'd have to reset the windows and do the lock-to-lock thing on the steering.
 
I'm after something similar as my 8 series has an annoying battery drain, and there's 2 big batteries in it too.
I've been looking around at the "Smart" chargers, and one feature I'm looking for is the high frequency de-sulphating which can appear on some of the fancier ones.
That should help restore a battery after going flat.

Some of the Sealey / Schumacher chargers have this feature. I did one get a Schumacher charger before, but it stopped working after a few hours, and there wasn't any replacements available so I ended up with a refund.
I believe Schumaker to be a decent brand, so I'd put that down to just bad luck.
 
Probably just paranoia, but I’d rather have a product with at least a semblance of provenance and backup to it if it’s going to be connected 24/7.

Made in China doesn’t bother me, most stuff is, but the quality of components used as well as design are important and I choose to naively believe that paying a bit more for a brand with history like C-Tek gets me something a smidge better.

Sometimes you do get what you pay for. Sadly, all too often you don’t though. I’ll just delude myself that the C-Tek is worth the extra ;)

Cheaper than a new battery or fire......
 
I'm after something similar as my 8 series has an annoying battery drain, and there's 2 big batteries in it too.
I've been looking around at the "Smart" chargers, and one feature I'm looking for is the high frequency de-sulphating which can appear on some of the fancier ones.
That should help restore a battery after going flat.

Some of the Sealey / Schumacher chargers have this feature. I did one get a Schumacher charger before, but it stopped working after a few hours, and there wasn't any replacements available so I ended up with a refund.
I believe Schumaker to be a decent brand, so I'd put that down to just bad luck.

Ctek mxs5 user manual. Step one of the process is desulphation (see page 3)
 
A couple of pictures of the rubber thingies. They won't fit through the holes in the case, if that helps.

WP-20181026-001-1.jpg


WP-20181026-002-1.jpg
 
I'm after something similar as my 8 series has an annoying battery drain, and there's 2 big batteries in it too.
I've been looking around at the "Smart" chargers, and one feature I'm looking for is the high frequency de-sulphating which can appear on some of the fancier ones.
That should help restore a battery after going flat.

Some of the Sealey / Schumacher chargers have this feature. I did one get a Schumacher charger before, but it stopped working after a few hours, and there wasn't any replacements available so I ended up with a refund.
I believe Schumaker to be a decent brand, so I'd put that down to just bad luck.

If your batteries are AGM - sulphation should not be much of an issue.

"AGM batteries are less prone to sulfation and can sit in storage for longer before a charge becomes necessary. The battery stands up well to low temperatures and has a low self-discharge."

From "Battery University" (a good reference if you have time to go through all the information there).
 
If your batteries are AGM - sulphation should not be much of an issue.

I've got the good old lead acid. I might swap to AGM for better reliability.
Since it was an older system with two parallel batteries, they need to match up in characteristics, otherwise one will keep discharging into the other. Split chargers tended to be used on other vehicles where more than one battery was used as an add on.

I'll have to keep an eye on the CTEKs, since the sulphation is likely to be a problem with mine.
 
I'm after something similar as my 8 series has an annoying battery drain, and there's 2 big batteries in it too.
I've been looking around at the "Smart" chargers, and one feature I'm looking for is the high frequency de-sulphating which can appear on some of the fancier ones.
That should help restore a battery after going flat.

Some of the Sealey / Schumacher chargers have this feature. I did one get a Schumacher charger before, but it stopped working after a few hours, and there wasn't any replacements available so I ended up with a refund.
I believe Schumaker to be a decent brand, so I'd put that down to just bad luck.
Ctek do that
 

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