Ctek Battery Charger

[dandemann8]

Unfortunatly the Bongo let me down today for the first time in 18 months of ownership , I went out and climbed inside and turned the key but all I got was a slight turn over from the enginge YES the battery was flat so out came the jump leads and away I go after a little while .

I was looking to fit one of these unit's but not really sure how to hard wire these in so if anybody has any idea's,pictures etc as to how these little gizmo's work's it would be very much appreciated

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

Would I require anything else to go with this unit or not

[hembramacho]

I've done exactly that - see my posts here

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 47&t=37630

On my way out now, but if you need anything further give me a shout later.

Cheers

Andrew

[dandemann8]

I've done exactly that - see my posts here

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 47&t=37630

On my way out now, but if you need anything further give me a shout later.

Cheers

Andrew

Cheers Andrew

[francophile1947]

By heck They're expensive compared to the £12.99 Lidl/Aldi clone that does the same job - mind you, it is more powerful.
I've got mine hard-wired to the leisure battery, with wires (fitted with an isolating switch on the positive side) between the leisure and starter batteries, just in case the SB needs charging.

[dandemann8]

Had my SB on charge for few hours now and just been outside to check on it's progress and noticed the green LED light on the Willington Kit is on so I'm assuming the LB and the SB are both charging simultaniously, can this be

[g8dhe]

Yes once the voltage on the S/B rises to around 13.6V or higher then the VSR will pull in and you will charge both batteries together.

[dreamwarrioruk]

ive hardwired ours into the conversion so when on hook up it will charge the lb, when that is recharged then the two way vsr will allow the sb to be topped up. while driving along the vsr will charge the lb.
best of both worlds, never have a flat battery.
i hardwired ours from the ccu to a switch that i can turn on if on site or off. there is an issue with some of the conditioners trickling a current back into the unit when not switched on at the mains.
enough to slowly drain the battery. i was hoping to be able to run the fridge of the unit with some clever switching/relay but the currents not good enuf on the ctek unit we have in our.
still got access to the multiplug if i need to charge any other batteries.
Something im needing to do as the alternators packed up on my other works van until replacement comes in at the dealers.

[hembramacho]

Here's some pics of my setup Duncan:

Comfort indicator hard wired to the LB with in-line fuse (that's the red positive wire shown - the black negative attaches to the negative terminal the other side)


Attachment to the SB (the attachment I just leave dangling)


CTEK unit fitted inside drivers footwell


Where the CTEK plugs in to the comfort indicator panel


CTEK plugged in and charging




Hope that helps

Cheers

Andrew

[dvisor]

Andrew, did you find that the comfort panel stays firmly in the switch hole? I fixed mine in the bank of switch blanks on the lower right, but it doesn't clip in very firmly. Pulling out the charger plug pulls the panel with it. I can probably fettle it to be more secure when I get time, but just wondering if the other banks of switches give a better fit.

[dandemann8]

Here's some pics of my setup Duncan:

Comfort indicator hard wired to the LB with in-line fuse (that's the red positive wire shown - the black negative attaches to the negative terminal the other side)


Attachment to the SB (the attachment I just leave dangling)


CTEK unit fitted inside drivers footwell


Where the CTEK plugs in to the comfort indicator panel


CTEK plugged in and charging




Hope that helps

Cheers

Andrew

That's great Andrew shall get on with the job in hand now I think I know what I'm doing

[hembramacho]

Andrew, did you find that the comfort panel stays firmly in the switch hole? I fixed mine in the bank of switch blanks on the lower right, but it doesn't clip in very firmly. Pulling out the charger plug pulls the panel with it. I can probably fettle it to be more secure when I get time, but just wondering if the other banks of switches give a better fit.

It fits pretty snug TBH. There's slight movement if you wiggle it, but no more than the 2 blind switches either side. It's never come out when I've removed the charger end. If I remember rightly when I fitted it initially, it did 'click' into place quite nicley.

Cheers

Andrew

[hembramacho]

That's great Andrew shall get on with the job in hand now I think I know what I'm doing

No probs Duncan - happy to help!

Cheers

Andrew

[maxi_77]

By heck They're expensive compared to the £12.99 Lidl/Aldi clone that does the same job - mind you, it is more powerful.
I've got mine hard-wired to the leisure battery, with wires (fitted with an isolating switch on the positive side) between the leisure and starter batteries, just in case the SB needs charging.

There are battery chargers and battery chargers. I suspect the Cetek is actually a bit more efficient at charging your battery.

[francophile1947]

There are battery chargers and battery chargers. I suspect the Cetek is actually a bit more efficient at charging your battery.

Everyone who's got one of the Lidl/Aldi ones seem happy with them - certainly mine has been excellent and has done a good job on an old flat battery, that my normal charger wouldn't charge
I suspect it's more like there's profiteering and profiteering Obviously, the CTEK in this thread is twice the power of the cheap ones, so not a direct comparison.

[maxi_77]

There are battery chargers and battery chargers. I suspect the Cetek is actually a bit more efficient at charging your battery.

Everyone who's got one of the Lidl/Aldi ones seem happy with them - certainly mine has been excellent and has done a good job on an old flat battery, that my normal charger wouldn't charge
I suspect it's more like there's profiteering and profiteering Obviously, the CTEK in this thread is twice the power of the cheap ones, so not a direct comparison.

Yachting Monthly did a test on battery chargers recently on units rangein from £40 to £250. The cheapest ones only managed to get 80% of the rated capacity into the battery, whilst the Cetek ones managed to get 92% in. I admit this was looking at leisure batteries where capacity is time between charges and important.

There is also brand name pricing where a fancy name and the most expensive didn't do as well as the best buy for £65.

They did rate the Cetek chargers well, but still picked the Ring Smart Chargers as the best buy when the price was taken into account.