Choosing a battery charger?

[LuxyBoy]

Hi Guys,

Trying to choose a battery charger to maintain my batteries for a longer life. How do you choose the right one

One of my batteries: CAT 153-5656 (650cca)
http://www.cat.com/cda/files/90229/7/PE ... +Guide.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Page 5)

I have been looking at the following chargers:
CTEK XS 7000 (8 step, 7Amp)
http://www.ctek.com/EN-GB/consumer/mxs-7000.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
$169

Matson IR12 (7 step, 2~24Amp Selectable/variable)
http://www.matson.com.au/sales/Battery_ ... LABLE_NOW/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
$210 or $240 for the 6/12/24 Volt version which I can't really see me requiring since I don't have a 24v vehicle or 6v ride on mower

Any help/advise would be much appreciated

[krusty182]

Depends a bit on
1. how deep your pockets are
2. how easy can you get your battery to a battery specialist
3. how much use you'll get out of it

I think the c-tek one is a good looking unit if you want to charge and maintain general car and 4wd batteries, the Matson unit is more geared towards workshop/professional use.

If you keep on top of your battery maintenance and keep them well charged there is a reduced chace of sulphation of the plates and you probably won't need to use the heavy duty reconditioning features of the Matson. If you do happen to get sulphated plates, then if you can take it to a battery place easily then they should be able to hook it up to a unit such as this and fix it for you.

I like the look of the Matson unit and if you spend the extra $30, you chould pretty much guarantee you'd never be stuck with a battery you can't charge, but for general charging and maintenance in a home workshop set up, the ctek would probably be the one I would choose due to the cheaper price tag.

[Harb]

One of the things that really piss me off with new chargers...smart chargers in particular, is they require at least 5 or 6 volts in the battery to start the charging process ( it lets the charger know its connected to a battery.

now that's ok for battery maintenance, but sometimes I might leave the lights on or something for a day or 2 accidentally, and it hasn't been long enough to sulphate the battery and stuff it, but the smart charger wont start charging on it.
So I have to find and old "dumb" transformer battery charger, and hook it up for 30 mins or so to get some voltage in it to make the smart charger start........ very frustrating to have to muck around like that to get a $500 charger to work.

[drivesafe]

Hi LuxyBoy, can you post up a bit more info on how you plan to use you battery charger, like is it to be used to maintain a battery that is not in use or is it to keep you vehicle batteries topped up, and so.

How you actually plan to use a battery charger will govern what type and more importantly, what size charger you need.

In most cases, a small charger is actually much better for your batteries, but again, it all depends on what you’re going to use the charger for.



Hi Herb, taking any lead acid battery bellow 10.5v is an absolute NO-NO and even if the battery is able to be charged again, it’s going to have a shortened operating life.

BUT it does happen, been there done that and if you have that problem where your charger dose not operate because the battery is so low and you don't have an older type charger, if you have a spare 12v globe, solder some wires onto it and then connect some wire between the pos on your dud battery and one of the wires on the globe and connect the other wire on the globe to the pos on your cranking battery or any other battery you may have around.

The globe will give a dull glow and it can take many hours but you can usually raise the voltage in the dud battery enough to get the battery charger to work.

You can us any type 12v globe, even a driving light globe and as the current going into the battery is that low, no more than about 3 amps if you use a 100w driving light globe, you’re not likely to risk flattening the cranking battery even if you leave the globe connected for a good few hours.

If the dud battery is taking a charge through the globe, after a few hours the globe will get duller and the current will reduce. This will be a sign to try your battery charger again.

[LuxyBoy]

Thanks for the replies guys
At the moment I can't drive so it is to be used for keeping my batteries in decent health while not in use. Hopefully I will be able to drive again soon and it will then be a maintenance thing to make sure they are kept in good condition.

[drivesafe]

Hi Brad, with the way you are going to use the battery charger, a small battery charger will not only save you money but will be the best thing for your batteries.

Because you have the time to charge the batteries, a slow, low current charge is the best way to charge any lead acid battery as this is not only more efficient but it is also milder on the battery, which will help extend the batteries life span.

Contrary to what most people thing, high current battery chargers are not good news for lead acid batteries, and while driving, because of the limited amount of time available, fast charging by an alternator has to be done, but with just a few exceptions, such as when free camping and charging a battery or batteries with a generator and battery charger, where you need to charge batteries in the shortest possible time, where time is available, low current charging is much kinder on the battery.

A battery charger of 1 or 2 amps is all you need. This small a battery charger will mean it can take a couple of days to fully charge a battery but once charged, the battery will hold the charge better and if your batteries are flooded wet cell batteries, low current charging also means you don't have to replace any where near as much water, so you don't need to check the batteries as often.

[LuxyBoy]

Thanks Drivesafe
So really i should get the Matson because I can select it to use the 2Amp charge and let it take it's time.