Which brand or What to look for in a battery charger.

Anyone recommend a certain brand, or can I just choose based on the chargers capabilities. Would like to get one today from the store which is why I wanted to know what requirements to look for. If a specific brand is the best to get then i can settle by ordering on line and waiting a few days.

You need a smart charger that can float the battery once it reaches full charge. A trickle charger does not do this. Battery Tender brand are cheap and they're what BMW rebrands. My friend has a Schumacher INC 700a that has a wide variety of features, and he's very happy with it. Obviously that's in a different price range, but it exceeds BMW's specifications for an in house charger.

Originally Posted by All-Or-Nothing

Anyone recommend a certain brand, or can I just choose based on the chargers capabilities. Would like to get one today from the store which is why I wanted to know what requirements to look for. If a specific brand is the best to get then i can settle by ordering on line and waiting a few days.

Battery Tender plus from Deltran. $46.65 from Amazon. It is the same one you would get from BMW for more money. I have been using one for 3 + years on my Bimmer.

* Solid state two color LED indicates stage of charger; a quick connect harness for use in hard to reach areas
* Perfect for all lead-acid, flooded or sealed maintenance free batteries (AGM and gel cell)
* Complete 4-step charging program (initialization, bulk charge, absorption mode and float mode) that maintains batteries at full charge without overcharging via its 4-step charging system
* Automatically switches to float/maintenance mode voltage after fully charging the battery
* Temperature compensated to ensure optimum charge voltage according to ambient temperature, and spark proof and reverse polarity protected; 10-year limited warranty



http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...9568816&sr=8-1

dj

After my Battery Tender plus died last year I replaced it with a CTEK 7002.

CTEK make some of the most advanced chargers on the market. I like the $90 7002 over the smaller $55 3300 because it has a desulphation mode which will recover slightly sulphated batteries.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

After my Battery Tender plus died last year I replaced it with a CTEK 7002.

CTEK make some of the most advanced chargers on the market. I like the $90 7002 over the smaller $55 3300 because it has a desulphation mode which will recover slightly sulphated batteries.

I bought this charger a couple months ago, after reading your suggestion when I first bought the car. I live in New Jersey and don't drive the car too much because I take public transportation into NYC. I don't have a garage and winters here are pretty bad.

My question is, can I use this regularly? How do I connect it? Directly to the battery? Also in the winter I was planning on putting a car cover and just attaching the charger. Again I don't have a garage, but I do have an outlet next to the driveway. Is this ok to do?


Thanks

Originally Posted by videofrank

...My question is, can I use this regularly? How do I connect it? Directly to the battery? Also in the winter I was planning on putting a car cover and just attaching the charger. Again I don't have a garage, but I do have an outlet next to the driveway. Is this ok to do?
Thanks

You have two choices with CTEK.
1) Attach the standard alligator clips then charge under the hood. The charger is small enough that you can place it in a low spot then close the hood on it. The good thing about this method is the charge is registered by the IBS (Intelligent Battery Sensor) which should improve the life of the battery.
2) Attach the permanent cable to the battery in the trunk. You can close the trunk lid on the extension cord this way too. The charger will be less exposed to the elements in the trunk.

The charger can survive the cold no problem under the hood or in the trunk. If you are using a car cover I would leave the charger connected and plug in the extension cord once a month or maybe once every two weeks to be safe and let it run all weekend. The TIS says the car can go 6 weeks between charges if the car is sitting in a showroom for example but I think that is pushing it with the car sitting in freezing conditions and a battery that is not new.

Check out the pics at the bottom of this thread for connecting to the battery.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

You have two choices with CTEK.
1) Attach the standard alligator clips then charge under the hood. The charger is small enough that you can place it in a low spot then close the hood on it. The good thing about this method is the charge is registered by the IBS (Intelligent Battery Sensor) which should improve the life of the battery.[/URL]

I would prefer to have it charge under the hood so it's registered with the IBS. Excuse my ignorance but do you have pictures of it attached under the hood? Just want to make sure I have it right.

Thanks

Well I'm off to the store. I'll post what I buy if they have anything worth it. Thanks for the replies.

So I picked up a charger while I was out "Impulse" buying.....LOL.









Got it for about $30 bucks. Just pulled the battery out the 6er and I am charging it on my balcony. No plugs in the Condo basement but at work I can pull the car inside and charge away. I just want to top this battery off and then monitor how the car does when I keep it charged every few days.

So what you think Yorgi??

Originally Posted by All-Or-Nothing

So I picked up a charger while I was out "Impulse" buying.....LOL.
Got it for about $30 bucks. Just pulled the battery out the 6er and I am charging it on my balcony. No plugs in the Condo basement but at work I can pull the car inside and charge away. I just want to top this battery off and then monitor how the car does when I keep it charged every few days.

So what you think Yorgi??

I don't think that is a battery tender/trickle/maintenance charger, but a full on battery charger and not meant to be used for long periods.

dj

Originally Posted by djfitter

I don't think that is a battery tender/trickle/maintenance charger, but a full on battery charger and not meant to be used for long periods.

dj



dj

Yeah I know. I have a battery I want to charge back to full. I ordered a CTEK 7002 off Amazon so I got this to bring back my old battery.

Originally Posted by All-Or-Nothing

Yeah I know. I have a battery I want to charge back to full. I ordered a CTEK 7002 off Amazon so I got this to bring back my old battery.

dj

Originally Posted by All-Or-Nothing

So I picked up a charger while I was out "Impulse" buying.....LOL.

.....

So what you think Yorgi??

There is not much info on the net about that model so I can't really say how good it is or what the specs are. I found out iFONIX is a Manila based company, that's about it

The charger looks decent with the big heat sinks but like others have said I cannot tell if it will do a proper battery maintenance charge like the CTEKs. Should be fine for bringing a low battery back up to charged.

I am topping off the battery I have in my 6er right now. When it is fully charged again I will be using the 7002 at work to keep it charged. I just wanted to start with a fully charged battery to see how the acts with me using the 7002 regularly. I am also going to fully charge my old battery and if it works fine I can put it in the M5.

The Ctek 7002 has a reconditioning mode. I would wait and use that instead for the old battery. I've done it and it works great.
And one of these mounted under the hood tells you when to do a maintenance charge and it has a plug for the CTek.

I use a CTEK Multi-use 3300 3.3A Battery Charger when I know my ride will be sitting in the garage for a while