daver clasper Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 HiCar running dynamo at the mo. I have to top up the battery charge every couple of weeks in winter.My charger has failed.Is it best to buy a charger with lower trickle/overnight, type, for more frequent use please?.Cheers, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gt6s Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Buy a solar powered trickle charger for overnight use. Actually to hell with the purists. Fit an alternator.Laurence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Quoted from Gt6s Buy a solar powered trickle charger for overnight use. Laurence That would be plain silly You would need a solar powered torch to find it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Agree with the alternator suggestion.Lidl occasionally sell cheap smart chargers which work well.Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Joking apart I have used the c-tech charger which is brilliant, and it comes with a kit to just plug in as well as croc clips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nang Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 I have 3 trickle chargers complete with alligator clips . They stay on my cars when not being used. I'm looking for a fitting so that I can plug the charger into a cigarette lighter socket. There's a socket close to the battery on my 525i .Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogie Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Hi Dave, it appears you use your car in the Winter; I would go for a quality charger that gives a decent charge rate as and when required.Lead acid batteries like to work - a good discharge and charge helps to keep the inside clean.Little use and trickle charge will eventually kill it.I have a Halfords charger that is not too expensive and use to the boost my TR4 battery prior to over wintering (still be rebuilt).I also have an old spare battery for 12V tasks in the garage that gets a boost every six months or so with a decent discharge prior to charging.Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitumen Boy Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Are you sure the charging system is in good order? I used to use my Herald - still on a dynamo - regularly all year round and never had battery problems in winter apart from the usual finite life of lead/acid batteries after a few years. The one time it did struggle (in summer, by chance) it was down to a stuck brush in the dynamo, easily sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinger Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 If intent on running dynamo - add a 15-0-15 ammeter to check load at anytime since 22 amps is not much and you can see which way the wind blows.Always used one on various old heaps back in the day for reassurance .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Man Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 This is a timely thread for me as I need to replace my battery charger and I've just ordered a new battery for the Dolomite and I don't want to repeat the mistake of neglecting the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Re batteries, my gaffer when i was an apprentice insisted i put an a couple of "asprin" in each cell .I have always done this and have got to say i very rarely have to buy a new battery But i also keep them all well charged Any scientific reason for this?? Others that do it say the same, also back in the 70's you could buy a product called "battaid".Cheers,Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Tony,You will also recall that gaffers loved to wind up apprentices, as do many people who post on message boards.So much so that this myth is all over the Internet, usually in exactly the same form of words (not yours) as people are lazy and just copy it.No battery specialist's site will endorse it (Dept. of No-Surprises), for isntance this (bottom of page under "Myths"): http://www.trojanbattery.com/tech-support/faq/John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Ahh well, i dont know who told him? But he did spend a lot of money on asprin And he was a tight old bugger!!! He would look under his bed every morning to see if he had lost any sleep!!I was also wise to wind up's, as my uncle warned me about them before i started.Still, it's not done any harm to my batteries 😉Maybe the battery makers dont endorse it because it works? Who knows?Cheers,Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 lidl have their cheap, but well reviewed, chargers in stock from today. Good value and should be very adequate for most charging (unless in a real hurry!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogie Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Hi Iain, like a lot of folk one hears something way back and it sticks with you. The only technical basis for me to believe it is that Lead acid bats do grow chemical whiskers on the plates.A high discharge and charge help to keep the plates clean.Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Man Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Quoted from cliftyhanger lidl have their cheap, but well reviewed, chargers in stock from today. Good value and should be very adequate for most charging (unless in a real hurry!) Nice one Clive. I'll be going to my local Lidl after work (my good lady loves some of the £3.99 white wines that they sell) so I'll be keeping a look out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyb Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 I've had one of those Lidl battery conditioners for about 4 years. It's always on when the cars parked in the garage and does the job well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Man Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 I've gone and bought one. I've got a brand new battery for the Dolomite but I'll be useful for when I need to charge it and it will work with the caravan battery as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nang Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 I'd leave it on all the time when car is not being used. Not wait until the battery goes flat. 😀Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitdiver Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 I bought one yesterday too - pleased to hear they are good! Now, how do I go about flattening the battery correctly that is currently sitting in my utility room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Why would you want to? Lead acid batteries do best when kept fully charged.The cycling thing applies to NiCads and (to a much lesser extent) NiMHNick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitdiver Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Thanks Nick. Confusion is why, pleased I have the answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Man Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Here it is:Has anybody heard of these type of chargers starting fires? There's been a couple of posts in my "resto" thread on the TDC forum about chargers starting fires. I've done a quick Google search and the worst that has happened is that the button stops working in a relatively short space of time. I thought that it would be the "conventional" chargers that are prone to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Dave, I think you need to ignore the wind-up merchants/misery guts over on the TDC forum. They clearly take every opportunity to "know better". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 The TDC Forum? http://www.androids.org.uk/forum/index.php?board=2.0And a battery charger labelled "Ultimate Speed"? What next? a drinks holder branded "Hangover Special"?John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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