Which battery conditioner?

[timedwards]

Can anybody recommend a battery conditioner suitable for the X300. I am looking at CTEK but there are CTEK MXS 5.0, CTEK MXS 7.0 or CTEK MXS 10! They range from approx £70 to £130 so quite a big difference! Are they all suitable for such a big battery and what are the advantages of paying the extra?

Thanks Tim

[PeterDavisX300]

Hi Tim

I've just got an 'Optimate' on my X300. Used it for about Five years with no problems.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OPTIMATE-ACC ... SwX9FZFct2

That link is to an 'Accumate'. Same thing really, I've used these chargers for years on all my Cars and Bikes, from 1960's cars and Bikes to present day, and currently have Four on the go at this minute, one on the Jaguar, both Bikes, and a Lawn-mower. Two are the exact model above.

Hth

Peter

[Tintin]

Never one to spend more cash than I must, I went for the CTEK 5.0 and am very happy with it. I use it to keep batteries topped up and conditioned, not to re-charge from empty. Having said that, as a measure of performance, the 5.0 claims to re-charge from empty to 80% in 26 hrs for a 110Ah battery and 12 hrs for a 60Ah battery.

Robbie

[ptjs1]

Tim,

CTEK MXS 5.0 for me. At our storage unit, my friends and I have 14 of these supporting everything Ferraris to Range Rovers. Great piece of kit. However, do shop around very carefully as there are huge variations on price. £68 - £147 today on ebay.

Good luck

Paul

[timedwards]

Definately not keen on spending money I don't have to either so what I save now will go towards the i930 diagnostic device that I also need. Thanks for the great advice everyone.

Cheers all
Tim

[RichardSEL]

I'm not an admirer of these battery "conditioners". They are nothing more than a normal battery charger with some clever monitoring electronics that control their on / off / trickle current abilities. And uptodate isolation.

While the 5.0 (5 amp max charge current) could be useful for some who only use their hobby car say once or twice in winter on a sunny Sunday afternoon, a decent battery that's not nearing end of life should retain it's charge state and thus starting capability for at least a month. If it won't start a car then there's either a wiring fault leading to current drain when IGN is off, or the battery's duff.

My ancient and probably not safe by today's standards £5.99 from Woolies trickle charger has managed to stay with me since the early 80s. And apart from when I've bought a car (more often than not) that doesn't have a decent life battery in it, a few hours on it (4 amp trickle down to 2.5A steady) does the starting trick.

So why spend up to 10x a standard charger's price? Spend that on a decent battery

[Tintin]

They are nothing more than a normal battery charger with some clever monitoring electronics that control their on / off / trickle current abilities.

There is rather more to it than that.

The quality of the charging voltage and charging current is very important. A high current ripple heats up the battery which has an ageing effect on the positive electrode. High voltage ripple could harm other equipment that is connected to the battery. CTEK battery chargers produce very clean voltage and current with low ripple.

The de-sulphation feature restores reduced battery capacity by removing sulphation from the plates.

The analysis and soft start features warn if the battery is unable to accept a charge and/or retain a charge.

The recondition program creates controlled gassing which mixes the battery acid restoring energy to the battery.

I have used both the the CTEK and the old single stage trickle chargers in my time - and would never go back to the old system. You should try the new ones, Richard - you may be pleasantly surprised.

BTW I have no affiliation to any company making or selling batteries or chargers.

Robbie

[poprivet]

Not exactly related but I do have memories in the '60s of my dad using a rusty and battered battery charger on his car, he had to remove the caps on the cells to stop the battery exploding and you could see the acid boiling inside

[Tintin]

Not exactly related but I do have memories in the '60s of my dad using a rusty and battered battery charger on his car, he had to remove the caps on the cells to stop the battery exploding and you could see the acid boiling inside

Ah, the good old days - before Health and Safety spoiled all the fun of learning about chemistry at home!

R