Aldi battery charger.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by Dorset Bob

OK, but absorbent glass mass batteries ...

AGM stands for Absorbent Glass Mat; a means by which the acid is retained.

By the way, one technical website says that these batteries are sensitive to high temperature so should not be used in an engine compartment.

Simon

[Dorchester2]

Mmmmh a genuine intended AGM charger for £12.99?
I'm very doubtful...

I fear it might be a gimmick like my so called xenon halogen bulbs, 6 bulbs for less than £20... Good halogen one indeed, but likely not so powerful as a true xenon one and not at that price.

Likewise a kind of AGM charger on the cheap isn't worth a true real one that is sensibly more expensive. I've got one (with AGM in capital letters on the packaging) that doesn't overcharge when the full charge is reached and there are several positions as well according you've got a standard battery, an AGM one, a 6V or a 12V one et cetera.

Quality is worth a price, and you always get for what you pay IMHO.
Not so many actual bargains...

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Dorchester2

Mmmmh a genuine intended AGM charger for £12.99?
I'm very doubtful...

I fear it might be a gimmick like my so called xenon halogen bulbs, 6 bulbs for less than £20... Good halogen one indeed, but likely not so powerful as a true xenon one.

Likewise a kind of AGM charger on the cheap isn't worth a true real one that is sensibly more expensive. I've got one that doesn't overcharge when the full charge is reached and there are several positions as well according you've got a standard battery, an AGM one, a 6V or a 12V one et cetera.

Quality is worth a price, and you always get for what you pay IMHO.

Thank you, your sentiments align exactly with mine.

I bought a Lidl microprocessor controlled charger about 18 months ago just to see what it was like internally given all the glowing reprots on the forum. All I will say is that only my CTEK and Optimate maintenance chargers are connected to my car batteries in-situ.

The cheap one is reserved for the odd occasion that I want to give a maintenance charge to the ride-on lawnmower battery or the spare battery in the garage as these are completely isolated from any of the vehicle's electronics.

[Dorset Bob]

Originally Posted by SD1too

AGM stands for Absorbent Glass Mat; a means by which the acid is retained.

By the way, one technical website says that these batteries are sensitive to high temperature so should not be used in an engine compartment.

Simon

Thanks Simon, I have fixed the typo.

[bazyerma]

Hi

I have been using various Lidl battery charges for my past 15 years of motoring (currently have 4), Bought my first cheapy for £17.99 in 2000. Used it on most my cars and bikes and never had a new battery i have bought fail ( only on old battery in cars or bikes I bought)

I currently have 2 on my bikes (my original and one bought a few weeks ago) I have another 2, one on My 1975 Triumph and the our on my 2001 BMW track car and never had an issue!

Maybe I am just lucky, I have even had them review completely flat battery with no issues.

Only had one battery fail out of the blue (my Ducati St4S), but at did look like it had been truly cooked by the engine!

Regards

Barry

[COLVERT]

Originally Posted by mss

It is, but the term "lead acid battery" was in use for many tens of years before AGM was invented. So if you see "lead acid" mentioned in an application, it may or may not include AGM.

Would you recommend that someone uses their 1970's 8A simple "Lead Acid Battery Charger" on an "Lead acid AGM battery"?

I would hope not!

No ------

Unless it was a really BIG battery.--

[Ross R75]

Originally Posted by Dorchester2

Mmmmh a genuine intended AGM charger for £12.99?
I'm very doubtful...

I fear it might be a gimmick like my so called xenon halogen bulbs, 6 bulbs for less than £20... Good halogen one indeed, but likely not so powerful as a true xenon one and not at that price.

Likewise a kind of AGM charger on the cheap isn't worth a true real one that is sensibly more expensive. I've got one (with AGM in capital letters on the packaging) that doesn't overcharge when the full charge is reached and there are several positions as well according you've got a standard battery, an AGM one, a 6V or a 12V one et cetera.

Quality is worth a price, and you always get for what you pay IMHO.
Not so many actual bargains...

You're a salesman's wet dream. Any modern battery charger will pulse charge at a slower rate and enter maintenance mode when it determines that the battery is fully charged. It's not a particularly complicated appliance. If you want to pay over the odds, go right ahead.

The Aldi item is totally fine.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Ross R75

You're a salesman's wet dream. Any modern battery charger will pulse charge at a slower rate and enter maintenance mode when it determines that the battery is fully charged. It's not a particularly complicated appliance. If you want to pay over the odds, go right ahead.

The Aldi item is totally fine.

This is the problem with the public deluding themselves that when they buy cheap, they get quality.

Place the leads and connectors from a CTEK and an ALDI charger next to each other and even a sight-impaired person will be able to see the vast differences in quality.

Equally, run Chinese origin and say Infenion MOSFETS side by side and see which gives up prematurely.

As it happens, my ALDI (or was it lidl?) charger started to spark when the connection is first made to the battery within 6 months of purchased and relatively light use. This is the result of a components failure that I need to look at one day. Would I connect such a cheap charger to to any of my cars where if the electronics fail the car would be right off? You can guess the answer!

[Ross R75]

Originally Posted by mss

This is the problem with people deluding themselves that when they buy cheap, they get quality.

Place the leads and connectors from a CTEK and an ALDI charger next to each other and even a sight-impaired person will be able to see the vast differences in quality.

Equally, run Chinese origin and say Infenion MOSFETS side by side and see which gives up prematurely.

It's a cheap battery charger, I think the OP is well aware of what he's buying. When Aldi start selling Hadron Colliders for £3.50, that's the time to start worrying more about what chips are inside and whether the connectors are plated with reclaimed cold pressed latinum or not.

[Dorchester2]

Originally Posted by Ross R75

You're a salesman's wet dream. Any modern battery charger will pulse charge at a slower rate and enter maintenance mode when it determines that the battery is fully charged. It's not a particularly complicated appliance. If you want to pay over the odds, go right ahead.

The Aldi item is totally fine.

Maybe... but you made me smile.
Mind you we are talking about dedicated AGM chargers or at least chargers able to do a truly good job on AGM batteries.

Did I write the more expensive the better? No or I was misread.
But buying the cheapest anyone can maximize his chance to get junk.
I often saw individuals or local authorities going for the cheapest then after a short while forced to buy what should have been bought in the first place. In the end the mean & tight solution may sometimes happen to be the more expensive. And I must confess that not being ever so clever I was sometimes trapped in that silly game... But I'm a bit of a grown up now!

Anyway talking of electronics, I'm willingly inclined to trust you when you say that a rather simple device may comes at a modest cost... as a shed work.

However I'm sure you know:
- that there are different categories & qualities in electronic components from the strongest & the more reliable to the weakest,
- that the devil lies in details and it takes time & money to built a good & reliable device,
- that any product should be carefully tested before going to the store,
- and that's something to copy any device without any particular deep skills or knowledge and another one to pay even a modest study board with a few qualified engineers to innovate & upgrade what existed previously. Without that we would have been stuck in the iron age...

Back to the main subject an actual true AGM battery is rather expensive: never ever did I see any way under £130 with a sufficient power exceeding the minimum value for our 75 & ZT. Mine is a 70A 720Ah Banner one (Austrian). But Bosch or Varta can do that as well but at a similar price.

What would be the use with so expensive a battery to go for a cheap rubbish charger?
I demand the best for my pride & joy!
And my 25 has got an AGM Banner battery as well.