Ctek Battery Charger

[francophile1947]

Yachting Monthly did a test on battery chargers recently on units rangein from £40 to £250.

So they didn't test the really cheap Lidl/Aldi one To be honest, they have the same spec as the less powerful CTEK here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CTEK-MULTI-XS-360 ... 19b308ee2a , they even look similar, but may well not cope with some of the large capacity batteries used on yachts (well, not quickly anyway ) - it certainly makes you wonder though

[maxi_77]

Yachting Monthly did a test on battery chargers recently on units rangein from £40 to £250.

So they didn't test the really cheap Lidl/Aldi one To be honest, they have the same spec as the less powerful CTEK here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CTEK-MULTI-XS-360 ... 19b308ee2a , they even look similar, but may well not cope with some of the large capacity batteries used on yachts (well, not quickly anyway ) - it certainly makes you wonder though

And how do you define 'the same spec', is that they both have the same maximum charge rate, is it that they both have electronically controlled charging profiles, just how much ot the potential capacity of the battery does the Lidl/Aldi machine actually realise. Now for a pure starter battery that all probably doesn't matter too much as it's alternator charging routine is pretty crude any way, so charging rate controlled by voltage with a little pulsing to attack sulphation will do fime, but if you want a leisure battery to last overnight without main back up and not die after a year or so a decent charging regime does save money in the long term.

But as I reported Cetek money may not really be needed to achieve such objectives, but will the Lidl/Aldi one do the same also?

[The Great Pretender]

Yachting Monthly did a test on battery chargers recently on units rangein from £40 to £250.

So they didn't test the really cheap Lidl/Aldi one To be honest, they have the same spec as the less powerful CTEK here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CTEK-MULTI-XS-360 ... 19b308ee2a , they even look similar, but may well not cope with some of the large capacity batteries used on yachts (well, not quickly anyway ) - it certainly makes you wonder though

And how do you define 'the same spec', is that they both have the same maximum charge rate, is it that they both have electronically controlled charging profiles, just how much ot the potential capacity of the battery does the Lidl/Aldi machine actually realise. Now for a pure starter battery that all probably doesn't matter too much as it's alternator charging routine is pretty crude any way, so charging rate controlled by voltage with a little pulsing to attack sulphation will do fime, but if you want a leisure battery to last overnight without main back up and not die after a year or so a decent charging regime does save money in the long term.



But as I reported Cetek money may not really be needed to achieve such objectives, but will the Lidl/Aldi one do the same also?

When my Ctec gave up I got a cheap Lidl/Aldi one, I now have three of them. Why £40.00 to £250.00? I'm a cynical old fart, did they also run an advertising push on chargers? Why not intelligent chargers to £250.00?

[helen&tony]

Hi Hebramacho
Where do you plug the mains in?...it looks like you've routed it into the engine bay , driver's side?...do you have an external waterproof socket somewhere?
Cheers
Helen

[hembramacho]

Hi Hebramacho
Where do you plug the mains in?...it looks like you've routed it into the engine bay , driver's side?...do you have an external waterproof socket somewhere?
Cheers
Helen

Hi Helen.
Although it does look like that, it just runs under the centre console, under the carpet behind the drivers seat and goes behind the side conversion to a triple mains socket. Just a bit tidier than loose wires everywhere.

Andrew

[helen&tony]

Hi Andrew
Thanks. I shall probably get a waterproof socket to run a cable in ,then, as we use the Bongo the Bongo as a monthly shopper/ load lugger, so it's not converted....maybe an internal mains socket might be handy
I think I might go for the CTEK 7000XS, as it seems to have a few extra features
Thanks again
Cheers
Helen

[phedders]

Hi Andrew
Thanks. I shall probably get a waterproof socket to run a cable in ,then, as we use the Bongo the Bongo as a monthly shopper/ load lugger, so it's not converted....maybe an internal mains socket might be handy
I think I might go for the CTEK 7000XS, as it seems to have a few extra features
Thanks again
Cheers
Helen

You wont regret getting that one - it's superb. I've had loads of chargers - made my own... that one beats the rest hands down, is quite, cool and compact and charges really well.

[helen&tony]

Hi Phedders
Thanks for that!...The way I figure it, if it extends the life of a battery for a year or so, it only needs a couple of extended battery lives, and it's paid for itself!, and with the convenience, it has to be a winner
Cheers
Helen

[dandemann8]

Finally fitted my Ctek comfort panel system today, now with installation complete the comfort panel continues to flash, is this right? If this is right won't the continuous flashing drain my battery?

[hembramacho]

Finally fitted my Ctek comfort panel system today, now with installation complete the comfort panel continues to flash, is this right? If this is right won't the continuous flashing drain my battery?

Yep - mine flashes like that. Green when charging/fully charged, then yellow when not fully charged, and it flashes red when it's low, although when it gets to red the battery has still got quite a bit of life in.
I haven't noticed that the flashing causes much drain, if any, though.

Cheers

Andrew

[dandemann8]

Finally fitted my Ctek comfort panel system today, now with installation complete the comfort panel continues to flash, is this right? If this is right won't the continuous flashing drain my battery?

Yep - mine flashes like that. Green when charging/fully charged, then yellow when not fully charged, and it flashes red when it's low, although when it gets to red the battery has still got quite a bit of life in.
I haven't noticed that the flashing causes much drain, if any, though.

Cheers

Andrew

Cheers Andrew, mines currently on yellow whilst standing on my drive so it sound's like I need to get my Ctek XS7000 up and running to see if they are as good as they say Not sure if it's the origional battery or not, it could be as it's all in Japanese .

[hembramacho]

Cheers Andrew, mines currently on yellow whilst standing on my drive so it sound's like I need to get my Ctek XS7000 up and running to see if they are as good as they say Not sure if it's the origional battery or not, it could be as it's all in Japanese .

No worries. TBH it goes from green to yellow really quickly (as soon as it's not completely fully charged), so yellow is the norm. Mine goes to red at about 12.3v, so still quite a bit of juice left. I think as they are designed for use with starter batteries and not leisure batteries, the red alert might be a bit misleading.

Cheers

Andrew

[keycare]

What length of cable did your ctek confort panel socket come with. I was about to install mine on the weekend but it looks like there isn't enough cable to run from the LB to the spare dashboard socket shown in your pictures.

Which hole did you use in the bulk head?

Cheers.

[dandemann8]

What length of cable did your ctek confort panel socket come with. I was about to install mine on the weekend but it looks like there isn't enough cable to run from the LB to the spare dashboard socket shown in your pictures.

Which hole did you use in the bulk head?

Cheers.

I wired mine upto the SB and in conjunction with the Willinton kit it charges both at the same time

As for entry into the battery compartment you can use the big rubber grommet or there is a white plastic cover at the rear of the bulkhead which can be used

[hembramacho]

What length of cable did your ctek confort panel socket come with. I was about to install mine on the weekend but it looks like there isn't enough cable to run from the LB to the spare dashboard socket shown in your pictures.

Which hole did you use in the bulk head?

Cheers.

I wired mine upto the SB and in conjunction with the Willinton kit it charges both at the same time

As for entry into the battery compartment you can use the big rubber grommet or there is a white plastic cover at the rear of the bulkhead which can be used

I did the same - big rubber grommet behind header tank and wired to the LB. The cable was just about long enough if you go in straight lines! Just!!

Cheers

Andrew