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aaronjb

Member Since: 26 Jun 2019
Location: Northampton
Posts: 447

I should really count how many Ctek's I have sitting around here .. there seems to be a ready market of RRS owners for them

I think I've ended up buying 2 or 3 MXS 5.0, one MXS 10 and there's a Lidl one knocking about somewhere too.. wait, that means I have more chargers than cars now but the Ctek ones get my vote every time.

I picked up the MXS 10 purely because it has an AGM mode - my others are too old to have one - and the RRS has an AGM battery fitted. Seemed to work well to rescue the battery after the recent alternator failure 2014 BMW 530d Touring, 2006 BMW 650i, 2018 Mini Cooper S

Fri Sep 27 2019 7:28am

insiorc

Member Since: 17 Jul 2016
Location: Scotland
Posts: 533

2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 Autobiography Firenze Red

I think I may have mentioned this on here previously, but if buying a charger with an RRS in mind I'd be getting the 10A, or minimum of 7A charger. Less will of course eventually charge the battery but you risk hardening or 'baking' any plate sulphation which then when charging with the alternator can cause bits to crumble and fall down, eventually building up to cause the shorting between plates which is what causes increased battery self discharge.
I'm not a battery expert, but I've over 20 years maintaining large battery banks for safety system UPS supplies so I've built up a few do's and dont's with battery maintenance. Forget what is wrote on the boxes, it's to make a charger look better for an unknowing market, aim to stick to a charge rate of around 10% of the battery Ah rating for lead acid.
You may be surprised how little of that 5A charger current actually is output to the battery. 13MY Range Rover Sport Autobiography SDV6 - mine
14MY Range Rover Evoque Dynamic SD4 Black Pack - wife's
99MY Defender 90 TD5, Soft Top Conversion - my toy, and bairns favourite

Fri Sep 27 2019 8:56am

Andy K

Member Since: 18 Sep 2015
Location: GL
Posts: 5019

2005 Range Rover Sport TDV6 HSE Rimini Red

i've found a 4 or 5A CTEK works fine on the RRS, but that is for maintenance and when working on it.

Fri Sep 27 2019 2:24pm

What's in the fridge?

Member Since: 14 Aug 2019
Location: Nearest hedge to London
Posts: 112

2008 Range Rover Sport TDV8 HSE Buckingham Blue

insiorc wrote:
I think I may have mentioned this on here previously, but if buying a charger with an RRS in mind I'd be getting the 10A, or minimum of 7A charger. Less will of course eventually charge the battery but you risk hardening or 'baking' any plate sulphation which then when charging with the alternator can cause bits to crumble and fall down, eventually building up to cause the shorting between plates which is what causes increased battery self discharge.
I'm not a battery expert, but I've over 20 years maintaining large battery banks for safety system UPS supplies so I've built up a few do's and dont's with battery maintenance. Forget what is wrote on the boxes, it's to make a charger look better for an unknowing market, aim to stick to a charge rate of around 10% of the battery Ah rating for lead acid.
You may be surprised how little of that 5A charger current actually is output to the battery.

CTEK Stage 1 mode: desulphation; would that not address the hardening/baking?*

*I literally opened the user manual, that is my level of expertise...and yes I already used the 5A to do battery recon which is working so far

2008 TDV8 Buckingham Blue- SOLD

Fri Sep 27 2019 2:33pm

insiorc

Member Since: 17 Jul 2016
Location: Scotland
Posts: 533

What's in the fridge? wrote:
CTEK Stage 1 mode: desulphation; would that not address the hardening/baking?*

Good question, and although I have 3 Ctek's, 2 x 5A (used in 0.8A mode for motorbike & kids buggy etc. at 7 / 9Ah) and a 10A for RRS, tractors etc. I've never thought of it. So some quick googling brings up the below (from - https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/articl...event_it);

"There are two types of sulfation: reversible (or soft sulfation), and permanent (or hard sulfation). If a battery is serviced early, reversible sulfation can often be corrected by applying an overcharge to an already fully charged battery in the form of a regulated current of about 200mA. The battery terminal voltage is allowed to rise to between 2.50 and 2.66V/cell (15 and 16V on a 12V mono block) for about 24 hours. Increasing the battery temperature to 50–60°C (122–140°F) during the corrective service further helps in dissolving the crystals.

Permanent sulfation sets in when the battery has been in a low state-of-charge for weeks or months. At this stage, no form of restoration seems possible; however, the recovery yield is not fully understood. To everyone’s amazement, new lead acid batteries can often be fully restored after dwelling in a low-voltage condition for many weeks. Other factors may play a role.

A subtle indication whether lead acid can be recovered or not is visible on the voltage discharge curve. If a fully charged battery retains a stable voltage profile on discharge, chances of reactivation are better than if the voltage drops rapidly with load.

Several companies offer anti-sulfation devices that apply pulses to the battery terminals to prevent and reverse sulfation. Such technologies will lower the sulfation on a healthy battery, but they cannot effectively reverse the condition once present. It’s a “one size fits all” approach and the method is unscientific.

Applying random pulses or blindly inducing an overcharge can harm the battery by promoting grid corrosion. There are no simple methods to measure sulfation, nor are commercial chargers available that apply a calculated overcharge to dissolve the crystals. As with medicine, the most effective remedy is to apply a corrective service for the time needed and not longer.

While anti-sulfation devices can reverse the condition, some battery manufacturers do not recommend the treatment as it tends to create soft shorts that may increase self-discharge. Furthermore, the pulses contain ripple voltage that causes some heating of the battery. Battery manufacturers specify the allowable ripple when charging lead acid batteries."

So it looks like this mode isn't recommended by all battery manufacturers, and it's they who I'd be taking the best advice from. I'll just keep aiming for around 10% Ah rating. 13MY Range Rover Sport Autobiography SDV6 - mine
14MY Range Rover Evoque Dynamic SD4 Black Pack - wife's
99MY Defender 90 TD5, Soft Top Conversion - my toy, and bairns favourite

Fri Sep 27 2019 2:59pm

rover75

Member Since: 14 Mar 2019
Location: On my way
Posts: 109

2007 Range Rover Sport Supercharged Stornoway Grey

Sorry not really about solar chargers but-

Just buy a good battery to begin with and treat it well, last ages - had some lasting 10 years. Sure could have bought cheaper battery and spent a lot of time charging, conditioning and buying another charger wrongly thinking this might have been the problem and ending up having spent more money than a good battery and charger cost in the first place.

Always used Yuasa or Varta's best, not affiliated just saying... (sure there might be other good ones)

If RR's not used I give it a charge weekly. any other car monthly

Btw: IMO batteries likes to be charged slowly with ctec like charger, seams to hold charge better.

Sat Sep 28 2019 12:29am

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