CTek Chargers

[TEJOLX47]

Hello,

I am considering to buy a CTek battery charger to my 280SL.
Can anyone give me some feedback on the results as afar as the battery duration?
What model would you recommend?
Many thanks
Francisco

[lpeterssen]

Francisco

I do use a lot of battery maintainers in many cars. I have tried many many brands. The best in my opinion for durability and resistance are the battery maintainers chargers from Schumacher. There is even a version that you can control from your iPhone.

Best regards
L.peterssen

[lpeterssen]

Amazon does not pay me for this…..


I want to recommend this product at Amazon

Schumacher Fully Automatic Battery Charger, Maintainer, and Auto Desulfator - 3 Amp, 12V - For Cars, Motorcycles, Lawn Tractors, Power Sports, Marine Batteries
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756PV96N/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5VKGEJR9NBM5BXRSCXBH

[lpeterssen]

You can use this in combination of many Schumacher charger to know from your iOS device (iPhone) the status of any garaged car battery as long as there is wifi signal.

I want to recommend this product at Amazon

Schumacher SchuLink+ Wireless Vehicle Battery Smart Monitor - Shows Battery Charge Percentage
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLXCGJX/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_PG0BVNXJDDYP03K2ZRCC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


Sent from my iPad

[TEJOLX47]

Hi Leonard,

Many thanks for the help.
Hope you are well.
Cheers
F

[lpeterssen]

Francisco

Everything fine.

Your pagoda is exactly the same Colour scheme as my 250SL 1967.

Mine is unfinished

Best regards
L.peterssen

[TEJOLX47]

Indeed the same color scheme!

[MikeSimon]

I have to make an appointment with my eye doctor. It seems my color vision is off.

[TEJOLX47]

Hi Mike,

Don't worry, I hade the same problem when choosing the color to apply to my Pagoda.
More than that, it shows different with natural light or workshop light.
But it looks god!
 

[mdsalemi]

Back to the topic at hand: chargers and or battery maintainers.

My own opinion is, for those that care, is I'm not a fan. Never had one, never used one...and my car has ALWAYS sat idle in winter. Regardless of storage or not, I have always gotten about 5 years life out of a battery, and true to form, my Pagoda is on its 4th battery as it passes the 20 year mark post-restoration. So, I'm not exactly certain what the maintainer would do. Always, in the first start in spring, there was always enough life left in the battery to start the car. All my battery changes were pre-emptive.

Because my car was stored in a remote location during the winters for many years, the thought of something plugged in so far away was a bit frightening. Not all battery maintainers are UL listed. The thought of a potential electrical fire so far from a habited home for the potential of longer battery life seemed a bit unnecessary.

If you use one, that's your choice and decision: but if you do, do yourself a favor; ensure you have an AFCI breaker on the circuit that serves your battery tender. That will provide an enormous amount of peace of mind and in the unlikely event of any electrical malady (which may not be the battery tender, but the outlet or circuit itself) power will be shut off.

Here's a great example from our friends up north in Canada. It shows a "problem" electrical box, that is serving two devices within the current limit of the wiring (so the breaker does not trip); with no grounding issues (so no tripping of a GFCI outlet typically found in a garage). However, there's no AFCI breaker and THAT would have tripped instantly. Anyway, good to watch.

 https://youtu.be/nPhgQpRFe5A

While the example above is with a faulty connection, the same condition could exist with a faulty DEVICE attached to an outlet. You know, like a battery tender.

[Benz Dr.]

Back to the topic at hand: chargers and or battery maintainers.

My own opinion is, for those that care, is I'm not a fan. Never had one, never used one...and my car has ALWAYS sat idle in winter. Regardless of storage or not, I have always gotten about 5 years life out of a battery, and true to form, my Pagoda is on its 4th battery as it passes the 20 year mark post-restoration. So, I'm not exactly certain what the maintainer would do. Always, in the first start in spring, there was always enough life left in the battery to start the car. All my battery changes were pre-emptive.

Because my car was stored in a remote location during the winters for many years, the thought of something plugged in so far away was a bit frightening. Not all battery maintainers are UL listed. The thought of a potential electrical fire so far from a habited home for the potential of longer battery life seemed a bit unnecessary.

