Spyro
Well-Known Member
Very similar to the older one I had which recently tried to set itself on fire. I don't know how long it would have taken but I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't smelled it melting.
Great battery charger at Aldi - £12.99
- Thread starter RichardS
- Start date
lw395
Well-Known Member
They don't overcharge batteries, they can be left connected over winter to stop a battery going flat over time.
Well that's what my Cteks do, I hope it's what the Aldi bargains do, I will confirm in due course!
The description on the web page is sparse to say the least!
Most 'basic' battery chargers don't have much in the way of regulation, just something to limit the current.
Momac
Well-Known Member
I have one of the Aldi chargers, purchased a few years ago, and use it to maintain batteries independently of the built in charger on the boat.
Its seems okay but obviously needs time as the current is low.
It will not charge a seriously discharged battery which reads say 10 Volts.
Its seems okay but obviously needs time as the current is low.
It will not charge a seriously discharged battery which reads say 10 Volts.
RichardS
N/A
My Lidl one is like that .... but the new Aldi one has a bulk current mode like the Ctek so will not trip out if the battery is discharged.
Richard
lw395
Well-Known Member
Now you're just encouraging me to take one to bits....
I shall make one work hard. It's under warranty after all!
Ohlin Karcher
N/A
Ok thanks. To me it all seems like a solution to a non-existing problem, with added snags.
I have never heard of a normal battery charger overcharging a battery, all other things being equal.
Surely the practice of leaving a battery on 'trickle charge' over the winter etc has been common for half a century?
I accept fancy batteries need special chargers and I have a semi-smart built-in charger which came with the boat, but I would not contemplate a portable one. Each to their own.
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
I've got one of the previous, grey, models and will get one of the new ones mainly because of the restart after power cut feature which was a pain on anything used for long term maintenance.
In answer to the remark about any charger being suitable for float charging, my experience is different. I left a Halfords Smart charger connected to my house battery bank one winter expecting it to float - it didn't - and both batteries were fried
In answer to the remark about any charger being suitable for float charging, my experience is different. I left a Halfords Smart charger connected to my house battery bank one winter expecting it to float - it didn't - and both batteries were fried
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
It has fixing points so could be permanently wired in.
RichardS
N/A
Indeed. Not all battery chargers are the same. I've got a couple of "normal" bulk chargers and if you attach them to a battery and monitor the voltage until it reaches 14.4V and then stick your ear near to the battery, you will hear the electrolyte bubbling away which, if left alone, will destroy the battery.
You can avoid this with an old-style trickle charger but if the battery is already partly discharged, and particularly if it is connected to a modern car with all the security systems, entertainment systems etc, you will find that the trickle charger is never actually able to fully charge the battery. What you need to do then, and this is something I did all the time throughout the 70's and 80's, was to connect up a bulk charger and monitor the voltage and when it reaches 14..4 volts, disconnect it and connect up the trickle charger and then leave for the winter.
An intelligent charger like the Aldi one does all this by itself. What's not to like? :encouragement:
Richard
Zing
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what its quiescent power consumption is and its efficiency? I have a need for a couple in an inadequately powered solar installation.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
Zing
Well-Known Member
Thanks ^^
lw395
Well-Known Member
Mine have arrived.
Seem to pretty much do what they should.
A couple of small points:
The 80mA float current is keeping a small motorbike battery at 14.1V. That's too high IMHO.
I might add a couple of LEDS to take up some current.
A grossly neglected motorbike battery, which I've borrowed from a mate as a test piece, seemed to defeat the 'recovery mode'.
It sat at 8.8V for a couple of hours with the charger display flashing. Swapped it to the Ctek charger and it's now charging as normal. Whether it will be any good I doubt, it was on its way to being discarded for a reason!
A nice feature is that the croc clips, which are quite good quality, can be unscrewed, the leads then have eyelets on the end. Means I could put an ammeter in line easily.
Leads are quite long. 1.8m?
At full power, the charger is reading 0.1 or 0.2V more than is really at the battery.
The 3.8A looks more like 3.6, which is within their tolerance I suppose.
The display on the charger just reads volts and indicates whether it's charging or floating.
Doesn't read the volts from the battery when the mains is off FWIW.
Seem to pretty much do what they should.
A couple of small points:
The 80mA float current is keeping a small motorbike battery at 14.1V. That's too high IMHO.
