Battery conditioners

[npanne]

As winter draws in I'm thinking of getting a battery conditioner to keep the charge level up - does anyone have any recommendations?
Also - a couple of other questions:
1) Can these be used with the battery still connected? In reality it would only be the radio that would be connected, as I have a cut-off switch that disconnects everything else - I'm planning to by-pass this just for the radio memory feed, but I don't want to toast the radio.

2) Is it possible to fit a remote socket or similar so that I don't need to get the bonnet up and mess around with battery clips every time I need to connect / disconnect?

[RobPearce]

I can't really comment on how well they work as I've only used mine very briefly on a car with a largely dead battery (which has now died completely after several months of sitting outside without the conditioner). However:

1) Yes, no problem leaving the battery on the car, provided the conditioner is a good quality one with the necessary protection against over-charging or over-current/-voltage. It might be a problem if you had the radio turned on at a high volume all the time... but the tiny residual current of any permanently powered accessories shouldn't interfere.

2) No problem with remote sockets either. In fact many of the battery conditioners I looked at came with cigarette lighter adapters for just that reason. Just be careful of the polarity if you're wiring up your own socket

[Jonny-Jimbo]

I have a Ring one that's pretty good, and never let me down, it's a smart charge too so can be used on cars with stop start etc too, and can run as a full charger as well as a conditioner.

[Graham1]

Following on does anyone have experience of solar powered chargers?
Graham

[Steve AKA vitessesteve]

I have used C-Tek conditioners for some years.  They do the job well.  I leave them connected over winter and have not had a battery die on me since.

Regarding solar power my other half has a trickle charger solar cell on her yacht.  Newer solar cells are much more efficient.  You would need a pretty big solar cell to add much charge but they can keep a battery charged up using one in our experience.

[timireson]

I use one within my carcoon, keeps the battery tip top, and never a flat battery, I have mine permanemty wired in so just connect up, no open bonnets or messing with accessory sockets.
t.

[RobPearce]

My experience with solar panel chargers hasn't been good but then I don't tend to park infrequently used cars outside.

[Saltddirk]

Just make sure the circuits are correctly protected as stated above.

There was the story in the Pre 1940 Triumph Owners Club about an American owner (and I believe our Club President's old car) who had his car on a battery conditioner, it malfunctioned and burnt the garage down together with his Stag and Gloria..

Then a few months later I had one malfunctioning, or perhaps the battery shorted, but the net result was that the battery exploded. Seen the damage that that did to whatever was round it I dont connect a smart charger to the battery any longer, and certainly avoid them while the battery is inside the car

D

[RedRooster]

If you have a battery disconnect do you really need a conditioner?

[sparky_spit]

Quoted from RedRooster

If you have a battery disconnect do you really need a conditioner?

If you are going to leave it for a long period, especially during cold weather, then yes.  A battery will self discharge over a period of time, and you don't really want a lead-acid type to go lower than 12.2v over a longish period of time.  Ideally you want to charge at 14.4v for 12 to 24 hours and then float charge at 12.7v.  Most maintenance chargers/conditioners will do this for you and some are a lot cleverer than that.

Having said that, I've had 2 motorcycle batteries die over winter even though they were connected to motorcycle specific maintenance chargers.  I now just trickle charge them at 500mA and occasionally cycle them during the winter with a regular charger.

For bigger car batteries, I charge them with an "ordinary" charger once a week during the winter, or when I remember, using a voltmeter to check state of charge. Because of my experience with smaller motorcycle batteries I don't fully trust leaving a battery connected to a charger on maintenance mode for months at a time, even a posh Optimate.

[Dannyb]

I've been using a battery conditioner for the last 5 years or so no problem. I have a fused 12v outlet in the passenger glove compartment connected across the battery and a plug fitted to the battery charger lead. Just have to plug it in and not have to lift the bonnet.