Earthmover Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Hi chaps & Lassies, Looking in the latest Lidl brochure there is a CTEK CT5 time to go Battery charger & maintainer with 3 selectable charging programmes, for 12V lead acid Batteries, Normal, AGM and recond? for reconditioning discharged batteries??. It says for medium sized batteries!. £69-00. Any good for motorhome??. Comments please. Regards Em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 It should be! I've got a ten plus year old CTEK 4 Amp charger which I use once a month for 24 hours on each battery if I haven't run the MH and it has kept both batteries in good health. It also comes with 'Comfort connectors' so you can add cigar lighter plugs or direct wired eyelet connectors and swap the charger between them with ease. For info the same charger in Halfords is £95 https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-chargers/ctek-time-to-go-battery-charger-430796.html Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Tayna is doing the CTEK MXS 5.0 for £61.99 plus £4.29 P&P It's a special deal so be quick. Link: https://www.tayna.co.uk/battery-chargers/ctek/mxs5-0/ All the best, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 I’ve owned a CTEK MXS 5.0 battery-charge for quite a few years, and this has proved reliable and effective with batteries up to 100Ah. Current minimum asking prices are similar to that of the CTEK “Time to Go” unit. There is plenty of on-line stuff on the CT5 “Time to Go” charger https://tinyurl.com/y2gyjvbo but - as these Amazon ratings show - not all comments are positive. https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-Automatic-countdown-Reconditions-Motorcycle/dp/B01AF3GR5I This 2019 forum thread discussed CTEK chargers generally (admittedly for a professional window-cleaning application) so may be of interest https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Mains-Charger-For-Leisure-Battery-Advice-Please-/51676/ This link to the late-Allan Evans's website http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-charger-work.php warns ...This is one of the many reasons why using a Car style supposedly 'smart' charger, like a CTEK, in a Motorhome/Caravan should be done only with great caution and why the CTEK XS 7.0 manual states - "Don’t leave any battery during charging unattended for a longer period of time”... but I assume (as the CTEK CT5 unit has just a 5A output) that you do NOT intend to install it as the main charger in your motorhome, but rather to use it occasionally to ’top up’ the vehicle’s batteries' charge-state when necessary. (Personally, I’d prefer the MXS 5.0 charger over the CT5.) ......................................................................................................................... I don’t think Allan Evans much cared for CTEK products and an alternative to the CTEK MXS 5.0 or CT5 might be this 5A charger from the Victron company (that Allan was fond of). https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/victron-energy-blue-smart-ip65s-charger-12-51-230v-uk-bpc120533024r/ The asking price is somewhat higher but the extra sophistication may be useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthmover Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 Thankyou Bop, Ordered a CTEK MXS 5.0 from Tayna Batteries to-day and had a E-mail one hour later, saying it had been dispatched. Cheers Em. (Edit: Spelling of Tayna corrected - Keithl) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthmover Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 Hi Derek, Thankyou for your suggestions, I have gone with the one you use and which Bop pointed out was now on offer at Tayna Batteries. I think for me to go anything more expensive would be a bit of an over kill. I have cleared a space on the come in handy shelf!! along side my Swedish Airflow charger designed for Vintage cars 45 years ago. Regards Em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 To simplify occasional ‘top-up’ charging of my 2015 Ducato-based Rapido’s starter-battery, I’ve fitted to that battery a CTEK Connect Eyelet of the type shown here https://tinyurl.com/y42rtosm The length of the eyelet’s cable currently seems to be 400mm, but (and I haven’t measured it) I think the one I bought a few years ago MIGHT be somewhat longer. My eyelet’s cable is long enough to reach from the terminals of the starter-battery in its underfloor compartment in front of the left cab seat and have the cable’s charger-connection end within the cab seat’s pedestal. So, to charge the battery, it’s just a matter of unlatching the plastic cover on the front of the seat’s pedestal and connecting the charger to the battery via the eyelet cable. I haven’t bothered to do the same with the Rapido’s leisure battery (in the motorhome’s rear garage) as that’s more accessible and I can use the crocodile clips that come with the MXS 5.0 charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Earthmover - 2020-09-23 8:11 PM Thankyou Bop, Ordered a CTEK MXS 5.0 from Tayna Batteries to-day and had a E-mail one hour later, saying it had been dispatched. Cheers Em. (Edit: Spelling of Tayna corrected - Keithl) That's great news. We've had ours a year now and it has worked out to be a really useful bit of kit. Happy charging B-) Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 And.... If you are a C&MC member you can get 10% off all Tayna products! https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/membership/member-offers/Tayna-Batteries/ I bought my CTEK this way, simply enter the code on the members section of the club website and your membership number. Simple saving (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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