Ctek chargers

[Stone Cold]

Another newbie question, can I use a CTek charger/conditioner via the cigarette lighter on the drivers door or is it easier to just connect to the battery, which in my case is in the boot

Cheers

[Tyre Tread]

Yes you can. I did for several years until i moved the battery to the boot.

[keynsham]

I have had two CTek chargers, one in a camper van and one as a trickle charger for a motor bike. The camper van one lasted about a year and then the internals melted and the motorbike one actually overcharges and melted the battery in the bike. I wouldn't touch them again!

[Englishman]

Yes to the connection method. I've had three Ctek chargers in use 24/7 when the cars are not being driven. Owned them for more years than I care to remember, never had an issue and had one battery that lasted 14 years, possibly as a result!

[keynsham]

Englishman said:

Yes to the connection method. I've had three Ctek chargers in use 24/7 when the cars are not being driven. Owned them for more years than I care to remember, never had an issue and had one battery that lasted 14 years, possibly as a result!

In fairness they did replace the camper van one which was quite large as it was for the leisure battery. Unfortunately, the replacement melted internally in the same way after 9 months, so I decided to get something else. The bike one I knew had done something odd as when I went into the garage there was a very strong acid smell. Luckily the battery case only sagged under the heat of what I guess was overcharging and didn't leak acid out so no damage to the bike but as they seem to fail in a way that could potentially cause a fire, I decided to get something else.

It's just my experience and everyone has different experiences, but having two fail, actually three as the camper failed twice, didn't exactly fill me with confidence in the product, and they are not cheap either!

[Loubaruch]

I bought a cheap one in Aldi or Lidl, it failed quite quickly but the free replacement has been fine for a few years, they all seem to do the same job and like a lot of goods from China I would not be surprised if the same factory produced both the expensive and cheap versions.

[Mutley00]

Been using Aldi chargers on Loti and TVR for decades and never had any issues. Always charged my Chims via the Cigarette lighter and again, no problems experienced. I would say though that if your battery is in the boot and a hell of alot more accessable than most of ours, I would charge directly to it

[Stone Cold]

Thanks folks, Ive already got 3 CTeks and fingers crossed no problems with use on both cars and bikes, one is on a BMW car, the other on a BMW bike and one now for the Chimaera. I’m assuming there will be enough of a gap under the door to not snag the power cable (kept outside so needs to be shut and locked)

Thanks again you folks have been very helpful so far and it is appreciated

[keynsham]

Loubaruch said:

I bought a cheap one in Aldi or Lidl, it failed quite quickly but the free replacement has been fine for a few years, they all seem to do the same job and like a lot of goods from China I would not be surprised if the same factory produced both the expensive and cheap versions.

I have an Aldi one too. It was £13.99 and is physically identical to the ones under a brand name being sold at a caravan and camping shop for almost four times the price. I assume they are identical inside but it's not unheard of for cheaper ones to use cheaper components. It still works fine though!

[LLantrisant]

from time to time, Lidl or othersupermaekt chains are offering such tickle-chargers for peanuts...i bought 2 of them over the last 5 years, several of my mates as well....they all work fine , troublless for years....not one failed.

[LucyP]

They are available all the time on ebay for the same price or less than the Aldi one.

If they maintain a car battery on a laid up car at 12.9V, as confirmed by a voltmeter, then what more do you need?

What justifies a Cteck price of £40, £70 or more?

[Tyre Tread]

One of the cheap Aldi or Lidl ones fried my Odyssey battery.

[keeling54]

I have 2 C-Techs, one for my TVR and one for my T2 Camper, both are used slightly differently and neither of them have ever every given me an issue. My TVR is permanently connected when parked up, via a ciggy connector wired from the battery, it's been like this for a couple of years and starts on the button everytime, the one is my camper is permanently wired to the leisure battery which I use to power the 12V system when camping with a mains connection. Not the best way to do it but It's been fine since 2016...

I also have a few of the Lidl chargers which I use occasionally, but only on the daily driver if left for any period.