CTEK charger

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Hi guys. Skoda not being used much now. Need a charger to keep it in top condition.

CTEK good, but I wonder if the Czech Chariot can get away with the 3.6, rather than the 5.0?

The 3.6 does batteries up to 75Ah, the Skoda's is 77Ah.....

Would a 3.6 be OK, or should I not be a meanie and buy the 5.0?
 
I'd say it will be no problem. It maintains up to 120AH which is your primary use. The 75Ah number will be the speed at which it can charge from flat, it will get there eventually.

Ctek chargers are very good it seems, I have had mine for a long time now and it's in use all winter long on the beemer.
 
Its generally down to Ctek or Optimate for good chargers

But watch out for the Lidl charger "Tronic TX4" which comes up now and again and is very similar to the Ctek but costs about £10
 
Thanks, nick. Is yours a 3.6?
Can't remember, not been in the garage for 2 months, hope the car is still there. :lol:

Pretty sure I bought the bigger one as I used to charge batteries from flat quite a lot.
 
OK, thanks.

My battery is dead as a dodo at the mo, in all honesty would I be better with the 5.0 or do you think the 3.6 would still cope?
 
There are a number of types of battery charger starting with the simple trickle charger.

The trickle charger has no real control and uses a very poor quality transformer and rectifier and is OK when it is monitored it will charge a battery from flat although it could take a long time and it can also over charge a battery. Normally has an ammeter to give some indication as to charge condition.

The regulated battery charger will have a float voltage the same as the car alternator and can charge a battery from flat to half charged quite quickly but then slows up and takes a long time to finish off the job. However it is safe to leave on the battery 24/7. But with a sulphated battery it is not that good at reversing the process and often they have anti-reverse polarity system so will not charge a totally flat battery.

The step battery charger comes in too main types those which switch off when complete as used with fork lifts and those using an extra third stage which continue to float charge the battery once fully charged.
The three stages are to start with constant current until a set voltage is reached this varies according to battery type but around 14.8 volts.
So second stage is a constant voltage.
It then monitors the current when this drops to a pre-set level around 5A then the voltage is reduced to around 13.2 volts (Float charge).
Because of the dropping from 14.8 to 13.2 is dependent on current which is also in turn dependent on battery size these chargers are matched to the size of battery to be charged.

From the adverts the Ctek Multi MXS 3.6 is a type of step battery charger.

The problem with using a charger that is too small is that it may never drop to a current which will put it into the final stage (Float charge) with the larger chargers I have used there is also a timer so if the battery is self discharging to an extent so the current can't drop to the pre-set level it will time out and drop anyway. They also had a sensor and if the voltage dropped below a pre-set level they would restart the sequence.

It claims to be a four stage charger but does not really say what the stages are. It says designed for 7 - 75Ah but can be used on up to a 110Ah so it would seem ample for your car.

It also however says it has reverse polarity protection so likely it will not charge a fully discharged battery.

The problem with a lot of fast chargers is they raise the voltage to over what the alternator safety system will cut in at and if big enough can burn out the Zenor Diode in the cars alternator. So normally one has to disconnect the battery before connecting to a fast charger.

The Ctek Multi MXS 3.6 claims this is not a problem. However I would not class 3.6A as a fast charger. Most of the step chargers I have used have been at least 25A.

It claims to charge a 75Ah battery in 17 hours but at 3.6A that's only 61.2Ah and with a 25% loss one would expect more like 30 hours at that rate even with no losses it would take 21 hours.

When one realises that they can't work out simple maths one starts to wonder about their other claims.

My late sister's car had the problem with batteries going flat and I re-charged it with a simple trickle charger rated 8A for couple of days then used a very small float charger to maintain it which cost me £8 from a radio rally. I would say £62.90 to maintain a battery is like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
A battery charger like shown here will stop a battery going flat because of car alarms (Or get same thing for Halfords at £25) and a standard battery charger for Halfords only costs £40 and has over double the output at 7.5A or can be selected to auto or 1.5A.

There are some very clever chargers out there Sterling do a pulse battery charger which chargers for so many seconds then monitors the battery and can recharge a 400Ah battery bank in less than 6 hours but can't really see you need a charger which is so clever. They are for things like narrow boats.

The only saving grace for the Ctek Multi MXS 3.6 is it is water proof.
 
At home I use an old CB power supply spot on 13.2 volts and they are very simple. Uses a standard 7812 voltage regulator and a red LED on the common leg to get the extra 1.2 volts. That unit looks great but to me OTT for what is required.
 
Tracked down a 5 in the end, for under £55.

Currently charging since 2pm.... :shock:

Strange thing is it shot to Stage 4 in a matter of seconds, but the battery was not at all charged. Went away then came back a few hours later and it was on stage 3. Now moved to stage 4, so I think it's working!

I can't make out the reason for putting the -ve clamp on the bodywork, not the battery. After all, if you used the permanent connection, as I have, it bolts direct to the -ve terminal connector!

Half the price of a new battery anyhow. Phew!
 
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