Ctek chargers

[Auris Geezer]

The Ctek charger seems to be the most recommended choice of many on here, which model should I choose please?

Also, I'm in the market for one of those small lithium booster starters, are there any recommendations here?

Many thanks.

[Gerg]

As far as I've noticed, the CTEK MXS 5.0 is the most common one used on here.  They're around £80.  If you can find it cheaper then you're doing well.

But the NOCO range seems up-and-coming, and runs cooler than the CTEK, which with the MXS 5.0, initially at least, runs with a case temperature of about 45 C - a bit too warm for longevity?  It has got a 5 year warranty though.  Designed in Sweden, made in China.

The NOCO is designed in the US, I think, FWIW.  Halfords have recently stopped selling CTEK chargers and now sell NOCO ones, for a while they sold side by side.  I don't know what is happening there.

The Lidl 'smart' 12v chargers are back on sale any day now (Thursday?).  At £14.99 they are great value.  I have 2 of those and one MXS 5.0.  The Lidl one is less sophisticated, but gets the job done, and has a voltmeter built-in which, now I've got used to it, is quite useful.  The CTEK has more (automatic) charge levels, and spends a greater time to charge, even though it's rated the same maximum power.  They have a similar number of steps in their 'smart' charge routine.

On ageing or 'problem' batteries, the CTEK often manages to leave the Battery with a slightly higher charged-voltage (measured with a seperate meter) - about 0.1 volts higher.  It claims to have 10 patents on various aspects on this charger's design.

If there's a power interruption, the CTEK carries on charging when the power is restored.  The Lidl and Aldi ones need their 'start' buttons pushing again.  You might want to think about if this matters to you!

I have had about 4 of the much earlier Lidl and Aldi ones before these ones above (plenty of batteries to look after!), those were generally quite durable, usually lasting at least 8 - 10 years.

 

[Roy124]

Regarding a lithium jumper pack, I bought one on Amazon very neat, holds its charge well and certainly worked.  You can get one for under £40.

Besides jump starting the car they can power your mobile and also have a light. 

Here is one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/aqxreight-Starter-Portable-Battery-Gasoline/dp/B08RS58SZ3/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?content-id=amzn1.sym.db4819b7-8b36-4dac-b62d-c7667e68fb4e%3Aamzn1.sym.db4819b7-8b36-4dac-b62d-c7667e68fb4e&keywords=jump+starter+pack&nav_sdd=aps&pd_rd_r=31b46cba-2d1d-4ed7-aa32-214310b89d62&pd_rd_w=bUTbQ&pd_rd_wg=RQzFa&pf_rd_p=db4819b7-8b36-4dac-b62d-c7667e68fb4e&pf_rd_r=ZZ1NBMX8GWDRQYEEDEMJ&qid=1673297207&refinements=p_36%3A304526031&s=automotive&sr=1-11

[TonyHSD]

I have Aldis one and one for my day . He used his one and said it’s good and helped restore an old Battery. I haven’t yet tried mine. 

[AisinW]

I use the one from LIDL and it cost $20 at this moment and offered this week.  The LIDL/ALDI 5A charger has smart microcontroller too and can charge AGM Battery really well.  My 7y old Battery holds 12.7-12.8 V after fully charged with LIDL charger. Don't be surprise you read 13.1 V after charging is finished but it is caused by surface charge. you can remove it by turn the headlights for 1 minute.  I never have issue with the 12V Battery. I am only curious what can this charger do.  Normally, the open voltage is around 12.5-12.6 after 30 minutes driving. 

[Kojac]

Just a word on the lidl 'Ultimate Smart Charger".

If your 12v car Battery has dropped below a certain predetermined voltage, it can mistakenly assume that the Battery is a 6v Battery instead.

You might need to temporarily connect a 12v charged batt, to kickstart the microcontroller, to be able to manually select the "Car 12v" option, to get it on its way.

 

Also - there is a specific program for AGM type batteries. Do not use the wrong one or there may be damage.

 

Basically, read the manual. Its not for decoration.

[Guest]

I've used a Maypole 7423A Battery Charger Auto Electronic 4A 12V for a few years, only 4A but it's been very reliable. About £24. Keeps my other, garaged, car's Battery maintained.

I also have a Ctek MXS 5.0 connected to and maintaining a "spare" Battery. It was used during the imprisonment period in 2020 on my main vehicle when it wasn't used much.

The Maypole, in spite of being about a third the cost, is just as good and reliable in my humble opinion.

[AisinW]

Get Noco 5 for that price range instead of CTEK. CTEK use very cheap fragile buttons, instead of full metal. It also really hot compared to NOCO and only have 1 optocoupler instead of 3 like in NOCO. But noco is slightly more expensive but has much more efficient cool electronic components.

