Battery charger/maintainer

[rbg]

Well I ended up changing my order for CTEK 7002 :-) Thanks guys!

[martin.oconnor]

I've had the 7002 for 5+ years. Kept a battery fresh on a car that was not driven for 2-3 years.

[Tjpatte]

Like the CTEK MXS 5.0, use it on the M3 for storage and lately my Ram diesel. Takes it a little bit longer to charge the Ram up, but it’s dealing with two big batteries.

[rbg]

So I plugged mine 7002 to the pretty drained battery and start charging. It gets very hot, how hot your CTEKs run?

[oceansize]

Normal. Can run pretty hot.

[Obioban]

Yeah, they get warm if it’s a dead/low battery.

[WOLFN8TR]

CTEK 7002, CTEK Comfort Indicator Panel, LED Volt Meter.

[heinzboehmer]

CTEK for lithium batteries: https://www.ctek.com/uk/products/car/lithium-xs-uk

I have two of the MXS 5.0s and and of the Lithium XSs.

I've always wondered why lithium specific car battery chargers exist. I understand that different battery chemistries require different charging methods, but these batteries are designed to be charged by an alternator as well, so wouldn't the BMS be inside the battery? If so, this would mean that a regular lead acid charger would work just as well.

I mean, I'm not sure I would risk destroying an expensive lithium battery by cheaping out on the charger, but I still wonder if lead acid and lithium chargers actually do the same thing.

[Obioban]

I've always wondered why lithium specific car battery chargers exist. I understand that different battery chemistries require different charging methods, but these batteries are designed to be charged by an alternator as well, so wouldn't the BMS be inside the battery? If so, this would mean that a regular lead acid charger would work just as well.

I mean, I'm not sure I would risk destroying an expensive lithium battery by cheaping out on the charger, but I still wonder if lead acid and lithium chargers actually do the same thing.

I don't know, but when I bought my battery they specifically told me to get the CTEK one-- which they didn't sell (so it felt unbiased). Make some think there must be something to it.

[heinzboehmer]

I don't know, but when I bought my battery they specifically told me to get the CTEK one-- which they didn't sell (so it felt unbiased). Make some think there must be something to it.

Interesting. Would be cool to graph voltage and current for each charger to see if there's any difference, but who has time for that lol.

[terra]

Looking at the manuals, the big difference is the lithium doesn't have a desulfation cycle (which can go up to 15.8v), and spends most of its time charging at 13.8v instead of 14.4v

[heinzboehmer]

Looking at the manuals, the big difference is the lithium doesn't have a desulfation cycle (which can go up to 15.8v), and spends most of its time charging at 13.8v instead of 14.4v

Yeah I probably should have started by reading the manual.

Looks like charging a lithium battery with a lithium specific charger is actually important. Not because the charger has a special charging mode for the lithium cells (seems like the internal BMS still manages all of that), but instead because the lead acid chargers have some lead acid specific features that might harm the lithium batteries.

[Rennfahrer]

I think you have your answer, but I bought the CTEK MTS 5.0 and it is great (purchased March 2020). I bought the lighter adapter separately and i have had zero problems. I sometimes leave it the whole week and sometimes just plug it in as needed. It is compact and the design and functionality are very thoughtful. Got mine on Amazon at a decent price as well.

[rbg]

another stupid question: Does your CTEK (7002 or other) clicks? I put mine on recondition and after going through the cycle it is now has green LEDs and some relay is clicking inside. Is it a normal pulse operation mode?

[Dino]

Does anyone have any experience with the NOCO Genius 10?