Battery charger

looking to purchase a good quality battery charger now that the winter period is nearly here
...CTEK brand keeps comming up in comments in the forum that some use on here
any thoughts ? or even recommendations of a particular product / model numbers please

thanks

I have a CTEK 5.0 that looks after my 110AH battery in my Audi. I'm usually very sceptical; however, it has been very good. The regen function (to regenerate a sulphated battery) also seems to work very well.

The 5.0 bit means that it's nominal output when in charging mode - is 5A. don't let that put you off that it is too small for the application. As I say, it looks after my 110AH battery. But it takes a good overnight to charge from 'flat as a witch's broom'.

It will also not act as a battery or system voltage maintainer, although it was never designed to do that. The modern cars may consume 20-30A when key-on-engine-off. For this you need something different, I use a 600W SMPS.

however, for its regen function alone, it has more than paid for itself from what I would have paid for a new battery.

I have the same one which I use to charge my car battery (75AH AGM) and sometimes my motorcycle (on the 0.8A motorcycle mode). Its a very handy charger with enough current to charge car batteries. However, if you are looking for something to keep the battery voltage stable at 13.8V with the ignition on (such as for flashing), you really want a 20A model.

For home use, see Bosch C3 or C7.

thanks guys
have opted to buy the ctek PRO25S