Power bank or CTEK charger?

[davejazz]

So, the car is coming up to 4 years old, and I need to be mindful, of the limited capacity of the 12 V battery.

If you had to make a choice, would you put your money into a charger, or a power bank?

I think I am leaning towards the power bank!

[Jazzik]

You buy a battery charger to prevent ending up with a dead battery.
You buy a battery booster or jump starter in case you do end up with a dead battery.
Assuming that prevention is better than cure, what would you choose?

[ahavoja]

The charger you would need to use every few weeks, which I would be lazy to do.

The power bank you only need to use once, when the car won't start. But the power bank still needs to be recharged maybe twice a year, possibly even if it isn't used as its internal battery may self-discharge over time.

Third option could be to replace the 12V battery of Jazz, before the problems even start. This needs to be done only once every few years.

[ColinB]

So, the car is coming up to 4 years old, and I need to be mindful, of the limited capacity of the 12 V battery.

If you had to make a choice, would you put your money into a charger, or a power bank?

I think I am leaning towards the power bank!

A lot depends on how you use the car, because those thoughtful people at Honda do actually provide a charger with every car, all you have to do is drive it. If you only do infrequent short urban trips then that charger doesn’t really have a chance to do its job properly and you might want to get a backup charger to help it out. But if your usage pattern ensures the battery gets charged then you shouldn’t have much to worry about, although a power pack might be a peace-of-mind investment (gives you the opportunity of helping out neighbours and friends as well).