Lidl/Aldi charger has 1 optocoupler  and microcontroller that regulate really nicely too. The main drawback, they do not back charging after an outage or gets disconnected. We must press the buttons again on Lidl/Aldi charger. 

 

 

 

[Gray86]

CTEK MXS 5.0 for me. Brought back a neighbours mini to full health that had been flat for months, looked after my past couple of cars as well as wife’s 8 year old Yaris & my Corolla 2.0. Was £65 roughly when I bought back in 2020, now around £80. Mine has more than paid for itself, and continues to be reliable, hassle free Battery maintenance. Plug in, connect up, switch on & leave as long as required

[NeilMH]

Also bought CTEK MXS 5.0. Whilst it might be more expensive than some others I'm very happy with it.

[Wooster]

Everyone mentions CTEK and NOCO chargers, but no-one seems to know about Optimate.  https://www.optimate.co.uk/

I've been using an Optimate charger since 2007 to maintain motorcycle (wet and AGM) and Toyota Hybrid Auxiliary batteries.  Thoroughly recommended.

[NeilMH]

1 hour ago, Wooster said:

Everyone mentions CTEK and NOCO chargers, but no-one seems to know about Optimate.  https://www.optimate.co.uk/

I've been using an Optimate charger since 2007 to maintain motorcycle (wet and AGM) and Toyota Hybrid Auxiliary batteries.  Thoroughly recommended.

I used Optimate for many years on a Caterham 7. Worked perfectly although the one I had was really designed for smaller capacity batteries - I'm sure they do others. I was very happy with it (still working 15 years later), although I do have a CTEK one now.

[Roy124]

I got my CTEK  from Germany.  Even with postage it was cheaper.  Not noticed about any heat.  I have it mounted on a wall.  Hard wired, plug in , switch on and forget 😁

[Derek.w]

I use a CTEK MXS 2.8 charger it max charge rate is 3.8Amps.

I have not noticed any overheating problems.

[APS]

I've got Lidl's charger, and a CTEK 5.0. The Lidl one has always been a little temperamental and it has now reached a point where I more or less consider it dead and ready for the bin. It just won't sense the Battery and start charging. The CTEK is in continuous use, always charging a car or a Battery in my stack. It never fails. I've also got a really old Coulomb branded charger from the time before they were sold outside of Sweden (CTEK = Coulomb Technologies) still working as good as when new. 

Never noticed that they get especially warm. One thing you might be annoyed by is that they make a little bit of noise depending on what charge phase they're at. But it is fairly high frequency, so depending on age you may not hear it at all. To me, it means I can hear what stage the charger is at without even looking at it.

Otherwise I like that they are so idiot proof (as I seem keen to frequently prove 😇). You can connect them to anything, any way around and in worst case it will just light a warning light and not charge. And it never arcs even if you disconnect while charging.

Several people here have also appear to have had good experiences with NOCO and Optimate.

 

[Bernard Foy]

18 minutes ago, APS said:

I've got Lidl's charger, and a CTEK 5.0. The Lidl one has always been a little temperamental and it has now reached a point where I more or less consider it dead and ready for the bin. It just won't sense the battery and start charging. The CTEK is in continuous use, always charging a car or a battery in my stack. It never fails. I've also got a really old Coulomb branded charger from the time before they were sold outside of Sweden (CTEK = Coulomb Technologies) still working as good as when new. 

Never noticed that they get especially warm. One thing you might be annoyed by is that they make a little bit of noise depending on what charge phase they're at. But it is fairly high frequency, so depending on age you may not hear it at all. To me, it means I can hear what stage the charger is at without even looking at it.

Otherwise I like that they are so idiot proof (as I seem keen to frequently prove 😇). You can connect them to anything, any way around and in worst case it will just light a warning light and not charge. And it never arcs even if you disconnect while charging.

Several people here have also appear to have had good experiences with NOCO and Optimate.

 

I’ve two lidl chargers, one I’ve had for six or seven years and is still working perfectly. The second one I bought the other day and is working perfectly and gives a voltage reading which is useful, it cost €16 really good value for money, and if it’s as good as the one I’ve been using for years, then happy days 👏👏

[rajivrattna]

I have a 20 year old CTEK charger ctek 3.6xs still going strong, and a new Ctec 5.0, with more charging stages. Then I have two other smart chargers that resemble the Lidl charger. CTek is the king among chargers, has always been. There are two very important aspect of Ctek chargers that are worth noting compared to the competition besides the better quality. They are 1. The ability to charge batteries with very low residual current, i.e. almost dead batteries. 2. The ability to restart the charger automatically at the same setting after power failure. This has a bearing if you plan to leave your car Battery charged over a long period under trickle charge. They cost a little more but are dead reliable as I have been using the Ctek 3.6 for the past 20 years.