coming at Lidl. Battery charger, Cree LED torch
- Thread starter VicS
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nigelmercier
RIP
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- 20 Jun 2007
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- Live in Kent, boat in Canary Islands
That charger looks good value for a smart type.
This Bluetooth device also looks good:
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-6...ffers-2491.htm?action=showDetail&id=6198&ar=1
This Bluetooth device also looks good:
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-6...ffers-2491.htm?action=showDetail&id=6198&ar=1
forelle541
Well-Known Member
I got the charger last time and it tops my gel batteries up fine in winter.
chewi
Well-Known Member
I have one of those, but if the power is disconnected and reconnected it does not reset itself to charge, so whenever I left it on in the yard I found it was off when I came back, having charged for an unknown period.
Its OK if you have control of the mains supply
Jack B
Well-Known Member
And 3.2hp air compressor for £159
Gwylan
Well-Known Member
Me too
We have one, does a great job. But you DO have to reset it if, when the mains are interrupted. Foolishly installed it concealed in a locker and now have to access the locker and carefully count the number of button pushes to get the desired charging regime.
We have one, does a great job. But you DO have to reset it if, when the mains are interrupted. Foolishly installed it concealed in a locker and now have to access the locker and carefully count the number of button pushes to get the desired charging regime.
cliff
Well-Known Member
I have 3 off them - great for leaving the battery over long period (Tractor battery in the shed over winter - guaranteed to start if needed), topping up the cars during winter etc (boat batteries not a problem as they get charged anyway) Only drawbacks are low charge rate (not an issue if you have time and smallish batteries) and if there is a power outage teh charger will not automatically start again when the power comes back on - needs to be manually reset/started. - Talk about inflation though - Mine were £9.99 when I bought them - 40% inflation in 4 years - oooh.
Slocumotion
Well-Known Member
I had the battery charger when it last appeared in Lidl. It lasted about a year in occasional use, then packed up . There is/was a 3 year guarantee but who keeps Lidl till receipts as proof of purchase? There was a date of manufacture on the label and since I was within 3 years of that I thought it worthwhile emailing them - (Can't remember if it was Lidl or the manufacturer) - it wasn't. They didn't want to know.
Simple remedy of course - keep the receipt.
Simple remedy of course - keep the receipt.
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
I have one of these chargers and it's great for use around the home/garage but it refuses to charge really flat batteries (which are probably knackrered anyway) which is when i resort to my non intelligent old one. The problem with resetting on power off makes it less than ideal. For a boat charger. Would a ups be any help?
alahol2
Well-Known Member
I have a friend who has killed three of these chargers by starting the engine whilst they were attached to the battery. Why it should kill them I don't know, but it does, so beware. My own is now in its 4th or 5th year of winter only use.
eddisonj
New Member
I was tempted by the cree torch so bought it.
Lovely torch and ideal in almost every respect...
EXCEPT that some feature-focused, non-using numskull who thought it a good idea to have 4 modes of flashing etc and to incorporate these into the single on/off button. So instead of a really good simple torch you can switch on and off, you've a cycle of one press for on, one press for off, and then 7 presses to turn it on (as a normal torch) again. Utterly daft, and turns a good torch into a useless gimmick.
Save yourselves £8 and avoid it. Meanwhile I wonder if they'll accept a return...
Lovely torch and ideal in almost every respect...
EXCEPT that some feature-focused, non-using numskull who thought it a good idea to have 4 modes of flashing etc and to incorporate these into the single on/off button. So instead of a really good simple torch you can switch on and off, you've a cycle of one press for on, one press for off, and then 7 presses to turn it on (as a normal torch) again. Utterly daft, and turns a good torch into a useless gimmick.
Save yourselves £8 and avoid it. Meanwhile I wonder if they'll accept a return...
VicS
Well-Known Member
I bought one similar, but not exactly the same when they were on offer some time back.
The switch is a bit of a pain but not that big an issue.
Must go get another one while they have the offer running.
MrCramp
Well-Known Member
Bought one. A cracking torch. edisonj hasn't worked the switch out yet. Full press turns it on, partial press changes the mode, full press turns it off. Dead easy, robust, a very good buy. Also has a SOS mode. at £7.99 you cannot go wrong.
VicS
Well-Known Member
Good heavens. Mine works like that too. I had not realised either. Thanks for pointing it out.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
I've bought the battery charger - looks OK, and I've taken on board the warnings about it not remembering what it was doing if the mains drops out. I'm going to check it works on a car battery.
Just one thing I wondered about - we looked to see where it was made, as it is a bit of a joke in our house that everything is made in China (my wife is Chinese
). The only origin markings are from Germany, but it doesn't clearly say "Made in Germany"; merely the name and address of what appears to be a marketing company. Now, I was under the impression that it was illegal to sell something in the UK (or maybe even the EU) without clear origin markings. Anyone know a) where it was made and b) why it isn't clearly marked? The certification pages of the manual are done by a German company, but again it is a marketing company.
PS, I've given it a quick work out on a car battery, and all the right LEDs light up!
Just one thing I wondered about - we looked to see where it was made, as it is a bit of a joke in our house that everything is made in China (my wife is Chinese
). The only origin markings are from Germany, but it doesn't clearly say "Made in Germany"; merely the name and address of what appears to be a marketing company. Now, I was under the impression that it was illegal to sell something in the UK (or maybe even the EU) without clear origin markings. Anyone know a) where it was made and b) why it isn't clearly marked? The certification pages of the manual are done by a German company, but again it is a marketing company.PS, I've given it a quick work out on a car battery, and all the right LEDs light up!
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langstonelayabout
Well-Known Member
Sounds familiar; I bought a new stainless steel garden spade from Lidl to have it break a couple of weeks later. Store weren't interested, likewise their head office wanted so much information about my purchase it would have taken me hours to look it all up. Waste of space they were.
Went to B&Q and bought a British-made forged spade to replace it; different price for a very, very tough spade that I've really tried to break but without success...
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
I've got a Wilkinson garden fork with a lifetime warranty. I've already had it changed FOC when the tines bent. They've bent again but I can't remember where I got it from so will have to contact Wilkinson or attempt to straighten them myself.Sounds familiar; I bought a new stainless steel garden spade from Lidl to have it break a couple of weeks later. Store weren't interested, likewise their head office wanted so much information about my purchase it would have taken me hours to look it all up. Waste of space they were.
Went to B&Q and bought a British-made forged spade to replace it; different price for a very, very tough spade that I've really tried to break but without success...