C5ALIVE Forum
C5Alive General Category => C5 Chatroom => Topic started by: aladds on 09, October, 2010 - 20:43:25
-
Having messed up one battery completely and one partly I thought it might be a good idea to get myself a trickle charger to try and fix the "broken" one and help out the "semi-broken" one a little.
I missed a very cheap offer on an Accumate charger a couple of weeks ago (rather annoyed at that) but I've been looking at the Optimate range. Has anyone got any experience with any of their products? I notice they've got an accessory which gives you a charging plug for panel mount too, although it might not do as a regular charging method as it charges at less than an amp, so a full charge would take 3 or 4 days... Not too useful for commuting!
-
I use a standard charger and an Oxford Products Optimate trickle charger. I find the trickle fine for the journey's I do, in and out of town, 3 miles. I rotate the trickle onto each of my 4 batteries every 24 hours to keep them all 'alive'. If I have a big trip to do I use the standard charger for 12 to 16 hours if I have any doubt about them. By the way I bought my Oxford Product Optimiser for my Fireblade, back in the day(!), it is only supposed to work for upto 30 - 40 ish Amp hour batteries but it works fine on my (upto) 80 A/hr batteries....
I think it is good to keep batteries receiving charge, I think it extends the life of the battery.
I guess for your use it would depend on how far your commute is? If it is less than 6 miles return using a trickle should be OK. Try it out and take a spare if you are not 100% confident.
As it happens Connie and I did a long ride at the weekend (lovely and sunny in Stratford), my 60A/hr battery did 15 (fairly flat) miles without much pedaling before it gave out and I swapped the battery to the spare I was carrying.
If you wnat to 'fix' a knackered battery you need a C TEK charger/conditioner/repairer. Really excellent products, read the interweb about them. We use them at work and they do a very good job. They are more expensive than a simple Optimiser like mine at home but I think they are a more sophisticated range of products.
Cheers, Giles
-
I have to be honest and say 'good luck with that' if your trying to fix a bad battery. I use the original Sinclair Charges, and an automatic charger that pulse's the battery to keep it charged without over charging it. I have not been on my rides this year, but I'll be sure to let you know if my battery care plan worked or not.