Johnh Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Hii want to buy a battery charger conditioner for my caterham battery...what's the best make for a fair price?..I don't want to spend a lot to get the same results..I looked at a CTEK 4 step charger at £40.. Would anybody recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 25, 2016 Member Share Posted March 25, 2016 I bought one last week. It was going to be a CTEK XS 0.8 but I was persuaded by BC to get an MXS 5.0 because: It can resurrect batteries as well as maintain them. It can manage larger batteries.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilla Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I've got the CTEK XS 0.8 (well, two of them actually, one maintaining the battery on my spare engine 24 x 7 all year round). It will do the things you mention Jonathan ... just takes its time about it. Succeeded in returning the whopping great battery in my old VW Touran 2.0 TDI to health from pretty much flat, but took about five days (and I needed to extend the lead ... )!I have found that, despite its intelligent charging schemes, if a standard Banner is left on it all winter it does gas off quite a bit of electrolyte and the battery generally needs checking and topping up with deionised water before returning to service in the spring. Not sure if the bigger chargers would be any worse for this or not. I guess this will be true of any other conditioner too.Other than that, the XS 0.8 seems to have done a pretty good job of keeping my batteries healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twincamtim Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I know this is sort of a different question but I'll give it a try:Can anyone comment on, or recommend, a battery charger which operates using a solar panel as a power source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 26, 2016 Member Share Posted March 26, 2016 There are some experiences of this in the archives, both for cars and things like lighting and dehumidifiers in garages.Are you specifically thinking of using it on a 7?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twincamtim Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Yes Jonathan, I am. Currently using a Carcoon but due to move it into a garage without power (duh! Fail) so thought of using a solar powered one. I'll look through the archives (sorry, should have done that first). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 26, 2016 Member Share Posted March 26, 2016 Useful threads: 1, 2.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twincamtim Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 "I have found that, despite its intelligent charging schemes, if a standard Banner is left on it all winter it does gas off quite a bit of electrolyte and the battery generally needs checking and topping up with deionised water before returning to service in the spring."I get around that by charging up to float level every couple of weeks, which takes around 6 - 8 hours, then disconnecting and letting it sit. Electrolyte loss is not an issue, and it's ready to go when I want to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Toughie Posted December 18, 2016 Leadership Team Share Posted December 18, 2016 'The Boss' has just bought ma a CTEK MXS 5.0 for Christmas, on the basis of the comments here. Should I regard the Banner battery that's installed as a small battery, and use the mode with the motorcycle icon, or as a normal battery, so use the mode with the car icon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted December 18, 2016 Member Share Posted December 18, 2016 Edited: The categories are given on page 4 of the instructions. What's the capacity of your current battery, probably described in Ah?Jonathan (PVR 25, set to "Car" and "AGM") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Rayner Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 MXS 5.0 has worked well on mine and keeps the battery tip top over the cold winter months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted December 18, 2016 Member Share Posted December 18, 2016 Just had a known problem.Flat battery. CTEK charger wouldn't get past "Desulphation". 30m on a dumb trickle charger. 7 started. CTEK charger now doing what it does best.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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