Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT
I too have looked inside them - well made, to modern standards, good design and using microprocessors to carefully control the charge process. In fact just like the Ctek. I have past experience of the Optimate - they were absolute rubbish, not to be trusted.
I think you are over reacting in respect to these chargers. I have lots of batteries I need to maintain and have three or four of the Aldi/Lidl chargers. As an engineer, I have checked the way they work and satisfied myself that they are perfectly good, safe chargers. I have three large batteries which I am quite happy to charge once per month in situ (and still connected), including that of the 75 - absolutely no reason not to as I have done for many years.
All the warnings about never charging a battery whilst connected to the car, are an hangover from the days of uncontrolled chargers from pre 1980's and the rapid boost chargers, which can take the battery voltage very high and wreck the electronics on modern cars. None of which is an issue with modern chargers.
|
Harry - I really have no axe to grind about what other people do with their cars. What I did do to start off with was to state my experiences, what I would/would not do and my experience of cheap electronics in general and the Lidl charger in particular.
But, when people spread misinformation, in my opinion it should be corrected so that others can make their own decisions based on correct information. Especially, if people throw in a bit of "science" or lose terminology to give plausibility to the misinformation e.g. describing the Lidl charger as a CTEK copy.
I have not stated any warnings about charging whilst the battery is connected to the car - in fact quite the opposite in that I stated one of mine has been connected since October.
My experience with Optimate chargers has been very positive. The Lidl charger not so. My experience with the electronics in generic CFL and LED bulbs is similar - Philips and Megaman for example last about 10 times longer than the generic far-eastern ones. An Optimate was my first intelligent charger and is now 20ish years old and still working perfectly.
Most people with knowledge (I think you will agree?) of PC PSU's will not put a generic (regardless of how labelled) far-eastern one in their £300 PC. They lack quality protection circuitry and the the power semiconductor and reactive components have a history of premature failure. That being the case, it surprises me that people are willing to put a charger using components of the same origin or heritage on a car where the electronics, if damaged, could cost anything from £1k to £10k to diagnose/replace. But, as already stated, this is my rationale for taking the approach that I do with items such as chargers.
I have stated that I use the Lidl charger on my ride-on and stand-alone batteries because of the lack of significant risk to sophisticated and expensive electronics in these applications. The quality of the leads and connectors on the Lidl and CTEK chargers in my opinion is miles apart. Even if one knew nothing about electronics of far eastern origin, that alone would provide some food for thought about the internals.
I apply similar rationale to most tools - I have a Silverline torque wrench which is kept in the boot of my car for tightening up wheel nuts. For this purpose, I can trust it's accuracy. But, when it comes to tightening up the oil drain plug on my quad or motorbike, it is the Halfords Advance (manufactured by Norbar) every time.
A genuine question - let's say you owned a Mercedes CLS or a Jaguar XKR. Would you feel confident leaving a rebadged generic charger connected to it for months on end? If so, as an engineer, would you consider that a good "risk avoidance" strategy?