Worth getting a trickle charger?

P

parabolica

Member
Car is going into storage for around 1 year as I relocate overseas for work; dad will have it out now and then (say once every three months) to keep the cobwebs off it, take it for its MOT etc. Is it worth investing in a TC? If so, any recommendations? Car had a new battery a year ago and has never presented with any electrical issues but I want to be as safe as possible.
 
A simple YES. Your new battery will go to low in Voltage in a year, despite starting/short drives every 3 months. The E85 is known to get confusing fault codes because of battery to low. Furthermore, it will shorten your battery life too. A CTEK charger. Friendly greetings from The Netherlands.
 
The battery will be knackered after a month of no use so either get a trickle charger or just get a new battery when you get out, sorry, come home :-)
 
That's cruel Rockhopper! :lol:

I'd definitely get it on a trickle charger. Once the battery gets to a certain level of discharge it will never recharge fully.

And as WouterZZZZ says you will get random warning lights when the battery isn't healthy - like I did on my last 2 Z4s and my 3 Series earlier this year. :(
 
I have a CTEK and really pleased with it.

All I need to do now is rig up a permanent lead for it so that I just plug the charger in when I put the car in the garage.
 
I have extensive knowledge on this subject as my car has done something like 1500 miles in 4 years. Your car battery will be low after 2-3 weeks if it's a fresh top of the range brand new battery. If it's already lost some of it's power it will be low after a week or two. After a month it will start to lose power permanently. Even if you charge it and it says it's fully charged it will have lost capacity. Every time it drops below a certain voltage it loses permanent capacity and has sustained permanent damage in the form of crystalisation.

I have to charge mine every week. In this situation unless it's garaged I would just take the battery out the car and stick it on the charger directly inside. I have never had any issues doing this. Then put the battery in when your dad takes it for a spin then take it out again and stick the battery on charge.

You will need to charge it or you will need a new battery for sure after a year. In fact after 6 months you would need a battery especially if it goes through a winter.

The one I use is this one

Ring RSC612 12A Smart Battery Charger, 12V Vehicles to 5.0L, All Battery Types, Stop/Start, 7 Stage Charge Cycle, Repair Functions, 4 Diagnostic Tests

It has 12A charging (very fast). 4 diagnostic tests are a god send as you can test capacity and see how much is left a lot of chargers don't have this function. 7 stage charger so it keeps your battery in the best condition possible as it's a smart charger with repair function.
 
curvature said:
All I need to do now is rig up a permanent lead for it so that I just plug the charger in when I put the car in the garage.
Click to expand...
Or get the cigarette lighter adaptor and use that :thumbsup:
 
As others have said. CTEK takes some beating. I have had two for some years now. They weren’t cheap but they are reliable and do an excellent job. There is a new model out now. The leads are interchangeable so you don’t have to worry about positive and negative. You don’t have to choose which mode either. The machine does it all automatically. This one is a bit expensive but I have got it on my Christmas list. Hopefully my good lady will respond accordingly. :thumbsup:
 
Scooba_Steve said:
curvature said:
All I need to do now is rig up a permanent lead for it so that I just plug the charger in when I put the car in the garage.
Click to expand...
Or get the cigarette lighter adaptor and use that :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve, I didn't realise this was an option.
Are there any downsides to doing this?
 
curvature said:
Scooba_Steve said:
curvature said:
All I need to do now is rig up a permanent lead for it so that I just plug the charger in when I put the car in the garage.
Click to expand...
Or get the cigarette lighter adaptor and use that :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve, I didn't realise this was an option.
Are there any downsides to doing this?
Click to expand...
Someone might correct me on this;
but have been using ctek trickle for a number of years with the 12volt adaptor, Z sits in the garage for 6 months over the winter, no problem starting and no warning lights...ever.
Have a volvo on sorn that has been on trickle since November 2019 connected via the 12volt, just comes out every 8-10 weeks for a little stretch,
no issues there either.
I know modern vehicles do not like the 12volt trickle option, upsets onboard computer stuff.
 
IRD said:
As others have said. CTEK takes some beating. I have had two for some years now. They weren’t cheap but they are reliable and do an excellent job. There is a new model out now. The leads are interchangeable so you don’t have to worry about positive and negative. You don’t have to choose which mode either. The machine does it all automatically. This one is a bit expensive but I have got it on my Christmas list. Hopefully my good lady will respond accordingly. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I found CTEK didn't have any diagnostic testing options? Can you tell how much capacity is left from new? Mine will tell me how much CCA it can hold and then I can compare that with new. As far as I know CTEK doesn't do this and it's in my opinion the best function you can have on a smart battery charger because you can charge a dead battery and it will show you it holding good voltage but it still won't work as it should. Only this diagnostic will tell you what state your battery is actually in. It also has a repair function but that only works on batteries that haven't been abused too much.
 
I asked for some recommendations on a couple of classic car sites a good few years back, most of them were using the Maypole charger. I then ordered a couple and have been using them ever since.

Have worked perfectly so far on a few different cars, including the Z4.

Cost around the £25 mark.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332552434699#rwid
 
Thanks all; will look at the options. Car sat in the garage for the last 3 months during my initial trip and started first turn of the key when I came back; done about 300 miles in the last 2 weeks and it’s been fine; even scanned it with my Carly adaptor and no issues reported, hence me asking if it was worth getting one or not.
 
parabolica said:
Thanks all; will look at the options. Car sat in the garage for the last 3 months during my initial trip and started first turn of the key when I came back; done about 300 miles in the last 2 weeks and it’s been fine; even scanned it with my Carly adaptor and no issues reported, hence me asking if it was worth getting one or not.
Click to expand...

It will have lost some of it's capacity. The ring 12A charger will be able to show you how much damage that 3 month stint did to it. It has a repair function also for de-crystalising the battery which sometimes can help regain some of the lost capacity. If you leave it alone for another 3 months and then another 3 the damage compounds with every time it's discharged and goes below a certain voltage.
 
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