A mate (with an Elise) mentioned that he used a battery conditioner to keep his battery topped up and ready for use. Thinking that this might be the answer to those

"It's a nice day, I'll fire up the S - bugger, the battery's flat!" moments,

I wondered if anyone has had any experience of battery conditioners.

 

If you have to use a battery conditioner you're not using the car enough.

 

I recently had to get a charger to get the wifes RAV4 going after she'd left it on the drive for a few weeks. Got the Helfrauds

 

Jumpleads

 

From my research there appered to be two market leaders in battery conditioners.
CTEK and Accumate.
I went for the CTEK 3600 which I bought from Demon Tweeks.

A battery conditioner is a much more sophisticated bit of kit than a simple battery charger and apart from charging can help to recover partially sulphated batteries. Pulse charging will also help to lengthen battery life.

The CTEK model has a lead which can be permanently attached to the battery, so that the unit can be plugged in quickly, and it's safe to connect to the battery without disconnecting the battery from the car.

My CTEK kept my battery in top condition over winter, and I would very highly recommend one to anyone who doesn't use their car as a daily driver.

HTH

 

My brother uses Accumate on his Fez, good piece of kit.

 

Cheers for the helpful comments guys (and yours AE ) .Wish I could make the S the daily drive! And jump leads would need to be about 15 metres long! Will investigate the CTEK. Cheers P 1.

 

I used to use an Optimate with my TVR - worked really well

 

Does it keep the battery soft and manageable?

I think the cigarette lighter ones won't work in the S, unless you rewire the socket to be permanently on.

 

Damn! Hadn't thought of that. And have just ordered the CTEK with cigarette lighter adapter.