Smart Chargers - detection of battery type

The ctek smart chargers need to be manually set.


Pedro

I purchased a Projecta charger over the others as you can manually select battery type and charging amps from 2 to 25amps

Thanks all ...

Alan - the advice from Ctek was "the manufacturers seem to keep it a closely guarded secret" which may indeed mean there is no secret to keep. I would think someone would let the cat out eventually.

Peter R - just for info I have a D250S Dual and there is no manual setting capability on that - so did you mean they "don't have to be manually set" as I think that is the norm for Ctek - without going and checking the whole range.

Ken,

I have both a Ctek 250S dual and a Ctek 240v 15A smart charger.
Neither of these chargers have a manual setting for different types of batteries. The "Normal" mode is suitable for all types of batteries according to the manual, with the exception clause stating and for "most GEL batteries".
They will both supply a maximum of 14.4 volts during the charging cycle, at varying current levels depending on the state of the battery to be charged, through the multistage charging cycle.

Some GEL batteries are stated to benefit from a higher charging voltage and in these cases, a charger should be selected that supports a higher charging voltage (I have heard 14.8v as one possibility) to suit the specific battery, but in all practical cases I would suspect a manual setting would be required.

I also have a Ctek 7A charger, which has a "Snowflake" mode which sets the input voltage to 14.7v.
"This setting is recommended for a battery at temperatures
< 5 degrees C. It is also recommended for many AGM batteries like Optima, and Odysseys. Consult your battery manufacturer when in doubt." (Stated in manual)
Bear in mind, this is a small 7 Amp charger.
The "snowflake mode is not on my newer MXS 15 I use for most charging at home. This charger, like the D250S Dual, has a temperature probe to measure battery temperature and provides an optimum charging resume for all types of batteries.

Allan B is correct, a "smart" charger isn't smart enough to know what type of battery it is charging..

If something like a Ctek claims that, they are wrong....what they do is set its parameters to suit a variety of battery types, which is not ideal compared to a manual set charger, but the Ctek's are still a good quality charger though.

KeninPerth,
I too have a 25am ctek and overlooked it.
My comments related to the ctek5 and ctek10 which unlike the 25 require manual setting to select the type of battery.

Pedro

Alan

What prompted me to start thinking about this was looking at various batteries for a specific project and found a manual workshop charger that had settings of 14.1V (Gel), 14.7V (SLA), 15.1V (Calcium). Accepting these are somewhat general and manufacturers will have their own recommendations per battery, they seem to be a reasonable guideline for the battery types based on other data I have read.

So then I went to the Ctek D250S Dual spec off their web site (ctek.com) and it states:

Battery types All types of 12V lead-acid batteries (WET, MF, Ca/Ca, AGM and GEL)

When I have had a Volt / Amp meter on my D250S Dual while charging various batteries I would almost be sure I have seen the same charging profile seems to occur all the time regardless of battery type.

Hence I was curious to see what the (Australian) support could tell me ad then I decided to start this thread and see what others thought.

Yes Ken,

I too have read Ctek's..... "All types of 12V lead-acid batteries (WET, MF, Ca/Ca, AGM and GEL)" and certainly they will charge all those battery types........ just not with the degree of accuracy that some may expect.
With the exception of Gel types, it probably does not matter too much.

And I would expect to observe a common charging profile for your D250S.

Thanks Graeme

I have to agree with Allan B that they do not actually do anything special - just use a charging profile that suits the most common range of battery types. Otherwise why would others put the extra buttons on their chargers - certainly not to reduce price.



Ken