lidl have there £13.99 battery chargers on offer this week. i leave one connected to my bike over winter to keep it topped up . 3 year warranty too .
Ultimate Speed Car Battery Charger1 £ 13.99each Intelligent microprocessor control with diagnostics program and automatic charging cycle Suitable for all 6V or 12V car and motorcycle batteries, with 4 programmes for adapting to different battery types Pulse charge for charging flat batteries Reverse polarity, short circuit and overload protection Operating voltage: 220 – 240V ~ 50/60Hz https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offers.htm?articleId=9575
@steve c Thanks for your post Steve. On the strength of Air-cons knowledge about battery chargers I figured if he had bought 10 they are probably good, so I went to Lidl's and bought one.Looks a very high quality item and great to have a digital voltage readout too, something which my Optimate doesn't have. Also bought a ceramic mixer tap for £19.99. a pair of kippers , a bottle of wine and a aerosol of WD 40. Well worth the visit!
@AirCon do you reckon this charger would be good for Lithium batteries as well? Doesn't mention desulphate mode anywhere in the blurb?
@stretta I have just been reading the user manual and it states: 'suitable for charging and trickle charging Lead Acid batteries with electrolyte solution (WET), electrolyte absorbent mats (AGM) or gel electrolyte (GEL). No mention of Lithium batteries!' Update: This appliance is not suitable for charging Lithium Ion batteries.
@RickyX Yes, mate, Worthing is nearest to you, I looked at their store finder this morning. Drop by my place tmw on the way to Lidl and pick up your Christmas present which I have failed to deliver to you as I keep forgetting when I go to Horsham.
I believe Paul ( aircon) might have already posted up this link, but if you need, or are interested in batteries, this place is a wealth of Information. http://batteryuniversity.com/
Current advice is that if you want to use a standard battery charger for LiFePo batteries, the charging voltage MUST NOT EXCEED 15v nor should you use the charger to ‘maintain’ the LiFePo. Connect, charge, disconnect. The LiFePo has a voltage that you must not go below which is about 11.4V from memory. LiFePo batteries do not deliver well if there is a steady discharge requirement like an alarm or a tracker unless you have the correct battery charger which costs about £90-£100. Andy
Took too long to type before CJ posted that link. Hopefully it doesn’t contradict what I just said . Andy
@CRYSTALJOHN oooh...a Chrizzy Prezzie! Ooh you shouldn’t have! Not got you one! My bad! Found out there’s a closer Lidl in sunny Crawley so unlikely to be swerving past your joint this weekend. Catch you another day matey boy!
You're brace, venturing into Creepy Crawly. Look out for the Tilgate Tongs. I was exaggerating about Christmas present, forget to give you that Jamie Witham book when I've been over to Horsham. See you soon mate.
I bought one a couple of years ago from Lidl, the same model, and still going strong. Well worth the price.
The only criticism so far is the cable connector at the crocodile clip, bit naff. At just under 4Amps it should be ok.... Well worth £14.
