Charging Engine Battery From Mains Hookup

[Brian Kirby]

Jon, if Alistair will forgive me for going OT, but I have seen and heard of batteries that can (apparently) safely be laid down sideways.  This arrangement may allow me to fit larger battery capacity than I presently have (1 x 85Ah under the Tranny seat), without having to give space to two, so losing a useful under seat cubby.  Can you say if a) this is correct b) who makes them and c) are they any good?  Thanks.

[Brambles]

Hi Brian,

Someone recently was discussing their battery which was a gel on its side, and pictures where posted. It was a Moura Gel, which I have not come across before so saved the pics. Guess what I deleted yesterday tidying up my files! I think they had recently bought it.

 

To answer the question though, sealed VRLA gel or AGM batteries can be operated at any angle so are very useful for this purpose. Personally I would l prefer a square shaped flooded wet battery but they are just not available. Do watch the specs though because a cheap gel albeit rated at say 125 Ah might only give a service life of a few hundred cycles and if being charged from 14.4 volt sources not reach full charge and be equivalent to using an 90 Ah good flooded battery which reaches a higher state of charge.

 

I shall have a proper look later after I have had dinner and see what I can find.

 

[Brambles]

Brian, I have found the thread. It is an M-tec battery which I believe is made by Moura.

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=18799&posts=14

Unfortuately it is only 85Ah gel. Generally Gel batteries are quite large compared to the flooded counterpart so not so sure you will actually gain anything. Seems the ideal might be to fit two batteries under the one seat rather than one under each seat.

Just need to measure the space you have in total and then find the max size battery or pair of batteries which will fit.

In my Motorhome it is a shorter distance to the locker under the settee then it is to the passenger seat, so for me the obvious place for a second battery would be in the locker. Every layout is different though and is always a compromise. Maybe there is a gel with a better set of dimensions which will still fit and allow a higher capacity but at the moment all I have looked at have been much larger and would not achieve an advantage.

 

Jon.

 

[Guest peter]

Tracker - 2010-05-02 11:37 AM

 

How could you not like an amiable old duffer like Peter who drives arouind in an old MGF the same colour as his shirt!

 

PS I already have two suitable old leisure batteries - just in case!

Wrong on three counts Richard. It's not that old, it's green and it's an MG T/F.

[alistair]

I've been amazed at the response to my query, and that much of it has stayed on topic! No problem with your diversion, Brian, but I would like to know why you suggested I use a Ctek charger rather than just any charger. I'm not familiar with the brand but have looked at them on the internet.

 

Thanks to you, Brambles, for the technical discussion. Very informative.

 

Alistair

[Brian Kirby]

Not from any proper understanding, Alistair, but because I gather they are compact, effective, and very clever! 

I'm afraid you'll need Jon (Brambles) & Co for the technical appraisal.  I guess they could probably also suggest which model to consider for your circumstances, as they are unfamiliar to you.

Good luck!

[Brambles]

XC3600 from memory a a min spec model. It helps top reduce sulphation and because it used pulse width modulation for the maintenance charge.

The Ctek type chargers are the best type and many people make intelligent chargers now a lot cheaper then the Ctek, but the Ctek is weather resistant, compact and robust. I actually use a Lidl equivalent and also have one from Aldi, and whereas not quite so good it does much the same job as the Ctek.

These are are plug and play type chargers and almost full proof and safe. They have reverse polarity protection and also will not switch on the charge voltage until connected so very low risk of a spark.

[alistair]

Your comments re Lidl and Aldi chargers are interesting, Brambles. I can't find them on the Lidl and Aldi websites - do they stock them only some of the time or are they a normal item? I read somewhere that the cheaper chargers do the same as the Ctek, but have more ripple. I wonder if that matters. Sounds like you find both cheap chargers OK.

[Brambles]

Lidl and Aldi work by having constantly changing hardgoods and offers of the week so you have to wait for them to come in. Aldi often have products though for weeks and sometimes months after they come in. I am not sure what time of year they do the car battery chargers.