hi guys

i am wanting to charge my car battery overnight (am guessing its safe with the battery still in car) but which ones do you all use please?

many thanks

This is a job for............ 

@StephenFord

👍👍👍👍

LOL, OK buddy... this is one that many on here seem to use. It has many features, and is modestly priced. Also very easy to use, and comes complete with a 'fly lead'.  It's also a personal recommendation as I use it myself... The good old, 'Maypole'. Less than £25 inc P&P

More expensive options used by many members are the Noco Genius 5 and C-tek MXS 5, which I can confirm work well on both our cars.

They have the odd extra feature but at current prices (which have increased considerably since I got mine) about 3 times the price of the Maypole. 

 

 

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

They have the odd extra feature...

I've always meant to ask, what do the more expensive do that the Maypole can't?

41 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I've always meant to ask, what do the more expensive do that the Maypole can't?

They use a better class of electricity, kind of like Gold Top milk 🤣

They're programmed better as far as a I can tell.  They start charging high, unlike the Maypole that starts low and only checks roughly every 20 minutes to decide whether to increase the charge rate or not.  Won't make a difference to an overnight charge.  But does make a difference to those of us who can't charge overnight and have to use public areas.  I was considering buying another brand to compare a like for like charge with the Maypole (say 1 months battery discharge before on each), but they're just too expensive to do that now.  Cheaper/easier to just run the engine for ~20 minutes once a month in my case.  (But I don't own a Ford, the charging system on my Golf actually charges the battery...once again down to programming, not hardware.  )

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

I've always meant to ask, what do the more expensive do that the Maypole can't?

I think Toms covered it really, higher starting current and the "recon" mode or whatever it's called is claimed to be able to recover a discharged battery. Never got to that point myself anyway, so couldn't comment from experience.

Given the current (sorry!😀) price differential it would be harder to justify the cost. Would a 2006 even need a "smart" charger as opposed to the old fashioned type that most of us have had in the back of the garage for donkey's years?

 

2006 Focus will use SmartCharge so should have a Silver Calcium battery.  But it seems like those are hard to find now so most people just fit normal lead acid batteries and complain when they wear out after 2-3 years.  

24 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

2006 Focus will use SmartCharge so should have a Silver Calcium battery.  But it seems like those are hard to find now so most people just fit normal lead acid batteries and complain when they wear out after 2-3 years.  

I just got mine fitted last year from Halfords - have really no idea 'what' it is LOL

 

22 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

2006 Focus will use SmartCharge 

Lol,  I never needed to use a charger on my Mk 2 Focus so never checked that out. Presumably it wasn't as "smart" as modern systems - or is it just all the extra features (or cr*p as I call it) that causes all the battery issues nowadays?😀

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

have really no idea 'what' it is LOL

I see it says "silver" on the casing so presumably Silver Calcium?

17 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I see it says "silver" on the casing so presumably Silver Calcium?

I thought that was some kind of reference to the quality of 'guarantee' that came with it, your interpretation makes much more sense!

many thanks guys 🙂 

thank you very much for the recommendation @StephenFord that looks spot on.

do you take battery out or just connect the charger to the battery as it is then plug the charger to the wall and leave it like that?

 

3 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

many thanks guys 🙂 

thank you very much for the recommendation @StephenFord that looks spot on.

do you take battery out or just connect the charger to the battery as it is then plug the charger to the wall and leave it like that?

 

I haven't taken a battery out of a car since the 1970s LOL For convenience, spend a few minuted installing the 'fly lead', it'll make future charging so much easier...

ok i will look into the fly lead when i order it as i have no idea what a fly lead is lol but dont worry, as soon as it turns up then i will be able work it out.

 

On a 2006 model you can just connect the battery charger directly to the positive and negative terminals. No need to disconnect anything.

For cars fitted with a Battery Monitor System (BMS) typically those built after 2012 then you must connect the negative lead of the charger to the chassis earth point of the vehicle.

many thanks @unofix that is good to know 🙂 

have just ordered it now

thank you everyone 🙂 

50 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Lol,  I never needed to use a charger on my Mk 2 Focus so never checked that out. Presumably it wasn't as "smart" as modern systems - or is it just all the extra features (or cr*p as I call it) that causes all the battery issues nowadays?😀

SmartCharge increases voltage up to around 16v when the battery is cold, then drops to standard 14v when warm.  That ruins normal batteries over time.  Charging the battery externally can be done with a normal charger though, just not to maximum efficiency.

Mk3 onwards uses variable charging which varies the charge rate up & down depending on load as well as temperature and a few other variables.

35 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I thought that was some kind of reference to the quality of 'guarantee' that came with it, your interpretation makes much more sense!

I think we had this discussion at the time!  I believe that is just the 'trim level'.  Not actually Silver Calcium inside.  Bosch also do a 'Silver' battery which isn't Silver Calcium.  It's very difficult to find the specs nowadays though.  Manufacturers seem to keep them well hidden.

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Manufacturers seem to keep them well hidden

My gardening plan for today has been interrupted by a terrific rainstorm, so I was just having a look on the Yuasa website out of curiosity until it stops.

All sorts of "OEM quality" and "high performance" blurb, but no detail as to what it actually is. It does mention "silver" but that could easily be just a "trim level" as you and Stephen suggest.

What's so secret, I wonder?

 

45 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

ok i will look into the fly lead when i order it as i have no idea what a fly lead is lol but dont worry, as soon as it turns up then i will be able work it out.

 

 

 

Oh, I thought it was a tool for walking your pet fly!

12 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

 

 

Ah, now that is one of the features included with the Noco and C-tek chargers as standard. Not worth the extra 50-odd quid, though!😀