OV9

I'm sure I started a thread about this a while ago, and I can't find it.

Anyway, my Aldi AutoXS battery charger died today, or the Alfa killed it, I'm not sure which. It's under warranty, but not sure I can be bothered with the faff for £20. Neither Aldi or Lidl have their usual specials coming up anytime soon - does anyone have any alternatives? The CTEK XS is £36, which seems like the best bet.

It all seems to rest on 'what kind of battery do you have'. The special stop/start ones need a particular kind of charger, and the type in my Merc is different to my sister-in-laws CMax and my Dad's Octavia and so on...

You answered your own question. Unless you listen to Simon of course.

The XS looks fine though you might want to spend a bit more and buy one with the different modes; I find the reconditioning function very useful.

The best thing about the ctek is you can just plug it in and it switches on, my auto xs and Oxford maximiser need plugging in and switching to the correct mode which means for permanent fitting they are a pain. If I didn’t already have the cheap Oxford oximiser that just comes on to trickle charge when plugged in I’d have bought a more expensive ctek.

My CTEK has the modes but it remembers which mode it was last in and switches straight on to that. It’s over 10yrs old so nothing new and clever.

+1 on the CTEK.

Though I own a couple of the cheapy Lidl chargers and they are a bargain.

Jobbo wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:15 pm The XS looks fine though you might want to spend a bit more and buy one with the different modes; I find the reconditioning function very useful.

Yeah, the 5.0 comes with the reconditioning. How useful is that, though? I was under the impression that once it hit that level batteries never really recovered regardless.

The issue I have is I can't leave the car plugged in 24/7 - as it's too wide to fit in the garage it needs to stay on the drive, meaning I can't leave it plugged in so I'm never sure how effective these units are if they're just plugged in for a few hours here and there.

Why can't you leave it attached as it goes into trickle conditioning mode when full ?

Matty wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:16 pm

Jobbo wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:15 pm The XS looks fine though you might want to spend a bit more and buy one with the different modes; I find the reconditioning function very useful.

Yeah, the 5.0 comes with the reconditioning. How useful is that, though? I was under the impression that once it hit that level batteries never really recovered regardless.

The issue I have is I can't leave the car plugged in 24/7 - as it's too wide to fit in the garage it needs to stay on the drive, meaning I can't leave it plugged in so I'm never sure how effective these units are if they're just plugged in for a few hours here and there.

Reconditioning mode definitely works - I’ve had batteries that have been drained too far for other chargers to get them going. The reconditioning mode gets charge into them from totally dead. It’s the only mode I use because if it doesn’t need reconditioning, the charger goes through the first steps very quickly.

I've had this for about 8 months now and it been great:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ABSAAR-12V-2 ... 635-2958-0

Brought the AGM back to full health on the XF and comes with a hardwire kit as well as clip leads.

Left it on all through to April as I hardly used the car and it was fine.

Matty wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:16 pm The issue I have is I can't leave the car plugged in 24/7 - as it's too wide to fit in the garage it needs to stay on the drive, meaning I can't leave it plugged in...

Why can't you leave it plugged in ? I've left cars on charge on the driveway loads of times.

I've got a 25m waterproof IP66 extension box that the charger is plugged into. Lives under the car and the cable runs into the garage.

edit: this, in fact

For those interested, the CTEK MX5.0 is currently £54 on Amazon:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ctek-m ... on-3791964

Matty wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:25 pm For those interested, the CTEK MX5.0 is currently £54 on Amazon:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ctek-m ... on-3791964

And what if you don't have an MX5?

It's a while since this thread was last bumped and inflation has taken hold - it's now hard to get a CTEK MXS 5.0 for under £80. So the £63.69 Amazon Prime deal is the best I've seen for a while and I've ordered another: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FC42HAA/

Cheered, ordered.
I always thought the recondition function on these was nonsense until I used my dad’s CTEK on a completely dead/discharged battery. It’s still going strong 6 months later so worth it just for that.

Jobbo wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2024 9:11 am Amazon Prime deal is the best I've seen for a while

Thanks for that - I hadn’t realised there was a Prime deal thing on - I just ordered two Larbanke rolling tool chests (one 5-drawer and one 7-drawer). Yet another purchase I’ve pondered for years and never got round to actioning. They definitely aren’t pro-quality but will hopefully be robust enough for my use - reviews seem to be either excellent, or poor due to items arriving with damage - so we’ll see. Both in the sale plus a further 5% off for buying two items.

It's worth putting things in your basket when they have these deals on - I got a set of 4 Blink outdoor cameras (full price £275, discounted to £95 for Prime Day) for £41 because there were additional stacking offers.

Jobbo wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2024 9:11 am It's a while since this thread was last bumped and inflation has taken hold - it's now hard to get a CTEK MXS 5.0 for under £80. So the £63.69 Amazon Prime deal is the best I've seen for a while and I've ordered another: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FC42HAA/

I've got four of the things now, all giving 100% service, three to cover the bikes, one for topping up the Civic if I'm not using it often enough. Highly recommend.