If you use one, that's your choice and decision: but if you do, do yourself a favor; ensure you have an AFCI breaker on the circuit that serves your battery tender. That will provide an enormous amount of peace of mind and in the unlikely event of any electrical malady (which may not be the battery tender, but the outlet or circuit itself) power will be shut off.

Here's a great example from our friends up north in Canada. It shows a "problem" electrical box, that is serving two devices within the current limit of the wiring (so the breaker does not trip); with no grounding issues (so no tripping of a GFCI outlet typically found in a garage). However, there's no AFCI breaker and THAT would have tripped instantly. Anyway, good to watch.

 https://youtu.be/nPhgQpRFe5A

While the example above is with a faulty connection, the same condition could exist with a faulty DEVICE attached to an outlet. You know, like a battery tender.

Is that like one of those interrupters where even a small arc from a short will shut everything down? That's the new building code here now.

[Cees Klumper]

My batteries tend to last much longer than yours Michael, at least 10 years I would say. In France I have the Pagoda hooked up to a solar panel charger that simultaneously charges a couple of other car and motorcycle batteries as well. I do uncouple batteries from my vehicles when they are not in use for extended periods of time to help preserve them. As far as I can recall I am only on my second battery for the Pagoda in my 22 years of ownership. I like the CTEK chargers so far although one did break on me after about 10 years of service.

[mdsalemi]

My batteries tend to last much longer than yours Michael, at least 10 years I would say. In France I have the Pagoda hooked up to a solar panel charger that simultaneously charges a couple of other car and motorcycle batteries as well.

All my battery changes were pre-emptive. The first battery was probably fine when I changed it out for an MB battery for that originality, even though said battery from MB bears no resemblance to the original. When that was working in normal use, but didn't seem to hold a charge unused for very long after a few years, I then bought a sealed DieHard in 2011. That was fine for years, though from the Charlottesville event in September 2017 to when I moved here two years ago, the car saw mostly sitting due to the dangerously poor roads in Michigan. In autumn 2019 it went in for service in Michigan and wasn't delivered here until July. When my service facility in Michigan was prepping the car for delivery, they told me that even though the battery "worked" it had a weak cell. Since the car was being moved on/off a trailer, and probably re-arranged in transit, having a reliable battery was important. So, I changed it.

Batteries in SoCal have it easy. The typical battery spec of CCW or cold cranking amps is kind of joke in LA. When your car sits for months in temperatures below freezing and even near zero, THAT will test the mettle of a battery.

Your solar charger is a great idea. I had one--a small thing--on a boat lift used in the summer. Kept the battery "tendered" without the need for anything plugged into "the mains".

Is that like one of those interrupters where even a small arc from a short will shut everything down? That's the new building code here now.

Right you are Dan--they are code here too. Note that video was done IN Canada. We have much the same kind of electrical codes here in the USA as Canada. The AFCI is generally on a breaker, not an outlet. The GFCI is generally on an outlet though they can be on breakers as well.

I'm a stickler for electrical safety. Arcing of any kind is responsible for a large percentage of the over 40,000 electrically caused home fires each year in the USA. More than 40% occur in the winter months, and a measurable number caused by "unattended equipment". So, unattended things plugged in to an unoccupied home in the winter didn't give me the warm and fuzzy feeling. I left my battery and car unattended. An AFCI protected circuit will shut off power in milliseconds.

[Benz Dr.]

I park my car in the fall and then I drive it out of the barn in the spring. This year it sat until September when we went to Niagara Falls. It always seems to start and I don't do anything special putting it away. Batteries last until they quit working and then it's time for a new one. I usually have to buy at least one battery for something around here every year seeing as I have 8 - 10 different items that use them.

[Cees Klumper]

Small comment Michael - my experience with Pagoda (and most of my other vehicles') batteries is from Holland/Switzerland/France where it does get freezing cold. Coldest to date a couple years ago was 3 degrees fahrenheit (-16 celsius). It's good they recycle batteries, so 'pre-emptive' replacing just means the materials get re-used sooner/more often! But me I do like using things up, just look at my daily driver lists.

