I got one of these from Lidl last year (or the year before) & have been very happy with it. I couldn't justify spending Ctek money on one of these. I've used mine loads on bus batteries and the daily driver. It's helped me see how much juice is in my 'leisure' battery & top it up before departing on holiday (my leisure battery is an old 'dead' car battery! 3 year guarantee - Suggest keeping the receipt safe just in case. https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offers.htm?articleId=9575
I got a similar one off ebay for about the same price. Its a 4amp charger and it detects 6 volts for mgb batteries or 12 volts for car and van batteries. It may be cheap but works well and I like the top display which shows battery condition and how much its being charged up.
I've got the same Lidl one, it seems good. Only drawback is it doesn't have a memory function, so wouldn't be ideal to hide away as a leisure battery charger in a camper.
I bought one as a back up and due to it’s small size last year but havnt used it yet ,was a bit wary of using it leaving on trickle , have you done this ? Or what’s the longest you’ve left it
Yeah i've left it on trickle loads of times. It switches itself off when the battery is 'full'. I haven't left it charging overnight and I always ventilate by leaving engine hatch up and garage door slightly open
mine is keeping the mgb batteries topped up while I'm not driving the car. I switch it on in the morning and off late evening, working well so far.
Yeh I just wondered if the maintenance would allow it to be connected for any length of time but Like you say it needs venting and I read one report of one overheating . Seems good for the money though .
I think you would be fine leaving it permanently on Under the Retention Charge heading, the manual says "The battery can remain connected to the charger for longer periods of time." Appliance protection function: "The charger switches the electronics off and switches the system instantly to the basic setting, as soon as short circuit, critical voltage drop during charging, broken circuit (etc) is detected"
The thing about Ctek is they also act as a battery maintainer on hookup. My 12 amp smart car battery charger bought from B&Q, for instance, detects battery type automatically but throws a wobbler if the voltage on the battery drops (like turning on a light that is connected). It also gives up if it takes more than 24 hours to charge. Great for getting starter batteries back but no good for leisure charging on hookup.
I’ve left mine connected for several weeks without any problems but I’d put it on a timer if it had a memory.
You select the relevant program, it charges until 'full', then automatically switches to a retention charge. So you can only hurt the battery if you select the wrong program in the first place (i think all the intelligent bits stop this as well) Programs: 1. 6V (Max:0.8A) 2. 12v motorcycle (0.8A) 3. 12V 'car' (Max: 3.8A) 4. ' Cold' 12V (Max: 3.8A)
That means you can't hide it away in a camper though, as each time you hook up, you have to select the correct program.
Yes, if you switch it off and then back on again, or power down and restart for you youngsters, all it does is display the voltage
I'll probably still use mine in the camper, as I'm planning on having it somewhere fairly accessible.
