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tenzing
06-12-2007, 01:02 PM
What is recommended as best battery charger to be left attached long term.
Boat is used every week or two(lucky me!). I have 700cca cranking battery and am combining this with a deep cycle house battery and isolator. Battery "expert suggested CTEK 7000 (7A - multistage). Anyone got some advice?

on-one
06-12-2007, 01:40 PM
If you're using the boat every week do you need a charger?

tenzing
06-12-2007, 03:31 PM
yeah, possibly not, but more interestsd in the odd few weeks lay over, for example while away over xmas. Still interestsd in whats the best charger regardless.

marco
06-12-2007, 03:38 PM
yea i got the ctek , several people in the auto elect game have told me they are the ones to go for and it has worked fine , it would want to though for the money .
cheers
mark

Black N Blue
06-12-2007, 03:38 PM
I have been recommended the CTEK MULTI XS 3600 and i have twin batteries one house and one start for Steyr turbo desiel my mechanic swears by them.

marco
06-12-2007, 03:44 PM
just to add some more after reading your post again , i have a similar setup to what your talking about and the isolator i run is the bmp vsr/house/start/parallel
switches . when the ctec is charging i have both house and start switches off and the parallel on so both charge at once .
no worries with it this way
mark

Grey-Ghost
06-12-2007, 07:57 PM
Mate i have a 40amp smart charger for sale it will do 2 batteris at once its brand new
Cheers chris

tenzing
07-12-2007, 07:32 AM
Marco, which CTEK model do you use. I have seen their website but I cant really make total sense out of which is the appropriate size.

snasman
07-12-2007, 10:15 AM
cant go wrong with a c-tek i think the model number is 800 and it should set you back about 80 bucks

marco
07-12-2007, 02:51 PM
Marco, which CTEK model do you use. I have seen their website but I cant really make total sense out of which is the appropriate size.

ctek multi xs 7000

http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=123&item=4097&intAbsolutePage=1

plaztix
10-12-2007, 05:24 PM
I've got a CTEK 3600 and plug it in every week to top up my 120Ah Deep cycle battery. It is worth paying the money and getting a good charger as they will maintain a battery alot better. I only top up for about 24hrs a week and i figure that thats better than nothing. It is designed to (and will give better results) if left on all the time but i dont like leaving anything on in the shed, other than my beer fridge.


Marco, which CTEK model do you use. I have seen their website but I cant really make total sense out of which is the appropriate size.

The model number on the ctek chargers is how many milliamps they charge at. To give you an idea of how long it takes to charge a dead flat just divide the total battery size by the rating of the charger. I have a CTEK 3600 (which is a 3.6 amp charger) which will charge my dead flat 120Ah battery in about 33 hrs. (120 divide by 3.6 is about 33) Half flat will take about 16 hours.

tenzing
10-12-2007, 05:35 PM
Mate,thanks for the detailed reply and good advice. I'm sure the CTEK is the way to go. Thanks again!

Simmo2
10-12-2007, 10:35 PM
Guys check out this mob.
http://www.batterydoctor.com.au/store/index.php?cat_id=667&catname='Sealed%20Lead%20Acid%20(SLA)%20Chargers'
I bought the 5 amp model for $89 with a 3 year warranty etc etc...
I'm happy, but then again dont own a Ctek. An alternative maybe?

oldboot
11-12-2007, 12:22 PM
Seriously anything decent will do the job fine.

There are plenty of these two stage or multi stsge chargers arround these days.

some of them are badged under different name and there are a couple that appear all over the place under a consistent name.

these days the technology isnt rocket science and any decent chineese factory should be able to make a decent fist of one.

you are looking for a charger that has at least a rapid charge mode and a float charge mode....... there are some with maintence functions... which is basicly a pulsed antisulfation circuit.

these things are everwhere

Jaycar have a good range of product
I have seen similar or some of the same products at boating wharehouses, supercheap and others.
Battery fighter ( not a recomendation just an example) appears all over the place.

Any of these would be better than the old dinasour battery charger.

Don't stress over your choice too much.

cheers