Battery conditioner, do I need one?

Dr House

Dr House

Dr House

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Because of work and stuff i don't get to drive my car much, I have not driven it for about 6 weeks and will probably not get a chance for another 2 months.

So my question, should I get a battery conditioner or just get someone to switch on the car once per week?


I read a couple of stories about exploding batteries so was a little worried about using one.
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforu...0-porsches-exploding-batteries-be-warned.html

If I do need to use one which one should I get?
 
CTEK is what you need, go buy, attach and relax. A 911 will sap it's battery badly, 2 weeks in an my GT3 was struggling to start, if I got it wrong twice and it didn't catch I could pretty much forget it and start attaching the charger.

CTEK is a perfect, keeps it lovely and fresh for very little outlay.
 
Dr House said:
Yah the 911 does seem to sap the battery, my dad tried to start it today but it would not start.
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I remember when I mentioned this before I seemed to have loads of people with Fiesta's and Corsa's telling me they don't and mine was faulty. OK, it might not have been that base but you know what I mean. ;)

FACT - Most 911's drain their battery, it's why OPC's sell CTEK's yet call them Porsche-o-matics and charge 3 times as much!
 
Housey said:
CTEK is what you need, go buy, attach and relax. A 911 will sap it's battery badly, 2 weeks in an my GT3 was struggling to start, if I got it wrong twice and it didn't catch I could pretty much forget it and start attaching the charger.

CTEK is a perfect, keeps it lovely and fresh for very little outlay.
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This, Left a CTEK on one of my cars all winter and kept the battery perfect
 
Ok thanks I will look into getting a CTEK, its funny I would rather someone dives the car but no one in the house was interested:eek:
 
Why is that out of interest (911) - if the cause is known anyway? Security system or just shoddy design?
 
Dr House said:
Ok thanks I will look into getting a CTEK, its funny I would rather someone dives the car but no one in the house was interested:eek:
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I can do this for you No Problem :)

It's only a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive from Shropshire. Details in trust!
 
Rich_L said:
Why is that out of interest (911) - if the cause is known anyway? Security system or just shoddy design?
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I think it comes back to shoddy design, not that zee bosh would ever admit to that of course. I can't recall exactly but for the first 3 days the power draw it quite high for locking, alarms and a few other systems, then it goes into sleep mode and draws less, but it still draws. The 911 seems to take lots of charge to start too and if the battery isn't tip top those first 3 days can make it more challenging. When my car was left for say 5 days it would struggle to turn over, if I had it on trickle charge it was instant. Not all 911's suffer to the same extent but most if left for over 2 weeks will have problems starting if the battery is not in excellent condition.
 
TaKeN said:
I can do this for you No Problem :)

It's only a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive from Shropshire. Details in trust!
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If he's coming to Shropshire then I am closer and I know all about 911's morererer than you and I can then race Gibbo......I mean go for a steady battery charging drive with Gibbo.
 
Thanks for the info guys. There is not much point racing Gibbo in my car as its a Non S fat heavy Targa 4

Its also in the slowest colour nor do I have a big fat spoiler on the back so that must cost me another 20 bhp :D
 
My old CL500 used to draw huge amount of power when off. The system stayed "alive" to think about lowering the suspension after a significant period of inactivity amongst other things. To compensate the battery was the same as that fitted to many lorries and couldn't be bought from many places. I've never seen anything so big or heavy in any car. Clearly this approach is fine for such a heavy lumbering lump but not so great for a svelte sports car!
 
I use a CTEK on my Elise. This is another car with a short battery life from a combination of both an undersized battery and a large chunk of the electrics staying 'live' with the ignition off.

Despite a winter with the engine getting soaked and the car getting very little use, she fired up first twist of the car when asked.
 
ok so now that my battery is dead can I just connect this CTEK thing to it for a few weeks and it will charge it back up again?
 
Dr House said:
ok so now that my battery is dead can I just connect this CTEK thing to it for a few weeks and it will charge it back up again?
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It should recharge and then trickle charge and also life the battery, which is the key to the device. It cycles it to ensure best life and can be left for months on end without any issues which is why it is better than most chargers/tricklers.

Stick it on, should sort it in 24 hours.
 
You should get the CTEK MXS 5 model or above as these have more advanced charging circuits and also offer a mode that reconditions the battery to extend its life. I have used this on a leasure battery that was not holding its charge well and it did increase its holding capacity that the normal charge didn't do.
 
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