I might add a couple of LEDS to take up some current.
A grossly neglected motorbike battery, which I've borrowed from a mate as a test piece, seemed to defeat the 'recovery mode'.
It sat at 8.8V for a couple of hours with the charger display flashing. Swapped it to the Ctek charger and it's now charging as normal. Whether it will be any good I doubt, it was on its way to being discarded for a reason!
A nice feature is that the croc clips, which are quite good quality, can be unscrewed, the leads then have eyelets on the end. Means I could put an ammeter in line easily.
Leads are quite long. 1.8m?
At full power, the charger is reading 0.1 or 0.2V more than is really at the battery.
The 3.8A looks more like 3.6, which is within their tolerance I suppose.
The display on the charger just reads volts and indicates whether it's charging or floating.
Doesn't read the volts from the battery when the mains is off FWIW.
Zing
Well-Known Member
That float voltage isn't good. It might be OK for flooded. My sealed batteries have a recommended float of 13.85v, plus or minus a little according to temp, which deals with all but very hot days.
VicS
Well-Known Member
My Lidl one ( several years old now) floats a 12 volt car battery at 50mA........ At the moment doing so at 14.5 volts , with a 10mA load on the battery from the clock. On a brand new battery ( and no load) it eventually went to at least 15 volts before cutting out.
lw395
Well-Known Member
I have noticed very low self-discharge currents on some small motorbike batteries.
I've a little trail bike with a small 12V battery of some comedy brand, it stays charged for months and takes only a few mA on trickle.
The Ducati has a Yuasa battery, the best you can buy IMHO, but that takes noticeable current from a trickle charger and on top of that the ECU draws a bit.
My car seems to draw quite a lot, >100mA for the first day or more.
The RIB battery is an old 'leisure' battery, seems to be happily on float at about 13.5V on the Aldi charger. Was fully charged to start with.
In general I don't think I trust unattended battery charging long term, apart from the Ctek.
I might get around to finding some LEDs and resistors or LED lights to siphon off 50mA or so.
A bit of light in that corner of the shed would be good at times TBH.
I've a little trail bike with a small 12V battery of some comedy brand, it stays charged for months and takes only a few mA on trickle.
The Ducati has a Yuasa battery, the best you can buy IMHO, but that takes noticeable current from a trickle charger and on top of that the ECU draws a bit.
My car seems to draw quite a lot, >100mA for the first day or more.
The RIB battery is an old 'leisure' battery, seems to be happily on float at about 13.5V on the Aldi charger. Was fully charged to start with.
In general I don't think I trust unattended battery charging long term, apart from the Ctek.
I might get around to finding some LEDs and resistors or LED lights to siphon off 50mA or so.
A bit of light in that corner of the shed would be good at times TBH.
lw395
Well-Known Member
Other way around (to some extent!).
Sealed batteries will generally recombine (most of ?) the H and O which flooded batteries gas away.
Bear in mind I was looking at a small battery, probably 6 or 8 Ah?
RichardS
N/A
It's up to you, of course, but 14.1V is perfectly OK. I have always worked on the logic that anything below 14.4V is fine and, allowing for a slight error on the reading, 14.1V is nothing to worry about.
Richard
zoidberg
Well-Known Member
I found myself wandering around an Aldi store today, waiting for a break in the pluvials, and discovered a trove of these thingys..... so I came away with a pair of them. Now to work out how to use them in a series/parallel battery configuration.....
Maybe I need more than two....
Thanks for the helpful tip, Richard.
lw395
Well-Known Member
I complete knackered a battery when my home made float charger got left on 14V for a couple of months.
Dry as a bonio!
To be fair the current limit would have been an amp or so.
Battery manufacturers say about 13.5 to 13.8V for floating , maybe a bit more for some gels.
It's a bit different for a battery that's getting discharged at least a bit everyday and is rarely actually fully charged for very long.
Daily 'float mode' after a bit of bulk solar charging to put back what you've used overnight is a different game to 'winter storage'.
To be fair, on the RIB battery, which is a normal sized 'maintenance free' 'leisure battery' all looks good. Perhaps it's just me 'checking the corners' as we say in product development, combinations of spec limits. I reckon anyone with a normal bank of house batteries wil lbe fine with one of these to keep it topped up.
