In the next two or three weeks my mileage will drop from 80 a day to about 8 a week. The car is no longer snuggled up in a garage but in the drive and instead of being by the sea it is in the hills south of Edinburgh. I thought a new Yuasa battery and CTEK charger may be wise purchases. The question is, what charger to go for? All advice welcome.
Been using a couple of these for cars and motorbikes for over 3 years now, also fitted them the for relatives ( with a fused charging lead bolted to battery terminals and poking through the front grille of the car – so no need to open car – and if battery does go flat and you cannot unlock car then you can supply external power ) the charger package includes a fused charging lead with ring terminals to bolt to battery terminal clamp 6mm bolts and SAE plug, and a set of crocodile clips. The SAE plug is standard of pretty much every charger. Charger only 1.5 amps, but that is plenty for regular maintenance charging. I did checks on the 'float voltage' ( final voltage battery is held at when charger green light comes on ) and it is temperature compensated maintaining about 13.5 volts on a warmish day and 13.7 / 13.8 on a cold day. As the ambient / battery temp increases the float voltage needs to be reduced. Sister-in-laws AA charger has been constantly connected since I fitted it about 3 years ago, she doesn't do many miles ( even less during lockdowns ) and the alarm on her Toyota was constantly draining the battery. The SAE plug lead poking out from lower grille makes it super easy for her to connect and disconnect. It also comes as a 4 amp charger for £10 more.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DW6RHN2/Get one of these 25 foot leads to reach the car anywhere, allows charger to be kept within garage or front porch.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MZZGHNK/Have looked at CTEK before, but always put off by the price, they do have slick advertising though.