DarrenW
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 12:28 PM |
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Halfords Battery chargers
i was stuck for a charger so went to Halfords last night. Years ago you just bought one and connected it up. Halfords market them by engine size etc
etc etc. Priced from £18 for up to 1200cc to over £40. All have same size fuse. I bought the cheap one and it seemed to charge battery up great.
Is this just a big con or will the cheap one not be good enough??
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Peteff
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 12:44 PM |
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They are rated in amperage. They will all charge a battery up eventually but lower amps means longer charging which is not always a bad thing.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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muzchap
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 12:47 PM |
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Agreed - they worked well enough for me on charging and on electrolysis 
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If you believe you're not crazy, whilst everybody is telling you, you are - then they are definitely wrong!
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DarrenW
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 01:05 PM |
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Just what i suspected. Ive had a fancy boost starter off them before, packed up and swapped for 2000cc which also packed up hence swapping for cheapo.
It i sguaranteed anyway. Ive always favoured low amp overnight charge rather than fast charge anyway so as you say - no bad thing. I only wanted to
charge it up after my ignition problem as i flattened it so reckon the charger wont be used too much anyway.
I think i will write reciept number and date on the charger just in case.
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muzchap
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 01:16 PM |
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Sellotape the receipt to it
Use one of those 'invoice document' clear pouch things...
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If you believe you're not crazy, whilst everybody is telling you, you are - then they are definitely wrong!
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britishtrident
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 03:16 PM |
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Best keep charging current below 4 amps but ona decent modern charger both current and voltage should be controlled anyway.
Older charger are nbg for modern batteries, as they won't charge modern batteries from flat, with a modern "smart" charger if the
battery is really flat the charger gives the battery some ripple of high voltage to start the charging off.
Max fully charged voltage on modern battieries is higher than old tradditional type lead acid batteries and depends on battery size small batteries
under 14 amp hr need 14.4v max but to charge fully a production car sized batteries you take it to 14.7 volts for a full charge.
Lidl had a really nice charger for a tenner about 3 weeks back my local store still has a pile of them.
[Edited on 11/5/06 by britishtrident]
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MikeR
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 03:27 PM |
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oooh, mine sold out asap (you do mean the trickle chargers ?)
if so i'm interested and would be greatful if you could get me one.
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muzchap
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 03:57 PM |
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Hmm I have a GEL battery - so best be off to LIDL as well - if my LIDL has sold out - don't fancy procuring one ? I'll cover postage and a
beer in the process?
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If you believe you're not crazy, whilst everybody is telling you, you are - then they are definitely wrong!
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ned
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 04:39 PM |
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i just bought an optimate 3 charger off ebay they are meant to be the best as they condition the battery, can recover deep discharge and own't
overcharge a battery. you can also leave them plugged in for months safely if you were to mothball the car over winter (not that i would!)
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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MikeR
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| posted on 11/5/06 at 05:09 PM |
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How much did it cost ned?
Just got two new odessey's downstairs (blooming postman at 8am this morning!) for 70 quid each delivered 
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ned
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| posted on 12/5/06 at 08:09 AM |
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about £35 delivered, hopefully it will arrive today 
beware, I've got yellow skin
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britishtrident
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| posted on 12/5/06 at 11:16 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
oooh, mine sold out asap (you do mean the trickle chargers ?)
if so i'm interested and would be greatful if you could get me one.
They got bigger ones in about 3 weeks after the trickle chargers -- full automated in niceweather tight case that can be screwed to the garage wall,
quite tastey unit, when it reaches full charge it switches to low level 24-7 trickle charge.
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