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  • C Tek battery charging

    I have purchased a c tek battery charger. What I want to know is, do you remove the compartment caps on top of the battery, whilst charging. I have read the instructions, but a little ambigous at times, any information on this topic would be helpful.

    Regards

    My Tug

  • #2
    Howdy My Tug,
    As Roo said "in short Yes"(true) this point could be argued. Do you take the caps off whils driving the car? as it's charging then.
    I have a xs 15000 hooked into my dual battery system. As i run an Engel fulltime in my Prado & don't do a great deal of k's a day i need to keep battery topped up.
    I have not had any problems with this & do not remove the caps to charge, but having said this i do not run my batteries radically low.
    So if the battery was well discharged its going to get warm/hot & produce gas, then yes remove or loosen caps.
    Hope this helps or just confuses the issue a little more.
    Regards Adam
    Yep.....I have a Prado just like you
    Bugger Bali, get out and see Australia before we sell it all to China
    My Rig Build Towing Camprite TL8s (if ya wanna look PM me)

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi ondabaot. Sure the alternator is charging whilst you are driving along the road but although it has the capability or poking in huge amps, in real time situations the alternator is simply replacing current being drawn off by ancillarys - in simple terms, in one end of the battery and out of the other without stopping along the way. The only time it really gets to charge is for a short period after a start and it won't get hot enough to gas off much anyway. The caps also have a tiny vent hole in them. Cheers.
      2005 100 Series Landcruiser. 4.2 T/D 5 speed auto. LTD c/w AHC/Leather etc.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks to all replied, useful information

        My Tug

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi My Tug, there is no reason to remove or even to loosen the caps on a flooded wet cell battery while charging with a battery charger.

          The caps are specifically designed to release any gasses formed during charging.

          As onaboat posted, you don’t loosen them while your driving and contrary to Derb’s post, if your battery is in a low state when you first start driving, your battery can pull very high currents in the initial stages of it’s charge, way higher than any battery charge is going to be able to supply and there is no problems with gasses being released.

          Furthermore, you are actually more likely to cause irreparable damage to the battery by having the caps off, allowing the potential of foreign objects to contaminate the electrolyte.

          This a point most people miss when they top up their flooded wet cell batteries. Most people hose the battery down after fill, to get rid of any spillage but few clean the top of the battery before removing the caps.

          You should make sure the top of the battery is clean and free of any dust and other foreign agents before you touch the caps so there is little chance of any contaminates entering the battery cells as you remove each cap.

          Comment


          • #6
            Had a bit of a search on here but couldn't find a simple answer so I thought I would tack my question onto the end of this thread as it had some similar and useful info.

            Just bought a C-Tek MXS 5.0, mainly to keep my Aux battery (80ah Optima Bluetop) topped up, but also to use on my starter battery (lead acid) and the wife's car (lead acid) as well. I have a Redarc SBI isolator hooked up in my car - is there any issues connecting the C-Tek up to either battery on my dual battery setup to charge them or do they need to be disconnected?

            Thanks in advance.
            NOW FOR SALE!!! - 2004 Silver GXL 3lt 4spd Auto - ARB Bullbar, Safari Snorkel, Redarc Dual Battery System, Cooper ST MAXX, Dark Tint, IPF900XS spots, Raised Bilstein/Kings Suspension/Firestone Airbags, Autosafe Cargo Barrier, Sandgrabbers, Rola Roof Rack Stuff, Insect Screen, Dust/Wind Deflectors, Sheepskin/Black Duck Seatcovers, GME TX3510, ARB underbonnet compressor, Allied Hammer Rims, ARB UVP, [url="http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?18043-Rock-sliders-steel-side-steps"]AJ Sliders[/url]

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            • #7
              Madkore,

              Make sure the Redark has disconnected the batteries before charging. You'll need to disconnect the starting battery when charging as if you don't, as soon as the Ctek reaches 13.2V, the isolator will connect both batteries.

              Wet cells and AGM have different charging characteristics so they shouldn't be charged in parallel.
              2019 GXL, Bullbar, UHF, Redarc Brake Controller, Tow Bar, Secondary Fuel Filter

              Comment


              • #8
                Bugger... Should have waited for a reply before diving in.

                Hopefully I haven't done any long term damage.

