As I’m retired I don’t do as much driving as I used to, and last winter my car battery went flat on me a couple of times
I sorted it by borrowing a booster from the garage round the corner but for this winter I thought I’d get my own
A quick Surf shows that there are a lot of models available, and I don’t really know where to start (pun?)
So any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated
And from my point of view, I would prefer to buy from my local Halfords rather than mail order, unless there are good reasons no to
It’s not desperately urgent yet, but obviously before the really cold weather
My car is a 2005, low mileage, 1,3l manual, petrol, Fiesta
Is the car in a garage, if so . and you have power, then a trickle charger would be better, you can leave it on indefinitely as they are designed just to charge what’s needed, if you do need a battery booster( I assume you mean a jump starter) then visit Halfords and ask their advice
Are you within striking distance of a Toolstation (sometimes within Wickes)?
They have a good low current charger which I found to be excellent for keeping the battery in good state during cold weather. Einhell Smart Battery Charger 220-240V (toolstation.com)
The car is kept outside. The charger is inside the house. The 12v charger leads go out through a hole in the wall and are coiled up inside a waterproof box ready for when I need to charge the battery. Obviously not an instant thing but if I know the car will be needed, I connect the leads some time before. It could be left connected permanently (my brother used to do this with same charger) but that’s not necessary in my case.
I live in a first floor flat, and besides being on the ground floor, the car park is outside and too far away for an extension lead, so it must be a booster pack
that is the one I have as well . I have not fixed the push clips onto the battery terminals though, just used the normal clamps. Not the cheapest on the market but after having several different types this I found was the best. It also is ok for cars with stop/start that neeed an AGM charger
I have the same Trickle Charger as Mart for my Fiesta purchased from Halfords with an extra lead CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger
The car is kept on the drive , it has a lead permanently connected to the battery.
When I want to charge the car I plug the charger into a socket in the garage then pass the lead through a hole in the garage door. I prop the car bonnet open just an inch with a hoe. I have also passed the lead through the letter box, I would not want to leave the charger outside .
I charge the car about every 8 weeks leaving it connected for about 8 hours or until the light turns green. I have found it easy to use and very good.
I use a deep cycle (caravan) battery, which only gets used properly a few times a year. So I use a cheap 10 watt solar charger. No electricity to worry about, no fire risk & a battery that is now always ready to go.
I am not sure how the cigarette lighter connected chargers work, if the cigarette lighter only works when the ignition is on. My suspicion, would be, the lighter socket is isolated when the ignition is off & thus will not charge via it. But that is guess work.
Do you regularly have to jump start your car Zulu?
What you are really looking for is a jump starter for a flat battery, trickle or battery chargers are usually for plugging in to maintain/charge a battery,as you don’t have access to a power point you might be limited in your choices, yes you can get jump starters but you have to make sure you keep that charged, in your case, it might be easier to go for a long drive to keep the battery charged…. how old is your battery? it might be better to find a local battery specialist who can check and advise you regarding your battery
I made a solar battery charger for emergency use but if you have mains power handy all you need is 13 volts to stick on your battery to keep it charged while your car is not being used - anything that can supply an amp is sufficient to trickle charge the battery.
Charger manufacturers have made “sophisticated” battery chargers that feature all sorts of types of charging automatically but they are just expensive and totally unnecessary. Basically bullshit devices for this purpose.
If you have a lead acid battery either flooded or AGM then a regulated 12.9 - 13 volts will do the job without gassing or buggering up your battery. I bought one with two stages of charging (nonsense) for about $25 (13 pounds) pay more and you are just throwing your money away.
If you don’t believe me just think how “Sophisticated” is the charging system on your car.
If your car has a separate 12volt socket outlet, then I would expect that to be live even when the ignition is off. I know with our car it stays live at the rear seats of the car.
If no live socket, that one with a OBD plug will feed direct to your battery. That’s the diagnostic socket somewhere below your dash.
Although the car is 16 or 17 years old, it has only done 31,800 miles and is in good condition.
I had a new battery fitted by the AA in autumn 2020, so that is hardly 12 months old
But I’d already had the car 4 or 5 years with the battery in it when I bought the car, so that would obviously mean it was at least that old
I had a battery charger when I lived in a semi-D house with an attached garage and a drive, but when I retired I downsized to this flat
I have jump leads and know how to use them, but that would mean getting help from the neighbours
And running a long lead from the hall to the car is simply not on - it would mean running the lead from the hall, through the letter box, across the end of the cul-de-sac & public road, and then further to the communal car park
I tried going for a regular longish drive, but that’s a bit tedious during during the winter, and I could still get caught out, as I have done in the past
As I mentioned, I’ve used a car battery booster pack a couple of times, and that seems the best option.
I have my own, lockable, utilities cupboard with a socket downstairs in the hall, so the booster could live in there, permanently connected till I need it, depending on what the instructions say
And you never know, one of my neighbours might be grateful for it, one cold morning
Right…I’ve had a browse round Halford’s website, and my favourite choice is -
NOCO GB20 500A Jump Starter = £79
It’s quite small; rated at charging petrol engines up to 4l; has a torch and a USB socket
Considering the money I’ve saved during Lockdown through not going anywhere, the price is reasonable enough - and when you need it, you need it
I’ll go to Halfords probably tomorrow, and see what they have to say
