Battery Chargers / Tenders Recommendations?

S

Silverstar

Veteran
 Costa Del Sol
Hi all, I had my CTEK hooked up to the car and stupidly drove way (not for the first time :headbang: ). It broke the cable away from the quick connector. I contacted CTEK support hoping that they could repair it but they informed me that they don't have any service centres in Spain.

They suggested that I can connect the cable direct to the clamps eliminating the quick connector, they said that once it reaches LED number 4 I should have 14.4V but on testing this it's only outputting 12.93V. CTEK says it is not functioning correctly and needs to be replaced.

This charger has gone up in price 30% since when I bought mine in 2020 and I don't fancy spending 90€ odd on another, can anyone recommend an alternative that is just as good but cheaper?
 
CTEK seem to be the gold standard…I have two LIDL ones that do a reasonable job but lack the final sophistication…80/20 design rule applies…get most of what you want for 20% ..the final polish costs 80%…
 
I take my battery out during the long periods I'm not using the car. I have the lidl battery charger and its on constantly. It keeps the battery in good condition, ready for next season. I can't fault it, it was the best £20-30 I've spent. I've had it 3 years and its worked faultlessly. I'd definitely buy another.
 
I bought a NOCO which wasn’t cheap

Failed after 18 months

Like many I’ve got a Lidl one but it goes off line quite easily

Bought the BMW branded CTEK one on eBay for £75

No regrets
 
I drove out of my garage with my CTEK connected to my F22 before. Luckily it was on a reel so no damage at all.
Now I have a big “charger” warning on my windscreens and chocks under the wheels of both cars.
I would just take it on the chin and get a CTEK solution again.
 
I have a Draper 10A one that can double as a 10A power supply

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08WHGQG4J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Useful for bench top stuff or testing bits and pieces. Works really well in all weathers and is a 10 step process to ensure the battery is kept in tip-top condition.

I also have fitted a BM2 battery monitor to each of our cars so I can monitor battery state, I actually use HomeAssistant to monitor battery state and warn me when they need a charge. Very helpful over the winter when the car was SORN'd
 
Nathanio said:
I also have fitted a BM2 battery monitor to each of our cars so I can monitor battery state, I actually use HomeAssistant to monitor battery state and warn me when they need a charge. Very helpful over the winter when the car was SORN'd
Click to expand...

Like the sound of this, which BM2 do you have and is it fitted to an E89- engine bay I guess
 
SAE connector in the engine bay, BM2 in the boot directly connected to the battery. I'll get some photos.
 
I bought a BM2 like this: https://shorturl.at/dRIsS

I replaced the provided ring terminals with slimmer ones and used heatshriink to protect it. I attached to the battery terminals directly

bm2_2.jpg
bm2_1.jpg

I then fitted a ring terminal to SAE connector under the bonnet. M5 at the positive terminal and M6 on the ground

sae_1.jpg
sae_2.jpg
sae_3.jpg
sae_4.jpg

I'll get an SAE extension to give me some more length as I need it.

And then use HomeAssistant with an ESP32 as a Bluetooth proxy to send the Bluetooth state over MQTT. I have it setup with a smart socket to turn it on and off as required and alerts to my phone

ha.png
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The AA and Draper looks interesting, except they are not generally available here.

Nathanio I had the BM2 but disconnected when I had the issue of battery drain in order to eliminate it as the cause but never got around to reconnecting it. I used to use the app that came with it but it never worked in my apartment (car is parked in communal garage below the building). It would only ever work when I was near the car so not really very useful. What is this home assitant and ESP32?

On the other hand CTEK came back and offered me a free bumper protector and battery status indicator of sorts.
 
Silverstar said:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The AA and Draper looks interesting, except they are not generally available here.

Nathanio I had the BM2 but disconnected when I had the issue of battery drain in order to eliminate it as the cause but never got around to reconnecting it. I used to use the app that came with it but it never worked in my apartment (car is parked in communal garage below the building). It would only ever work when I was near the car so not really very useful. What is this home assitant and ESP32?

On the other hand CTEK came back and offered me a free bumper protector and battery status indicator of sorts.
Click to expand...

I have never had a problem with the BM2 creating battery drain. I have one fitted to my Z4, one to the wifes Yeti and a Victron equivalent to my Superb. They do have limited range unfortunately as they are only Bluetooth.

ESP32 is a small WiFi microcontroller that can be used for a variety of things. I use them around the house for all sorts. If you have a smart plug or bulb or similar then it will be using a variant of the ESP family. In my case I use it as a Bluetooth proxy to monitor the BM2 units and report it into HomeAssistant.

HomeAssistant is a smart home operating system that I use to pull together all my smart appliances, sensors and tools from my house. I have it setup to create automations that trigger on things i.e. it's too cold so turn on the EvoHome system.
 
Nathanio said:
I bought a BM2 like this:
I replaced the provided ring terminals with slimmer ones and used heatshriink to protect it. I attached to the battery terminals directly
Click to expand...

My CTEK came with a similar option, I hardwired it to the battery terminals under the bonnet on the E89 which saved the hassle of the crocodile clips (just a simple click connector). I had an Aldi/Lidl one years ago, but I found that the cables wore thin at the point that they joined the unit and exposed the wires :cry: . Still using the same CTEK on my G29, have it fixed on the garage wall and bought the extra extension cable. No danger of driving away with it connected as the bonnet is open.
 
Not sure why people can’t cope with putting two clips on the charging post and earth point in the engine compartment when they are charging their battery

Such an obvious connection would mitigate against these drive away errors
 
The.Analyst said:
Not sure why people can’t cope with putting two clips on the charging post and earth point in the engine compartment when they are charging their battery

Such an obvious connection would mitigate against these drive away errors
Click to expand...
Would it? I do exactly that with my C-Tek, but to lock the car and put it to sleep properly I still have to close the bonnet. So exactly the same issue could arise.
So your flippant appraisal is a little rash in my humble opinion. :wink: :D
 
The.Analyst said:
Not sure why people can’t cope with putting two clips on the charging post and earth point in the engine compartment when they are charging their battery

Such an obvious connection would mitigate against these drive away errors
Click to expand...

Because crocodile clips won't be as reliable as a bolted connection. I've had crocodile clips fall off when closing bonnets before. Plus SAE is plug and play, quick to plug in the charger and no chance of incorrect polarity.

I've done it on all my cars to make life easier and more robust
 
The.Analyst said:
Not sure why people can’t cope with putting two clips on the charging post and earth point in the engine compartment when they are charging their battery

Such an obvious connection would mitigate against these drive away errors
Click to expand...

Personally I can't see why Ctek and the like can't design break away connectors to prevent damage to the cables in case of accidental drive away. They actually told me this is not the first time someone has contacted them about it so I guess it must be a fairly regular occurence. I supposed if they did that it would hinder sales of units as the reply is simply to buy a new one.

The best option is to leave the bonnet up so you can't forget but that's ok if you have your own garage, I wouldn't want to do that in a comunal garage as we have. Guess I'll just have to put some paper or something over the steering or gear shifter to remind me it's on charge.
 
I bought one of these BM2 units and as expected, my battery is showing 12.4V and 45% charge. I think I damaged it when I connected a cheap Bluetooth OBDII module and left it in place; I didn't realize how much charge it would constantly draw.

While I haven't had any problems starting the car or any electric gremlins, I expect that it only a matter of time. Looking in the usual places, a replacement is going to be around £150. Does anyone know of a cheaper supplier please?
 
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