                Will disconnect the starter battery when I get home and charge it up, then I will charge up the aux battery - hopefully all will be ok.
                Madkore
                Avid PP Poster!
                Last edited by Madkore; 04-10-2011, 02:56 PM.
                NOW FOR SALE!!! - 2004 Silver GXL 3lt 4spd Auto - ARB Bullbar, Safari Snorkel, Redarc Dual Battery System, Cooper ST MAXX, Dark Tint, IPF900XS spots, Raised Bilstein/Kings Suspension/Firestone Airbags, Autosafe Cargo Barrier, Sandgrabbers, Rola Roof Rack Stuff, Insect Screen, Dust/Wind Deflectors, Sheepskin/Black Duck Seatcovers, GME TX3510, ARB underbonnet compressor, Allied Hammer Rims, ARB UVP, [url="http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?18043-Rock-sliders-steel-side-steps"]AJ Sliders[/url]

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                • #9
                  C-Tek and other smart chargers don't dump the full amps into the battery like the old cheap chargers do so no need to unscrew those caps. I don't even disconnect my batteries (main plus AGM up back running off dc to dc C-Tek) while topping up the charge off 240v C-Tek at home.
                  [SIZE=1]Cheers Jim.
                  [/SIZE][COLOR=#0000cd]
                  2009 120 D4D VX auto, pearl white with [COLOR=#0000cd]matching ARB deluxe bar,[/COLOR] 2" lift with [COLOR=#0000cd]OME springs & Nitro shocks,[/COLOR] 9000lb Warn winch, BFG KO A/Ts, Alloy Rhino roof basket, Safari snorkel, 2 x Optima D27F batteries, Voltage booster from Leigh, Jawa [SIZE=1]off-road camper trailer.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

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                  • #10
                    Anyone know if I will have buggered by batteries by using the CTek to charge the starter (lead acid) battery whilst still connected via the Redarc to an Optima Blue Top (AGM)?
                    NOW FOR SALE!!! - 2004 Silver GXL 3lt 4spd Auto - ARB Bullbar, Safari Snorkel, Redarc Dual Battery System, Cooper ST MAXX, Dark Tint, IPF900XS spots, Raised Bilstein/Kings Suspension/Firestone Airbags, Autosafe Cargo Barrier, Sandgrabbers, Rola Roof Rack Stuff, Insect Screen, Dust/Wind Deflectors, Sheepskin/Black Duck Seatcovers, GME TX3510, ARB underbonnet compressor, Allied Hammer Rims, ARB UVP, [url="http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?18043-Rock-sliders-steel-side-steps"]AJ Sliders[/url]

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Madkore View Post
                      Anyone know if I will have buggered by batteries by using the CTek to charge the starter (lead acid) battery whilst still connected via the Redarc to an Optima Blue Top (AGM)?
                      In short no, normally your charge both batteries in parallel with the alternator, substituting the Ctek for
                      the alternator gives you the same results.

                      Also you don't need to disconnect the redarc, if the redarc turns on just means you are charging
                      both batteries at once and of course the recharge times will be a lot longer.

                      Cheers
                      LeighW
                      LeighW
                      Avid PP Poster!
                      Last edited by LeighW; 04-10-2011, 09:17 PM.
                      HKB Electronics, manufacturer of the Alternator Voltage Booster, Silver 2008 D4D,Lifted,Underbody protection, Alternator Voltage Booster, Tiger Z winch, Lightforce DL, Air Horns, Tanami Drawers, Drop down fridge slide, Outback cargo barriers, Rotronics dual Battery system, Polaris GPS, HF/UHF/VHF, Radio speaker combiner, Long ranger water tank, Diff breathers, Inverter, Snorkel and others

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        There shouldn't be any damage to either battery. However, both batteries may not be fully charged. The problem some chargers have is that when if constant voltage mode (to get the battery from 80 to 100% charge) they rely on the charge current dropping to a certain level as an indicator that the battery is fully charged. Say the charger looks for current to drop to 150mA then drops to float voltage. If you have two batteries, the charger will be putting out 300mA and will never change over th float or keep a constant voltage applied for too long and cause water loss. Water loss will reduce the life on an AGM as there's no way to top the cells up.

                        When trying to decide between a wet cell or AGM for a second battery, I had the same dilema. If I wanted an AGM the only way to ensure propper charging of the AGM in the vehicle was to use a DC/DC charger then have a solenoid isolator in parallel for cranking in an emergency. I ended up getting a wet cell as the DC/DC chargers were $250 for the cheapest (Projecta 20A) and the cost of cables to mount the battery in the boot and still be able to use is to crank.
                        2019 GXL, Bullbar, UHF, Redarc Brake Controller, Tow Bar, Secondary Fuel Filter

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          To clarify some points,

                          Do you need to remove the battery cell caps, generally no. The only time this would generally need to be
                          done is when the battery is being boost charged to equalise the cells etc. The caps only need to be
                          removed if the battery is going to be gassing considerably and this should not ok under normal charging
                          conditions unless one or more cells are faulty. It should be pointed out the the battery caps also prevent
                          a possible battery explosion should the gas given off under excessive gassing conditions find an ignition
                          source.

