Not sure what they are for - I thought cars charged their batteries on the go - but there they are, FWIW.
40% off Car Battery Chargers @ Supercheap Auto
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wisdomtooth on 21/08/2020 - 14:05 supercheapauto.com.au (1623 clicks)
Last edited 21/08/2020 - 15:31 by 1 other user
Last edited 21/08/2020 - 15:31 by 1 other user
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True but I think CTEK is over rated and over priced. There are numerous smart chargers similar to CTEK with actual LED readout and function at 1/3 the price.
Link?
@Black Hole: I'm a bit iffy about getting one of these vs a CTEK, any reviews and long term useage with these AliExpress chargers? I don't want my car burning down cos I cheaped out.
@rehevoli: I have doubt that it will burn your car. These are simple technology. It is just a charger, metering system to monitor the volt and amp, and a set program to step it through from constant current charging up to 14.4V, then constant voltage of 14.4 until the current drop to a low level, this followed by a trickle charge at around 13.8V. The main stage is monitoring voltage and ampere. Even a $10 multi-meter could give an accurate reading nowadays. I doubt it will overcharge your car battery. CTEK making you believe that it is a complicated process only they could do it properly. I just don't buy it with the knowledge that I have gain from reading.
I have charged my vehicles' battery with a RC charger for a long time without any issue. They can have at a very cheap price. The only thing that is missing is a reconditioning pulse charging feature. However, the cheap car battery charger that I have provided as a link above has this feature and it is about 1/4 to 1/5 the price of equivalent CTEK.
In the end, it is your money and not mine. I know which one I will spend my money on. It will not be the CTEK.
In fact I have just found a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14DhsJejnJs on the teardown of CTEK. The part used is dodgy and probably cost $15 to manufacturer in mass.
The CTEK is so tiny, I felt it is more likely to burnt down than the Chinese made one with a fan to cool the unit down and there is much more room in the unit to allow air circulation than the CTEK.
@Black Hole: Checked out the foxsur. Seems good quality. Got a link for an au plug one? Can only see eu and us plugs
True. Might be that there are other chargers with more showy/advanced features.
But so far CTEK has the reputation and the quality.I am waiting for real world test by Project farm hopefully :)
Lol, look at the tear down link above for CTEK.
@Black Hole: That model tear down looks rough.
But Ive always had the mxs5.0 this is a higher end unit. The recon function has pretty much saved over 3 batteries of mine over these 10 years. Just that along willl being me back to This charger. But if some one can provide a year down and test or even find the oem on Alibaba. happy to switch to oem model :)@pegasusx: I have a feeling the best it would likely be functioning at around 60% of it capacity after went from almost dead to recon.
@Black Hole: Not sure about the capacity. But from all batteries being saved with recond mode. They lasted about 2-3 years more each.
Well worth the price of the CTEK unit. The only catch with the CTEKs were that it didnt do dead batteries like ours. I am guessing for safety reasons.
So we had to parallel the dead batter with a 12v one to trick it into Recon mode.
If your alternator goes on your car or you've left it sitting there for too long and your battery has lost its charge, you can use a charger to give it the juice to start your car.
You can start it but it won't last long without a working alternator
Yep that's true.
I only put that comment because OP had said not sure what they are for.
Great for cars that aren't driven much or when we can eventually go on an extended holiday, but I agree at this price you may as well get a CTek.
There is a reason that many of the luxury cars include a customised CTek charger.
Not sure what they are for
Member since August 2008. facepalm
I actually spent the last 15 years without a car. So that was completely off my radar.
OzBargainer since whenever. Knows nothing of kids stuff. Or women's apparel. Or gardening. Or whichever other non-universal category. facepalm
Well, it's about time you changed your username to 'tooth' :-)
OP has apparently never left the interior lights on in his/her car
Interior lights? Aren't they only powered through ignition so you cant cause a flat doing that
I'm sure everyone who has ever had a flat battery caused by an interior light would disagree with you.
A 5w globe was enough to make a battery flat? Don't think so, anyway once doors are locked or closed lights turn off on cars these days regardless if it's on auto.
Sounds like you had a bad battery or alternator that couldn't keep it's charge
@DoesntEvenMatter: 5W@12v is 412mA. If a battery is say 50Ah. That's 100 hours to completely flatten and maybe even damage the battery. And that's a conservatively high capacity for an average car.
@DoesntEvenMatter: Used to be common for a door left ajar to flatten a small car battery over night. Or a boot light that didnt switch off due to bent mounting plate etc.
@DoesntEvenMatter: sure you think that,
all it takes is for your battery to go to 11v-10v and your car wont start.
@brocky2006: If that's happening overnight with 5w then you arnt maintaining your battery correct or a faulty alternator
Isn't that just a matter of jump starting it?
Jump starting gets it going. An alternator will never get a battery properly saturated. I give all my vehicle batteries a charge with a smart charger semi regularly, as I believe it helps to extend their life.
Usually connected direct to battery… So that they work as soon as you open the door. Most vehicles also have a door switch override, so you can have on whilst doors are closed. Which is what this comment refers to.
Let's not forget leaving headlights on. Although modern cars usually switch main lamps off when ignition is off, leaving only parkers, these will still drain given enough time.
I have a Century charger at the price it is now, that I have had for a couple of years. I think it does a better job than the equivalent C-Teks I have owned. And I've had more than a couple of C-Teks fail.
That's the one. I use it regularly
If you live in metro Melbourne now, you'll know why you need one. Haven't driven one of my cars for the past 3 weeks and it's been hooked up to a CTEK charger during this time. Probably saved my battery from dying due low voltage.
Yep. I've seen the RACV car quite a bit in our neighbourhood and supermarket carparks the last few weeks
For those prices. Might as well get CTEK MXS 5.0. Much more superior charger