Battery charger bargain from aldi

[California Dreamin]

Apart from what has been stated already.....

martin

[Sir Brixalot]

I should have been clearer. I'd only connect it when out walking,in the pub etc and the so there wouldn't be any surge in demand. Can't see any reason why not to use this to top up battery and it doesn't take up much space.

[nevill3]

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

Well, you could use it to replenish your batteries overnight whilst on hook up but the consensus seems to suggest that it isn't suited to continually supply a "working supply" of 12v due to it's limited capacity. Unfortunately it's low ampage means that unless your batteries only need a quick top up even an overnight charge would not be enough if you have a lot of high power 12v devices running through the day.

My biggest gain has been to replace all my old lighting with either complete 12v LED lights or candescent bulb equivalent LED's as sold by Jed. Also don't use an inverter to charge your laptop or other 240v mains plugged devices, find a suitable automotive charger designed for your product (e.g. the in car cigarette lighter chargers you can buy for your mobile phone etc.)

[nevill3]

I guess I need to type faster next time

[Sir Brixalot]

Good advice re the LEDs-going for them.

[CovKid]

Thats certainly the direction to head in. You can do much to reduce the chances of flattened batteries by minimising the load to start with. Now call me old-fashioned but when I'm on site I'm not aver appreciative of some idiot with a mega amp chucking bass beats at me all night anyway, but things like that can deplete a battery in no time and guess who isn't going to give him a jump start in the morning

Seriously though, the need to reduce energy consumption has done a lot for the auto trade too, particularly with lighting. I actually use rechargeable AA battery LED lanterns most of the time as I've found they'll run for a week or two even if left on all night (and far more portable) so I can't see the sense in using the internal electrics for lighting other than LED strips. I save the leisure for my mini laptop (which fortunately doesn't need 19v to power it - just 12v) and the HUDL which in conjunction with an all-you-can-eat phone contract will keep me entertained no worries. The Hudl will also run some 10 hours continually running video, unlike those portable DVD players and a monitor which consume oodles. I think the trick is to do the homework and dump anything that eats juice, that way charging isn't really an issue in the first place.

I've yet to experiment as to whether my small solar battery charger is man enough to charge up the HUDL during the day - would be cool if it can do that. Both the CTEK and the LIDL charger can be left in permanently - if used correctly, but ideally you want a circuit that just leaves the battery and charger hooked up together in complete isolation. Chargers are not smooth enough for many gadgets, nor were they designed for that purpose. There are however some great power supplies (as Ghost123 will testify) that will run 12v stuff on hookup (ie bench power supplies) and it just needs a switching system that will allow for whatever power supply you choose at any given moment.

I do have a hookup cable but I've tended to avoid it and go for a low consumption 12v system. If worse comes to worst theres always a candle and dominoes....

I suppose the final question is why bother having a leisure battery anyway if you're not pulling enough from it, but I tend to see it as a power source for the overnight heater and when all else has failed rather than something I have to worry about. In most instances, providing the above is observed, you could get away with a cheaper starter battery, and many do.