                          Charging batteries in parallel, though not ideal generally doesn't cause any issues. The same applies to
                          charging them in series ie 24v truck setups using two batteries in series.

                          Charging two different types of batteries in parallel with a charger in most instances will not cause any issues.
                          All modern smart chargers monitor the battery voltage to detect when the bulk charge has completed, they
                          then go into a boost charge to equalise the cells before going into a maintenance or trickle charge mode.

                          The only time I have seen a smart charger fooled with a parallel setup is when one or both of the batteries
                          have been faulty. Also most small smart chargers are only capable of outputing around 3-4 Amps at over 13.8V,
                          they may say they have an output of 10A but this will only be at around 11-12V and gassing is not going to
                          occurr at these voltages.

                          All modern batteries use a calcium plate material these days and ultra pure lead. The result of this is that modern
                          batteries gass very little compared to the old type lead acid batteries and generally very high charge voltages
                          are required to get then to gas freely.

                          Bottom line is gassing or overcharging in general, using a small charger is not likely to be an issue unless the
                          the batteries are left on charge for a very long time.

                          If anyone wants to use an AGM style battery in a car enviroment I would suggest they use an Optima style
                          battery as these batteries are designed to interwork with a car alternator system and have the advantage
                          that can withstand considerable phsyical abuse (the usual killer of a battery in an automotive enviroment),
                          they will recharge in a very short time and the vehicles normal charge voltages will not cause them any
                          issues. Expensive yes, but like all things in life you get what you pay for.

                          Cheers
                          LeighW
                          LeighW
                          Avid PP Poster!
                          Last edited by LeighW; 05-10-2011, 07:30 AM.
                          HKB Electronics, manufacturer of the Alternator Voltage Booster, Silver 2008 D4D,Lifted,Underbody protection, Alternator Voltage Booster, Tiger Z winch, Lightforce DL, Air Horns, Tanami Drawers, Drop down fridge slide, Outback cargo barriers, Rotronics dual Battery system, Polaris GPS, HF/UHF/VHF, Radio speaker combiner, Long ranger water tank, Diff breathers, Inverter, Snorkel and others

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Sweet - great info everyone - I am slowly getting my head around it all. Confirms again why this forum is great to be apart of.

                            After charging the starter still connected via the redarc to the Optima, last night I decided to take the above advice and disconnect my starter battery and charge it up using the standard mode on the C-Tek. Then I reconnected the starter and put the charger on the Optima using the 'cold weather program' mode (which they recommend for Optimas as it charges up to 14.7V as opposed to 14.4V).

                            Anyone see any issue with this? Hopefully it has done the trick to get both batteries up to scratch.

                            Just to clarify, the Optima I have is the D27M and is a 66AH, 800CCA battery. A few others have this particular battery. I want to be able to use it as a backup cranking battery (I have an override button incab to do this) and I also want to be able to run a fridge for a day or so without any issues.
                            NOW FOR SALE!!! - 2004 Silver GXL 3lt 4spd Auto - ARB Bullbar, Safari Snorkel, Redarc Dual Battery System, Cooper ST MAXX, Dark Tint, IPF900XS spots, Raised Bilstein/Kings Suspension/Firestone Airbags, Autosafe Cargo Barrier, Sandgrabbers, Rola Roof Rack Stuff, Insect Screen, Dust/Wind Deflectors, Sheepskin/Black Duck Seatcovers, GME TX3510, ARB underbonnet compressor, Allied Hammer Rims, ARB UVP, [url="http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?18043-Rock-sliders-steel-side-steps"]AJ Sliders[/url]

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hi Madkore, and you have a little bit of confusion there with what batteries are what.

                              All the batteries you have been posting about are not only lead acid batteries, this includes the Optimas, but Optima batteries, as LeighW pointed out are far more robust as compared to standby type AGMs like Fullriver.

                              Optima batteries are automotive grade AGMs and as such can be treated exactly the same as your Flooded wet cell battery.

                              If your battery charger has user selectable charge voltages, set it to your flooded wet cell mode and you can charge both batteries at the same time, and even if the charger runs a boost cycle, you will not harm the Optima.

                              If you have Standby type AGMs in a set up, then you MUST set the charging voltage to the AGM. This will normally mean the charger will not apply more than 14.4v.

                              This is fine for charging all your batteries and won’t harm anything and all batteries will reach a fully charged state.

                              On the other hand, if you have a Standby type AGM and your charger is set to flooded wet cell, you risk damaging standby type AGM, especially if the charger runs a boost cycle.
                              drivesafe
                              Senior Member
                              Last edited by drivesafe; 05-10-2011, 08:56 PM.

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