Mains Smart Charger for leisure batteries

Gav

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Sorry in advance, if this has been covered I did briefly look,


I'm Looking for a Smart leisure battery charger "MAINS" powered so I can use it in the house in winter charging my batteries, and if I have the luxury of electric hookup.

please advise on what you use and trust

Thanks for your help

Kind regards

Gav
 
I use a Sterling Pro Ultra. I had it left over after I changed motorhomes and reverted the the old one to it’s original condition. I like it because it has a full range of profiles to suit a wide range of battery types. I think having the correct profile for your particular batteries is important if you want to get the best out of them.
 
1 cup said:
I can't get my lidl one to charge when batteries, 11 volts or less as I found out . though it was broke!
So mines only a top up thingy. At 12 volts up
Click to expand...

What setting are you trying it on? It has a 'pulse charge' setting to revive flat batteries. That works on mine.
 
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1 cup said:
I can't get my lidl one to charge when batteries, 11 volts or less as I found out . though it was broke!
So mines only a top up thingy. At 12 volts up
Click to expand...

I've had the same, sometimes if trying to revive a dead battery you need to stick a none smart charger on to get the voltage to a state where the smart one can actually do anything.
I've gone over to a different 7 stage charger that doesn't need resetting every time mains power is reconnected,but it still won't charge a heavily discharged battery without a 'boost'
 
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Thanks all for help, I got told by the Clever lady I know " Stop P'ing about and being a tight arse, buy the Ctek one 10amp one" Sorry if I wasted anyone's time, but i have a bad habit of trying to find cost-effective options
 
ive found the same low voltage issue with the lidle charger. usually on ride on mower batteries, either use a dumb charger for a bit or leave a solar panel connected for a couple of days. had one on a mower last week that was reading 4 volts, left the wee solar panel on for a couple of days which surprisingly brought it up into double figures then 24 hours on the smart charger. checked it today and its at 12.4 so maybe salvageable.... got to sort the clutch on the mower before we get round to trying it.
 
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I bought the LIDL unit and yes it is well priced but there are a few negatives around it and I ended up returning it as it just didn't stay connected.

I would recommend either the CTEK Unit or the Victron IP65 model. Both will recover batteries from very low voltages, remember what the settings are if the power gets disturbed and both have quick-release connectors and various lead options which makes them very handy.
Personally would go Victron over CTEK as they both tend to be the same price but the Victron has Bluetooth and a better warranty (5 years instead of just 3 for the CTEK).
 
mistericeman said:
This is the one Ive been using for last 4 years or so....
Not cheap BUT it's been useful to keep our 3 x 100ah leisure batteries on top form (occasional charge/condition cycle whilst parked up outside home)

www.alpha-batteries.co.uk

12v 20A 7 Stage Connect & Forget Automatic Smart Battery Charger with UK Plug - Alpha Batteries

Suitable for all 12v Car, Leisure and Commercial Batteries
www.alpha-batteries.co.uk www.alpha-batteries.co.uk
Click to expand...
Those Pico chargers are good and well priced but the fans on them can get VERY noisy. I replaced one of the 20A Picos with a Victron unit for a customer as it would have been impossible to use on EHU overnight.
If the charger is in a shed or whatever the noise probably wouldn't matter though.
 
wildebus said:
Those Pico chargers are good and well priced but the fans on them can get VERY noisy. I replaced one of the 20A Picos with a Victron unit for a customer as it would have been impossible to use on EHU overnight.
If the charger is in a shed or whatever the noise probably wouldn't matter though.
Click to expand...
i looked at them and was looking at 15amp one recommended on 12volt store https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/vict...-ip65-charger-12v-15a-bluetooth-built-in.html just the price put me off
 
wildebus said:
Fair enough - excepting you have bought the CTEK 10A unit I understand, which is more expensive typically than the Victron 10A unit, so don't really understand why the price of a cheaper product would be off-putting?
Click to expand...
I get it's to cover the cost of the app as its not a major use one if they reduced the cost of buying the app as optional extra the unit could come down in price ?
 
Gav said:
I get it's to cover the cost of the app as its not a major use one if they reduced the cost of buying the app as optional extra the unit could come down in price ?
Click to expand...
The Victron App to use with the Charger is both optional (you can use the charger without the App) and FREE to download and use (I don't believe it has ever been a chargable product)

If you mean the Built-in bluetooth which could be removed to save money, the unit WITH bluetooth is cheaper than the CTEK without anyway.
 
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Just bought one of these - £44 off ebay from Germany
 

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