Hello All. Aldi and Lidl are doing car battery chargers, the type that can be left on to trickle charge.

http://aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_26860.htm

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_35188.htm


I am temped to get one but would like to hear opinions from people who have used them. Are they any good and how well do they do the job?
Thanks for your help. Chris.

Just looked at the lidl one. Was the same as I bought . Lasted one outing and then the next time I wanted to use it it was knackered. Unfortunately it was out of warranty by then . Maybe I was unlucky ?? but not impressed . I'll try the Aldi one this time .

Can recommend (on offer but need to pay postage):

http://2wheeljunkie.co.u k/motorcycle-tools/oxford-oximiser-600-12v-motorbike-/-motorcycle-battery-charger/prod_7389.html

Used one for a number of years now.

The Lidl and Aldi smart chargers are fine but like many smart chargers they won't charge completely flat batteries.

B&M Bargain store also have 13amp plug-top motorcycle float chargers in stock at £8.99

I have the lidl one, seems to do the job, only thing I find is mine won't turn on if the battery is already fairly well charged which is a pain when just wanting to leave it on as a maintenance charge, also if get a short power cut it needs to be manually turned back on so need to keep a eye on it if planning to leave it connected all winter

The Lidl one works for me. It spent nearly two years switching back and forth between two cars every couple of weeks and then another 18 months keeping one car topped up. Never a problem, still going strong.

It won't charge very flat batteries (like most smart chargers), but I have an old basic version to start charging off with.

The annoying problem is that you have to manually turn it on if there is a power-cut - not the first thing that you tend to remember and even worse if it has happened while you are out and been long enough to reset the charger, but short enough not to reset the clocks in the house, so you don't even know it has happened. If however you are in and out of the garage frequently, then this isn't a problem.

Thanks for the comments. I decided to give it a try and bought the one from Aldi this morning. I tried my local B&M store but they didn't have any chargers in stock.

I have an aldi charger and its been on for the last two years with my gell battery.

I picked up two of the Aldi ones today.

I'm impressed with them for the price - 3 year guarantee as well.

I like the digital read out that tells you the actual voltage of the battery rather than just a visual representation of the level of charge.