[mdsalemi]

…Coldest to date a couple years ago was 3 degrees fahrenheit (-16 celsius)

Oh my that gave me a good laugh.  When I lived in Michigan I didn’t even bring out the really warm jacket until it reached 0°F. Extended periods of time with temperatures below 0° are not uncommon in the winter time in the upper Midwest. About 10 years ago we had several winters in a row with extended periods of a polar vortex. We used to call them “Canadian air masses” but no sense in blaming it on the very polite Canadians. Overnight temperatures hit -16°F. Any battery that wasn’t 100% would give the owner fits at that temperature. The tow trucks and auto parts stores did exceptionally well at that time.

I followed the Dan Caron school of thought. Park the car in the fall, move it out in the spring, and don’t do anything to the battery during the winter. Just as a safety measure I did always remove the ground from the battery so nothing was draining it.

[MikeSimon]

Oh my! Anybody who has a conventional wet-cell battery and keeps it in his car during storage for - let's say 3 months - untouched and is able to start the car without a problem is on to something.
A battery loses charge when sitting idle. Also, if the battery is not sealed, the electrolyte will evaporate and the level may drop below the top of the plates. In addition almost any car has a small draw from some user, most cases it is an electric clock. Albeit small, that draw will contribute to depleting the charge. Once your battery level drops to below 10V, you will not be able to start the car.  No matter how much of a self-proclaimed expert you are. I store 18 vehicles over the winter in Ohio and all batteries go on a maintainer. Make sure it is a "floater" and not a trickle charger. I have been using 2 Deltran 10-bank chargers for over 15 years. Newer gel-type batteries (not AGM!), like in late BMW motorcycles, require a different charger/maintainer.
5-7 years out of a conventional wet-cell is a good life and can only be achieved with decent battery maintenance.

[Mike Hughes]

An interesting point is mentioned here, and that is evaporation.  It is important to battery life not just to maintain the charge, but also to pay attention to the electrolyte levels, and top up as necessary with distilled water (not tap water, or spring water, which contain minerals and other impurities that can compromise the electrolyte).

Battery maintainers have been proven to help extend battery life.  I replaced the Die Hard in my M.G. TF last year - it was 14 years old.  The marine battery that powers the hydraulic lift in my tilt bed trailer was replaced in June - it was 12 years old. 

In 1989 I acquired a 1987 Jaguar XJ6 that had been traded in at the Lincoln Mercury dealership where I worked.  The original owner told me that he loved his XJ6 but needed to replace it because his wife insisted on being driven in a vehicle that had a passenger side airbag.  In 1989 there were only two such vehicles: Mercedes S-Class or Lincoln Continental. His last three XJ6s were pretty much trouble free, but did all have the same problem:  They ate batteries, which needed to be replaced about every two years.  Sure enough, just a few months later the original battery wouldn't keep a charge.  I had been using Sears Die Hard batteries in my M.G.s and getting reasonable service from them, 5-7 years on average, so I put a Die Hard in it, which only lasted two years, and two more over the next four years.  A friend told me about battery maintainers in 1995.  Over the last 26 years of keeping my vehicles hooked up to battery maintainers I have put only three batteries in that XJ6.  The current one (if you'll pardon the pun) is eight years old.

This is why many enthusiasts, including myself, keep our vehicles on battery maintainers.  In October, I had the opportunity to visit a private collection of over 130 vehicles.  The second thing I noticed after initially being blown away by the sheer variety of the assembled vehicles (quite literally Abarth to Zagato, from over a dozen countries of origin!) was that every single one was hooked up to a battery maintainer.  The third thing was that keys were in every ignition and any vehicle could be started and driven at the owner's whim.

[MikeSimon]

Among all my vehicles, I have only one that has an old-fashioned wet-cell battery, because NOBODY makes an AGM for that application and I have not been able to make myself buying a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate version for this. This is the only battery that evaporates electrolyte and needs the most attention and lasts only three years - in spite of being on a maintainer. The oldest (longest lasting) currently is the Gel-battery in my BMW K1600GT. It is 10 years old.