Battery Charger in Aldi

db

https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thursday-16-october/products-detail-page/ps/p/car-battery-charger-1/

Anyone know if this charger would be suitable for charging a leisure battery?

barryfitz

Bought one of these last year and have had no issues with it. Took the battery out of the van at the end of the season and left it hooked up to this all winter.

moodrater

They're very conservative and don't float charge and wont charge a very dead battery. Id put the money towards something better.

Buona Fortuna

moodrater wrote: »

They're very conservative and don't float charge and wont charge a very dead battery. Id put the money towards something better.

Thanks - but,
What would something better be?
And what makes it better?

moodrater

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

Thanks - but,
What would something better be?
And what makes it better?

Actually reading the manual it mentions trickle charging now and makes some chinglish reference to 0.8a and 70ma.

What would something better be?
Depends on your usage. They're all trying to look like a ctek charger which it the most popular in that form factor but you may never get the value out of it. I keep going back to an old dumb one when the automatic ones are being stupid.

What makes it better?
Well the main thing is 90% of the time one of my charger comes out is cause someone has totally flattened the battery in the vehicle.
The aldi charger both current model and old model will think its a 6v battery or damaged and wont charge it. Ctek will charge from a couple of volts.

The previous aldi version float charged at such a neglible current that the battery could go flat in vehicle with self discharge and loads like alarm immobiliser.

The other thing is at 3.8a it takes a looong time to charge a big battery but again this may not be an issue for you.

It's a weapon of a charger. It loves to boil batteries as soon as you turn your back. It's fine for slow charging does the job.
The float function is a liability on anything but a new battery, I don't leave it unattended, every time I did it started kicking out 15v+ on an independent meter.
Floats; ~700mA @ 13.6v - 15.5v iirc...

Buona Fortuna

Thanks folks that was useful. I think I'll pass on the Aldi one.

Usually I borrow one - its a big old beast and I couldn't tell you the make but it seems to do the job.


Good Luck folks

Edit: Just reading db's comment below. The one I "borrow" is from a guy who drives a Merc so could well be an old CTEK. That's the one that tempts me, as I have a variety of batteries that sometimes need a but of help: Quad, Tractor, Car, generator, leisure
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-Battery-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B00FC42HAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413375868&sr=8-1&keywords=ctek+battery+charger

Macy0161

I got one of these last year, and was going to get a second (so I could charge the main and leisure battery). However, and to clarify, I shouldn't be trusting leaving my batteries on these on their trickle charge function?

Only issue I had last year was the issue flagged about a dead battery. I had to go back to the old style one to bring up the amps before the new one would work. Got another year out of the battery, so I was happy enough!

db

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I normally leave my battery in the van and attach the hookup every couple of months over the winter to charge it up. Would it be worth getting this charger to give the battery a full charge every now and again or am I as well off carrying on as i am? I don't really see the value in getting a CTEK charger for around the same price as a new battery.

Buona Fortuna

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-Battery-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B00FC42HAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413375868&sr=8-1&keywords=ctek+battery+charger

You can leave this one float until the cows come home. It's a true trickle charger: Charge rate = self discharge rate & weekly refresh charge.



Datasheet

There's a smaller cheaper version but I can't vouch for it's float service




Datasheet

For what the Aldi jobbie is; emergency back-up charger & roustabout for dead lawnmovers and such. €20 is a good price.

I have 2 of different generations and they've gotten me out of a few holes.

shagman

If your battery is completely flat and you only have one of these chargers (it wont charge flat batteries) you can connect the flat battery to a fully charged battery with jump leads for a bit then try again. Usually that will bring the flat one up enough to charge it, you will have discharged the good battery too though so don't forget to re-charge that too.

Sir Liamalot

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Floats; ~700mA @ 13.6v - 15.5v iirc...

Just had a quick look at it there. I've a 4yo probably stratified battery that's been sitting at 12.5v for a month.

It went straight to float after 2 mins. While reading "charged" on a 14.4v set-point it was outputting 800mA @14.8v and the relay was clicking as it dropped to 13.7v and back up every 30secs or so.
It's the secret trickle equalise function they never mention. :pac:
It'll over-shoot 15v if it's set to cold.