Battery conditioner/charging

[richb77]

I have had bikes for some time and if i am not planning on using them for a while i tend to remove the batteries.

This can (as i am sure many will agree) be a complete pain in the ar$e.

I am looking at ways of hooking the bike up on a conditioner of sorts but didnt necesarily want main power (unless i have to).

Anyone use wind/solar trickle charges for this?

I only ask as i am a bit of a hobby idiot and love to build my own stuff.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is new ground for me .

 

[sproggy]

If the bike's stored indoors then a wind/solar generator probably won't be much use

Boat owners often use small wind or solar trickle chargers to keep their batteries topped up when the boat's not being used so you could check out boat supply places, but I don't know what method they use to avoid over-charging. Bear in mind that boat batteries will be a whole lot bigger (higher capacity) than a bike battery so their needs may be different.

For me I'd just say "why bother?" but each to his own.

 

[richb77]

I only bother as i forgot on my harley...MOT day and a dead (and i mean DEAD) £130 battery!

What about plug in trickle top ups for bikes? Not sure where or what to look for. Ideally i would want to "plug" the bike in.

Cheers

 

[Banjaxed]

Just in case...

Try an Odyssey battery with one of these.

Truly excellent!

 

[sproggy]

Optimate - that's what I and thousands of other people use:

http://www.optimate-sp.com/

 

[roddy]

I've used a simple plug top charger for years and it's never let me down, even recovered batterys that a Optimate said where fecked.

My routine when the nike s being laid up for awhile is

clean the battery especially between the contacts
keep in a dry area if possible
every 6 weeks charge the battery for 24 hrs using plug top charger, then disconnect.

once the dark miserable winters months are out they way go for a scoot and use battery as intended

I only remove the battery if I know the bike is being laid up for more than 3 months.

it's simple routine but it's always worked for me

you could always look at Maplins for solar chargers but I'd be surprised if they put out enough juice as you'll need about 14v to charge a battery.

 

[richb77]

sweet cheers guys.

 

[Infiltrator]

I've used a simple plug top charger for years and it's never let me down, even recovered batterys that a Optimate said where fecked.

Interestin..... i dont favour Optimate/ Accumate any more as i have had one of each die on me after not very long !! (Replacement Accumate still goin fine 6 yrs later though)

The one i DO favour (seems more useful than Optimate/ Accumate as it has switchable Bike/ Car chargin rates) is one i bought from Lidl for TWELVE QUID and seems to perform excellently.

Sold "spare" one i bought to friend & he is well chuffed with it too. There is some suspicion ont web that this may be made (or same design internally) as the CTEK equivalent. If you look on Weebay for "Challenge Xtreme" chargers you will prob find & i think its the same as Lidl one.

So if yr budget limited consider one of these !!

 

[elevensies]

i use one of the cheapo lidl ones and its equally as good as my dads old optimate.