Trickle charger - Ctek or NOCO?

W

warmasice

Active member
Hi folks,
I'm looking to purchase a trickle charger/battery tender. It's a toss-up between ctek and Noco. The Ctek 5 amp is currently reduced to £62 and the Noco 5 amp down to £59.

I know there are many here with Cteks and are highly regarded but wondered if anyone had any experience of the Noco?

I've done as much research as I can and other than differences in warranty and minimum charge voltages there doesn't seem to be much in it. The new Nocos are significantly more compact than their predecessors though.

Would appreciate any feedback from those who are wiser than I! :D
 
Ctek ftw. It just works.
my ctek is hooked up to the zeds battery 90% of the time atm and it does what it says on the tin. Keeps it charged and conditioned.
 
I have a CTEK 25amp DCDC charger on my Hilux which is chunky but proven to be a solid piece of kit in some testing conditions, and have bought two Noco Genius 5 trickle chargers, one for the Hilux and one for my mum's Hiace camper. It's a really well built compact unit which is weatherproof with generous cable lengths. I'd happily buy either brand again, both very reliable.

Owen
 
I have a Ctek 5 amp 'smart' charger and a really cheap £20 1.5 amp 'smart' charger. Both are good and do the same job, obviously the Ctek a little quicker for charging.
The only thing I have noticed with the Ctek is it gets quite hot. I wouldn't feel happy with leaving it under a closed bonnet for long periods. Also because it has a connector in the 12v cables, they are only just long enough to get to both terminals in the engine bay on the E89 with the power plug on the floor. Basically the Ctek has short cables :D
 
My Ctek is approaching 25 years old. Not much point specifying a model number as clearly no longer current. Still going strong.
I also have a Noco Boost - appears well made etc but not used enough to form an opinion.
 
Pondrew said:
I have a Ctek 5 amp 'smart' charger and a really cheap £20 1.5 amp 'smart' charger. Both are good and do the same job, obviously the Ctek a little quicker for charging.
The only thing I have noticed with the Ctek is it gets quite hot. I wouldn't feel happy with leaving it under a closed bonnet for long periods. Also because it has a connector in the 12v cables, they are only just long enough to get to both terminals in the engine bay on the E89 with the power plug on the floor. Basically the Ctek has short cables :D
Click to expand...
Slightly off topic, for your benefit Mr P.
You can get a 2m extension for the Ctek cable.
Also, following Smartbear's advice, I no longer try to stretch the earth clip all the way to the offside wing.
On the nearside inner wing, about 6" down, is an earth bolt, holding various earth wires. There is plenty of thread to clip onto that earth point instead.
 
enuff_zed said:
Slightly off topic, for your benefit Mr P.
You can get a 2m extension for the Ctek cable.
Also, following Smartbear's advice, I no longer try to stretch the earth clip all the way to the offside wing.
On the nearside inner wing, about 6" down, is an earth bolt, holding various earth wires. There is plenty of thread to clip onto that earth point instead.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mr E. Every day's a school day. I use my cheapy for the Z4 and the Ctek for the E92 which has both terminals on the offside but it is useful to know :thumbsup:
I noticed in the Ctek manual that it recommends a 'reconditioning' cycle once a year, so may do this on both soon. Oh the joys of old cars that are seldom used :wink:
 
Hi Jas, I use a NOCO 5 Genius for the car and an Optimate for bike. Previously used Ctek and found them all to work without fault.
 
CTEK for the bike, was also used on the 718 when I had it as it was not a DD. Had two extension leads and it plugged into the cig. lighter in the Porsche so no faffing about with the battery.
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I opted for the NOCO in the end for its compact size. Otherwise there's not much between them.
 
Just to re-add to the thread bought my Ctek off eBay and it stopped working, no recourse with seller. Contacted Ctek and must say I am very impressed with the service. Sent out replacement, great company
 
I use a smart ring 12 amp charger. Been using it for 6 years now with zero issues.

It also has various testing functions to see level of charge, capacity, etc.

Has a maintenance mode, winter mode and a repair/reconditioning mode as well as the normal mode. Suitable for both start stop batteries and normal.

I have been thinking about getting a lithium battery usually used in supercars just because the battery is so heavy not ideal for winter when I usually take the battery out and into the garage and left on trickle charge.
 
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