12 volt battery maintenance and conditioning

[dfconnolly]

There is a useful website detailing 12 volt battery maintenance and best equipment for battery life prolongation at

https://carbatterygeek.co.uk/

This is very informative and presents some worthy options to prevent your 12volt battery failing and leaving you stranded somewhere, particularly as our Jazzes/ Crosstars get older or infrequently used.

Happy reading!

[Jazzik]

Happy reading!

I assume you mean this one article https://carbatterygeek.co.uk/how-long-does-a-car-battery-last-without-driving/ that I found after going through all the (lots of not so happy reading) advertising?

[Kremmen]

My CTEK has kept my battery in tip top condition for years

Use it every fortnight if I don't use the car

My previous Civic did very little miles for 7 years, maybe 120 miles a month in 4x30 mile chunks, yet it still had the original battery. Again, CTEK every few weeks

[coldstart]

Bought a CTEK years ago - never regreted it!
Agreed, it is not your "cheepest" buy but in my opinion is worth every penny (sorry: cent)

[5thcivic]

Bought  a Maypole smart charger about 10 years ago, much the same spec as a Ctek but half the price. It's still going strong after a string of Civics charging the Jazz every couple of weeks.
2 years ago bought the Ultimate speed Lidl charger for around £14 for the E. As far as I can see it does the same job, fully protected, it claims to recharge flat batteries, which the Maypole can't, but I have not had a chance to test this yet.
The Lidl only comes with croc clips, the Maypole had a set of permanent connectors too, but the SAE connectors are easily available, so I crimped one on the Lidl for a permanent cable on the E to have interchangeable chargers. The Maypole had an SAE cable to croc clips too, so you can put croc clips back on either charger for other cars.

[Jazzik]

Long, long ago, Lidl had this device on offer with a very attractive price tag. So attractive that you simply couldn't pass up such a bargain:

It is in its original packaging somewhere in the garage and is collecting dust: has never been needed, never been used...
And that while we have been driving a hybrid with such a (too) small battery for 6 1/2 years now...

Lesson learned: Even a bargain can be a waste of money! 

[CB72]

I've got a Noco boost, never used it, but I see it as insurance just in case one day the battery is flat.

[Lord Voltermore]

Same here. I recently bought a Lidl  smart  charger, at a very attractive price. I grabbed one when I saw it as they are not always available.  .
   I have spent thousands on car insurance over the years without ever claiming. A few quid on a smart charger  (and I also keep   small power bank jump starter in the car )is not so bad, even if I might never need them. 

  But maybe  I should  recycle all my obsolete junk now.  I dont want my Heirs throwing out useful stuff.   
Maybe I will start tomorrow.   But then again that 40 year old charger still works, if you clear the cobwebs off.  An antique of the future.   

[Bristol_Crosstar]

I have a NOCO trickle charger and a voltage tester, never had a problem starting but as I can go a week or more without using I usually charge it up once or twice in the winter for the health of the battery as much as anything, eg I tested it at the weekend and it was only 11.7V (showing "empty" on my tester) so I put it on charge for 5 hours or so and it was then 12.7V (showing "full"). I probably won't charge it up again until next winter but that one charge could extend the life of the battery.

[Toptek]

I have an SAE cable attached to the battery and chose one with the exposed metal terminal in the plug as the negative to prevent a short as I read on an Amazon review. Currently I'm using a Maypole charger which needs a polarity converter plug to correct the polarity.
I've just ordered a NOCO Genius2 and appreciate that I need to order a converter plug for SAE but looking at their data sheet, it seems to crossover the polarity, as in if you have the red input to one side, it appears to output on the other side, as if it's a crossover cable. Does anybody have any experience of using it please?

[5thcivic]

Sorry, no experience with the Noco, but it should be easy to sort with a voltmeter before connecting and even if connecting wrong a smart charger will just shut down and tell you. The one thing I did not like about the Maypole was the exposed 12V pin, I'm just very careful to clip the cover on straight away, and have araldited velcro on the plug and holding area so no chance of it coming free under the bonnet.

[Bristol_Crosstar]

I have an SAE cable attached to the battery and chose one with the exposed metal terminal in the plug as the negative to prevent a short as I read on an Amazon review. Currently I'm using a Maypole charger which needs a polarity converter plug to correct the polarity.
I've just ordered a NOCO Genius2 and appreciate that I need to order a converter plug for SAE but looking at their data sheet, it seems to crossover the polarity, as in if you have the red input to one side, it appears to output on the other side, as if it's a crossover cable. Does anybody have any experience of using it please?

I've got the NOCO Genius 2, I just plug it in to the socket in my garage, attach the red and black cables to the battery and that's it, don't use an SAE cable and never had a problem.

[E27006]

Happy reading!

I assume you mean this one article https://carbatterygeek.co.uk/how-long-does-a-car-battery-last-without-driving/ that I found after going through all the (lots of not so happy reading) advertising?

The site promotes Lion Exide Bosch Varta batteres, cannot find any reference to Yuasa batteries, Yuasa are OEM and retail suppliers for Japanese vehicles, Yuasa are top-class products. I'm sceptical of accepting the advice of  a website which excludes a maker such as Yuasa

[E27006]

Same here. I recently bought a Lidl  smart  charger, at a very attractive price. I grabbed one when I saw it as they are not always available.  .
   I have spent thousands on car insurance over the years without ever claiming. A few quid on a smart charger  (and I also keep   small power bank jump starter in the car )is not so bad, even if I might never need them. 

  But maybe  I should  recycle all my obsolete junk now.  I dont want my Heirs throwing out useful stuff.   
Maybe I will start tomorrow.   But then again that 40 year old charger still works, if you clear the cobwebs off.  An antique of the future.   

Lidl have been selling those chargers in their "middle aisle" for around 15 years, they used to be from memory £6.99, today I think they are £12.99.  I have seen an identical charger in a similar box, both  with a German brand name, at a far higher price, either the Lidl charger is a copy from China, or it is from the the German maker and has been de-badged for supply to Lidl. I have such a charger, in fact more than one, the specification of the charging cycle changes from time to time. Like many such intelligent chargers, if a battery is very flat, the charger will run a diagnostic test and on failure , refuse to charge the battery. I'm happy with those Lidl chargers, but i have never tried the long-term standby feature of the charger, a safe buy in my opinion.

[Jazzik]

The site promotes Lion Exide Bosch Varta batteres, cannot find any reference to Yuasa batteries, Yuasa are OEM and retail suppliers for Japanese vehicles, Yuasa are top-class products. I'm sceptical of accepting the advice of  a website which excludes a maker such as Yuasa

When I read this in "About us" on the Car Battery Geek website:

"carbatterygeek.co.uk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission."

and I find lots of "READ ARTICLE" blocks that are (or end with) pure advertising (e.g. CTEK, NOCO, Topdon, Euro Car Parts etc.) than I (we?) know enough, right?

Disclaimer: I am NOT saying here that there is no useful information on the Car Battery Geek website!