Battery charger bargain from aldi

[sternal]

£13.99 !

Perfect for the leisure battery

[fairwynds]

I got similar one from Lidl a while back, it's a good buy.
Only issue I've had was just last week. Van was unused for 3 weeks and I foolishly left an interior cupboard light on (non LED) so it flattened my second battery (leisure side - but a car battery, if you get my drift). These intelligent chargers won't recognise a completely flat battery as they need some charge/feedback from the battery being charged to do their magic.
Had to resort to my 'ol faithfull' to get it going first....
Moral - don't leave the friggin' lights on! Doh!

[ghost123uk]

Or the other moral is = get one of these Low Voltage Disconnect as flattening a battery so it is totally dead is a good way to kill it, and one of those is cheaper than a new battery

[CJH]

When I saw Sternal's post I checked online to see if there were any more details, and noticed this too for £40.



So thanks Sternal, I'm now £54 lighter, but I've got a nice radio/mp3/bluetooth/handsfree deck that fits the shallow space in the dash, thanks to not having a CD slot. It's remote control too, so it should be controllable from the back of the van, and it should play music from my phone over bluetooth. I've been keeping my eyes open for something like this ever since StuM's post, and for £40 this one looks just the ticket.

The only downside I've noticed so far is that there's no jack for an external microphone - the mic is in the face plate. I'll have to see how it sounds.

[California Dreamin]

£13.99 !

Perfect for the leisure battery

Perfect for conditioning and charging over long periods but not a 'leisure charger' as it wouldn't keep up with average discharge.

Useful all the same but as a charger when the vehicle is not being used.

Martin

[CovKid]

And remember, if you flatten a battery, you'll need to run it on a regular charger first to put enough juice in for the LIDL one to recognise it and start trickle charging it.

[sternal]

I bought it so when I'm on site I can use 12v lights etc and not worry about having to take van for a run to charge the leisure battery. If I change the connectors so its hard wired in it would invalidate the warranty...have to wait 3 yrs !
Ctek ones can be hard wired
I take its okay to have it connected to the power and use lights etc ?

Looks like a nice head unit for the money.

[CJH]

If I change the connectors so its hard wired in it would invalidate the warranty...have to wait 3 yrs !

For £14, I'd be tempted to 'self-warranty'.

I take its okay to have it connected to the power and use lights etc ?

Yes, it should be fine. The charger can provide up to 3.8A. Even with all your lights on you should be below this level, so your battery shouldn't go flat.

Others will hopefully chip in here - the charger will switch to trickle charge mode when the battery gets above a certain voltage, but I'm not sure whether applying a varying load from the lights might confuse the charger. For instance, what will happen if it's in trickle charge mode and the battery voltage drops due to the lights draining it - will it switch to bulk charging again? And does the charger monitor the battery voltage during bulk charging, such that it might think there's a fault if the lights load reduces the net charging rate?

[ghost123uk]

noticed this [deckless head unit] too for £40.

I have started a thread re "deckless" head units here = https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=124375" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; so we can contrast and compare

[California Dreamin]

3.8 amps (max) isn't generally considered high enough amp hour to cope with potential discharge on the average camper. It might be true that under MOST circumstances this weak charger will cope but there remains the possibility that with the stereo running, lights going and the netbook charging, that you will be in a 'deficit' which could eventually lead to a flat battery despite being 'on charge'.
You only have to look at what the camper conversion people fit to see that they typically use 10 - 12amp leisure charging units to cover every eventuality.
Also.....what you will find by stressing this charger is that it will just keep cutting out (thermally) as it get too hot, not a very satisfactory situation.
So it may well cope under light load conditions but isn't really a fit and forget solution.

Martin

[Ian and Lins]

I see what your saying Martin, but if you have a battery charger plugged in on a camp site, wouldn't you be better with 'hook up'?

[CovKid]

Not sure I can grasp that one but there are quite a few (including me) that run an entirely 12v system so that if out in the wilds, I'm not reliant on mains. I must admit I wouldn't use the ALDI/LIDL ones for 240v to 12v since they're just not designed for it. This question must come up at least once a year on 80/80. These small chargers are designed to trickle charge a battery in storage, not be used as a source of power. Even bigger battery chargers lack the smoothness needed. There are much better things around to do a job like that.

I have a portable 17amp 240v to 12v converter to handle loads from a 12v system in that scenario but over the years I've tended to look for gadgets/equipment that are not power hungry in the first place to maximise power when I'm off the grid, up some mountain. If I'm really desperate for a 240v supply, I do have an inverter under the rear seat but choosing 12v gadgets with care is the best solution really. The small charger is a handy thing but its much better suited to its original purpose, as indeed is its longevity.

[Ralf85]

I have followed this with interest and it seems:

1) This charger has no use as a set up inside a van.
2) It can only be used at home and then only if the battery has a reasonable charge already, otherwise you have to use a conventional charger first, otherwise this one won't charge.

If this is the case what use is it and why is aldi selling it? Why not just sell a 'normal' charger? Confusing and seems like a waste of money!

[CovKid]

To be fair, its very cheap and does what it claims but it doesn't stop folk 'reasoning' that it'll do other things and that it'll be happy about it. It trickle charges and can resurrect the odd battery too so its a good bit of kit for the money. The only reason you sometimes need to use an ordinary charger is if the battery is so depleted, the LIDL one can't figure out what it is - not uncommon for 'intelligent' chargers. You can also leave this charger permanently hooked up to a battery not in use (all winter if you like) with no harmful effects at all whereas many budget 12v chargers could damage a battery if left on endlessly. It serves its purpose and does it well.

I've had mine for four years and it has been a godsend at times but a normal charger is also handy. Likewise, a 240v to 12v converter and a 12v to 240v inverter can also be useful - they all do different jobs. The LIDL one isn't MEANT to be used as a 240v to 12v supply and for that reason does not say so on the box. It does what it does.

[Sir Brixalot]

Is there any reason that this can't be used to charge the battery when hooked up?