It states that the charger from Argos is compatible with a battery range of 1.2 Ah - 90 AH. My leisure battery is 110 AH so I think that this particular model wouldn't be poweful enough to fully charge the battery. I await feedback on this to see what JTQU's comments are.
I Have been told that the Ctek 90ah charger is fine for a 110ah it will just take a little longer to reach full charge. I use the charger as well and the battery has been on charge permanently since the end of November.
------------- Nigel
March 2012 - Dove Meadows
6th July Moving to Hayle
This is weird my ctek just died the other day as well :( i use my leisure battery for my electric engine on the boat.
Does anyone know how much life you should get from a leisure battery that's been charged with a ctek every time and used on a month only ever about 50% drained each time.
Also how do I test it?
Thanks in advance!
I have the CTEK XS3600 Multi, it is quite old but still marketed. [mine is now shot!]
I have tried to get some official specification data on the CTEK Zafir 90 but failed to find the detail I want.
However on CTEK's website in FAQ they state the functionality between the XS 3600 and Zarir 90 is identical, the Zafir just being lower performance and taking longer to charge.
By this and with the Argos data I am taking it that the XS 3600 charges at 3.6 Amps and the Zafir 90 at 3.3Amps so the Zafir takes longer to achieve the same charge.
That is of no real concern unless you are pushed to charge quickly. The difference is small and these are low powered units anyway so neither are sold as fast chargers.
I know they both are marketed for batteries up to 90 Ahr but this is nothing to worry about with our 110/120 Ahr batteries unless we have really flattened them. The theory being that with a really dead battery it might not provide adequate current to initiate recharging. Flattening your battery is a sure way of killing it anyway.
CTEK are regarded as excellent products and I have no doubt the Zafir 90 is the same, they cant afford to degrade their high reputation.
I also have one of the Aldi cheapo offerings and am very pleased with that at £13. It shares some of the CTEK external design features but is not identical, however it does the job. A down side is it cant sort itself out and reset after a mains power cut which the CTEK handles without issue.
Lidl also occasionally do yet another that tries to replicate the CTEK and others speak well of that.
It works very well, now I've managed to decypher the instructions, which left a lot to be desired.
The only thing I'd like to add is, don't leave it connected to the battery if your power supply is off, because it drains the battery. It does have a little 'Blind' plug holder for when you disconnect, but I didn't know you had to disconnect them if there was no power running through/ not switched on.
This mystery was solved by several members of this forum for me! LOL!
I have just bought a trickle charger recently and started using it today. This is the one I have. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330504570406&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2745wt_905
My question is, how long should i charge the battery for? Some say a day once a month, others say keep it charging for longer.
What is your advice please.
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------------- Caravanners do it with a stabilizer!
I bought one from Aldi and it works fine sadly it only lasted 3 months so I wasn't overly impressed. I have a ctek one as well you can tell the difference in terms of quality.
I've got the Lidl one which I bought well over a year ago and is in constant use. Does what it says on the box. Certainly it has rejuvenated my two leisure batteries, on of which was getting "tired".
Spec says four variable charging rates max 3.8 amp charge, for 6v or 12v batteries, 1.2-120Ah capacity, 3 year warranty, made in Germany according to the paperwork. As others have said it doesn't re-set after a power cut, but that seems a minor inconvenience to me. Just picked up one for a friend last week still £12-99.
Pete.
------------- Don't panic!
Hit it with a pointed stick!
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
I have just bought a trickle charger recently and started using it today. This is the one I have. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330504570406&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2745wt_905
My question is, how long should i charge the battery for? Some say a day once a month, others say keep it charging for longer.
What is your advice please.
______________________________________________
This is exactly the same charger as I have if you read my earlier post. I have today spoken to a technical electrical engineer with numerous qualifications in the trade. He confirms that this charger is absolutely fine and the ones to avoid are car battery chargers as the input feed is too high causing the Lead plates to get hot quicker which will shorten the natural life of the leisure battery. His advice is to charge the battery for approx. 16 hours without interuption and not to recharge for at least 4 months. If the battery is in good condition it should hold a full charge adequately for this period. If you charge it every month like have done for the past six years then you will shorten the life of the battery once again . I'm on my third battery now and this is the reason why I am only obtaining about 2 years life out of each one. A good lesson learned from an expert so I'm expecting my current battery to give up the ghost sometime this year. So my conclusion now is to keep my charger and invest in a secondary leisure battery as it's sod's law that it will pack up for good when we are out in the caravan.
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Although our caravan is in storage, we try to go away over the winter in order to keep our battery "charged" by plugging in to the site mains. Is this sufficint to fully charge the battery or should we remove it still, take it home and charge it there?
In general the chargers in caravans dont fully charge batteries but there are increasing numbers of exceptions as better chargers are fitted.
Some of the Swift ranges where they had Nordelectrica chargers fitted are examples, these fully charge the battery. [unfortunately these otherwise good units had an appalling reliability record due to a substandard component]
Another smart van charger that does fully charge batteries is by Schaudt used in up market German vans. There might be others I am not up to speed with.
Even using your vans charger is very much better than not charging the battery as at least that gets it to 80% charged rather than it standing about at an even lower value.
i have a 7000 ctek for general charging and i have installed a 25000 ctek in my abbey i use it in supply mode when we are away and then when we get home and everything that is 12 volt is off i then let it charge properly ie 14.4-14.6,i have two 85amp gels wired in parallel as we rally all the time,these work 100%.i know of 5 people who bought aldi-lidl chargers and they have all failed.i leave mine on all the time when the van is at home and we have no problems at all
note. i have turned the onboard charger off and have not used it in years
You might want to think about the charge that you get when connecting to your car, if you have that facility.
I have my caravan parked at home, connected to the EHU thus it's being trickle charged all the time, as mentioned, probably only up to 80%.
However, when I couple up to my car the battery is then fully charged by the car's alternator on the way to the site.
I've had the same 85ah battery for 4 years now on that regime.
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Topic: leisure battery charger
