I found that Optimates were great and I got another UK brand one free with a Lotus once, part of the factory 'winter pack'. These were all good until the connectors got old, especially the hard wired leads. So, in recent years I even bought a couple of Aldi units just to fit on various members of my 'fleet'. One of the Aldi units had a screen failure (needs to be pressed and held in one corner or the LCD is dead) just when its warranty ran out, and they had new models in stock, so i bought another one. It worked, and so do the old UK units and I was happy....
...until... I read that AGM batteries, and to some extent Gel, do not like old school chargers and you can kill an AGM if you dont sing it a lullaby whilst charging during its slumber... hmm... none of my old chargers say AGM on them. I dont think the Aldi units are AGM friendly either... damn...
By this time Id converted my of my fleet to AGM or Gel as they dont suffer with lack of use quite like the wet batts of old, and while they are not cheap, they are good value longer term. They are also good value if you shop around and have time to wait until you get a good deal too.
So I looked on a bunch of forums and the uk guys are singing the praises of Ctek units. I bought one and have been using it. The guys there have claimed to have brought back old batts from the dead and all sorts, but I dont have any dead ones to try that on, sadly i ditched an old (nos in box!
) gel battery that was below its 'starter charge' only a few months back. Anyway, the new Ctek is working well and Im pleased it is at least not killing my AGMs and whispering the sweet nothings needed by their ilk.I discovered today that Ctek also make a natty connector that you hardwire to the battery that also has 3 LEDs on it, it shows if the batt needs charging or not. I reckon that's pretty cool as while the other ones Ive bought have offered a hardwire connector you still needed to connect the charger to tell you the heath of the batt, with this you can see whats needed and expend effort accordingly, great if you have multiple bikes and only 1 charger, which is what i have.
NB. For those who've never used them, these hardwired connectors are great for bikes and cars with batteries buried under covers as you run the lead to somewhere you can access it.
FWIW I dont have any Lithium and so am not going to get into charging those, and this charger wont do that. I assume if you are using anything Li then you know what youre doing, especially with Li-Po, if not you should read up....
Anyway, I bought my unit from Germany as it was the best deal at the time and was around 50 euros delivered:
http://www.uk-motors.de/CTEK-XS-0-8-BAT ... :2688.html
Drop these guys a line if you want to and do say that you know me, as Ive been chatting to the guy there (Arne) who seems like a decent chap. Yes these units do come with a German mains plug, but you can get a converter for cheap or use one of your travel ones, or you could even cut their plug off and wire on your own, its only two wires etc.
I have seen them on Aussie ebay at around the same money but they have come and gone, anyway, have a look. What I can say is that if you want to buy the extra leads and other stuff then EU/UK is cheaper than the sellers here. :/
EDITED: I just noticed that batteries direct have a good price on the XS 0.8 and also the accessory cables. post seems reasonable too...
