Keep Battery In Order

[Hard@it]

Car to be oof the road for a good while, what is best way to keep battery up to speed? So many parts,, circuit boards etc. keep running. Is there a special trickle type charger I can hook up - that is not an ordinary charger. Or is it best to run for 30mins every couple of weeks?

[Psybbo]

Leave the handbrake off

[Zacs-Master]

Yes trickle chargers can be bought from all motor spares shops. Whilst stock lasts.

[Zacs-Master]

And put it on jacks to take the pressure off the tyres.

[TWR]

Hard, just starting the car up as you say will not do the battery any good as you are taking power out & not returning the power, to do this you need to take the car for an hours run, try not to use the Electrics whilst doing this, Heater / Wipers / washers / etc, as said a trickle charge is good, if your battery is of the Top up / Filler Type with Distilled Water ( Yes, there are still some out there ) make sure it's topped above the Internal Lead Cells, other than that, there is not much more you can do, a point, get the Battery Checked before you park it up to make sure the battery is ok.

[EDDIE51]

You can hook up an ordinary charger for a few hours every week or so.

[paul1763]

what i do with my tractors and digger is use an old 'mobile phone' type charger, obviously making sure it's 12v cutting off the plug and putting on crocodile clips also ensuring right polarity. i leave these on all winter and have never had a problem but there's no electronics to drain power on mine. i find its just enough to keep the battery ready i think you can buy this sort of thing in halfords.

[gingejbee]

This is the sort of charger to use...it gets very good reviews, too. I'd avoid unbranded cheapo ones that don't have the safety features that avoid the possibility/probability of damage to the battery.

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-maintenance-charger#tab3

[chas2008]

high end luxury/sports cars often have a trickle charge as standard knowing they may be used on a limited basis or garaged for long periods...
There are so many electrics/systems running when its turned off it they can easily flatten a battery in a very short time and some vehicles (aston martins for one) need a system reset if it happens, flat battery = very expensive visit to dealer..

[Hard@it]

This looks what I'm after, will go to Halfords and see it. Battery is ok as the car is only 4 months old. I Will still run it occasionally
Thanks gingejbee.

[Hard@it]

Gingejbee, unfortunately this charger does not do AGM batteries, which mine is. Halfords only sell it on the Internet..Poss. just run it.

[gingejbee]

@[email protected], it's an AGM battery! These can be really awkward to re-charge once they're flat. Even more of a reason to keep it well charged , one way or another.
Here's probably the cheapest charger that IS suitable for AGM batteries...it's available on Amazon and Argos (but much dearer from Argos!)

http://www.ctekchargers.co.uk/ctek-xs08.php

[gingejbee]

Unfortunately, the above CTEK isn't powerful enough for car batteries...this would be the cheapest suitable one...getting rather pricey, though!

http://www.ctekchargers.co.uk/mxs-3.8.php

[Hard@it]

Cheers gingejbe, speciality chargers a bit too pricey for AGM batteries. I thought £20 - £25 would be ok but into fifties is a no-no. I will just give the car a run for30mins. as I was doing before.

[gingejbee]

Annoying, isn't it? Any improvement in technology always seems to work out more expensive eventually!

[retrocop]

Have you investigated a solar powered trickle charger. I keep a 12v car battery charged in my workshop all year round. They are used a lot in caravans and boats when not in use during the holiday season. I recommend them highly.

[gingejbee]

Strangely, I was going to recommend one of those retro, because I know someone who uses one successfully....but the car is outside all the time. How are you using it indoors?
They are quite cheap from Maplin, i remember.

[gingejbee]

Like this....but the battery has to be well-charged to start with.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?text=Solar+Powered+12V+1.5W+Battery+Auto+Trickle+Charger

Or they do a more powerful one, too.

[retrocop]

The charger I mentioned is made by Solar. It is described as a fold up Solar portable battery charger. It looks like a small laptop but is two solar panels when opened up. It is 12v and 4 watts charging but I think you can get more powerful ones. I bought mine on line. They are quite reasonably priced. I bought two.

[gingejbee]

But the question remains....would they work with new-fangled AGM batteries?

[retrocop]

gingjebee.
My panel is just hung up on one of my workshop windows. It will accept solar light through the window glass without a problem.Just been out to check the details given on my previous post and although the light is getting subdued it is still charging OK.