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BEC battery conditioner
matt.c - 12/7/08 at 08:42 AM

Has anyone got one of these oxford optimizer battery contioners? What are they like? Can i leave it plugged on to the car all the time its in the garage and not fry the battery?


Would go for the optimate but they are a bit pricey..

[Edited on 12/7/08 by matt.c]

[Edited on 12/7/08 by matt.c]

mistergrumpy - 12/7/08 at 08:48 AM

Pretty sure you can leave it plugged in. I have the Optimate and yes it is pricey at £40 but to be honest I've gone through about 4 batteries whilst trying to build this car and about 3 on my motorbike over the Winters so at £40 and not having to buy anymore batteries then it's something to look at. It'll monitot the power in the battery and charge it when necessary but it can also bring massively dead batteries back alive.

Guinness - 12/7/08 at 09:31 AM

I have been using a "Tronic" bought for a £5 from AldiNettoLidl etc for about 2 years now.

Come in from a blat, put the car away, plug the charger in. Come back to the car a day, a week, a month later and it never fails to start.

Linky to one on ebay

HTH

Mike

v8kid - 12/7/08 at 09:39 AM

I've got the cheap lidl version and it is excellent. It can be left on all the time, will not overcharge and has the correct settings for gell batteries. It is lowcost.

It will not charge a dead flat battery though because it has a safety measure built in to avoid sparks when connecting the leads and the requirements conflict with dead batteries.

If your battery is that flat you have damaged it anyhow!

for a detailed review I posted test results somewhere on this forum. If you want regular product tests join east ayshire Car club its free membership magazine Wheelmag has a regular product test ans battery chargers will feature at the next issue I think.

Cheers

milson - 12/7/08 at 09:42 AM

use an optimiser on my car plugged in all the time no problems with it

stevebubs - 12/7/08 at 10:06 AM

Optimate III here....for bike and car...

MikeR - 12/7/08 at 02:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Guinness
I have been using a "Tronic" bought for a £5 from AldiNettoLidl etc for about 2 years now.

Come in from a blat, put the car away, plug the charger in. Come back to the car a day, a week, a month later and it never fails to start.

Linky to one on ebay

HTH

Mike


I bought one of these months ago, read the instructions, then read the battery instructions and ..... haven't used it. Battery says it should be charged something like 14.4 to 14.6 volts. The charger does something like 14 volts.

(can't remember actuals but decided didn't want to wreck a 90 quid battery)

David Jenkins - 12/7/08 at 03:00 PM

I have an Oximiser exactly like that one - it's always plugged into the car's lighter socket when the car's in the garage (the socket's wired via a fuse to the permanently live circuit). It doesn't cook the battery, if that's what you're worried about.

The end result is that the battery's always ready to start the engine, which means a lot when you're talking about a 30-year-old x-flow!