What Charger ???
 

I have just fitted a new battery to my 2004 2.0 cdti. It's a calcium variety. What I wanted to know was what battery charger should I be looking for for it. My present one quite old. 30 years old, possibly 40 years even, and it has a question mark over it as I did on 2 or 3 occasions recently start the car with it still attached. Therefore may have shorted something inside. Can't test it. Therefore in the circumstances decided that maybe a new one would be best but don't want to spend an arm and a leg on it - up to say £45 maybe. I see that there are a dearth of chargers which one can buy. My old one was 8amps so I was thinking of looking at that power. I did see some advice to do with a Maypole product that said one should not charge a battery at more than 10% of its power. The one I bought is 75amps so that would be 7.5 amps on that basis. But some people say the more powerful it is the quicker it will charge.

So can anyone point me at a charger ( that they themselves use ) that's reliable and is certainly ok for calcium batteries ( as I understand it Calcium batteries are still lead acid but it's just they employ calcium in some way). Something of a more traditional design preferably but not exclusively ( I see that there are a lot of these .. well digital intelligent things about ). Something that's got some displays on that say what the charge rate is. Might have seperate boost setting.


thanks

Before buying you need to read the manual. The Lidl one works well 12v or 6 volt but the manual says you must disconnect the battery before charging. Likewise the Hella charger. The ctek can be used straight on the car without disconnecting which is a big plus. Also it comes with a five year warranty.You can find most charger manuals on the net if you search.

I bought a Ctek charger a few years ago.
This will charge calcium batteries as well as AGM batteries, also has a recovery mode to de-sulphate as well.

Have a look at the C-Tek website Geoff. I have one of their smart chargers. They're extremely compact, suitable for all modern battery types and very well made. I do think that you're being slightly unrealistic with your budget though. :D A high quality C-Tek charger will be more than £45 but it will last a lifetime and so, in the long term, will be money wisely spent.
That output would be ample I'd say. If it proves to be too expensive, go for a 5 amp model. Bear in mind that the charging current is dictated by the battery's condition so it's a case of: "can the charger supply that?". This is where the modern smart chargers score. Their control systems restrict the current supply to prevent any potential damage. As Colvert has said, it's better to allow a battery to recharge slowly with a modest current delivery.

Simon

Luck of the draw I'd say Dave, I bought a Lidl cheapy four years ago, dismantled it to look at the circuitry and general build quality then boxed it back up.

It is used constantly in rotation for the cars I'm not using every day, and I can honestly say I've not had any problems with it.

When I put it into context, I paid £14 for an item with a three year warranty, and it still works fine, I also have a Unipart starter/charger, but it can quite easily prove fatal to a battery if misused, and also a selenium rectifier charger which is easily older than me.

I repaired a Porsche branded Optimate charger for a friend at the back end of last year, and I can say hand on heart the quality of the pick and place of some of the SMD components was poorer than that of the Lidl charger.

Brian :D

+1 for CTEK.

They're so compact you can even close the bonnet with one in the engine bay. (Don't leave it there though! :D)

ALL chargers de-sulphate batteries.----:duh:

That's how you charge them.