Battery charging
As vehicle technology continues to develop, more and more strain is placed on the battery. As a result, battery charging has become an important part of vehicle maintenance and should be as important as when checking tyre pressures or oil levels.
There are various types of battery charger currently available – mostly trickle chargers and smart chargers. But, smart chargers do present a safer and more efficient way of prolonging and maintaining the life of your battery.
When batteries have reached their optimum charge levels, trickle chargers will simply send a level of power for a certain period of time and after that switch itself off, and continue to repeat this process until you remove it from the battery. This battery charging method can potentially overcharge your battery, which will cause it to dry out maybe even start gassing, and could in the end kill the battery.
Smart chargers from CTEK move into pulse maintenance mode when the battery is charged fully. Rather than sending a charge and calculating what your battery needs, the CTEK charger will constantly communicate with the battery, and react and charge only when needed.
In the pulse maintenance mode, your battery is allowed to naturally discharge itself to a specific level before being charged fully once again. Not only does this avoid the risk of overcharging but, as the battery is being exercised as it would be during normal use, the lifespan of the battery is extended considerably.
About battery charging
The batteries most important function is to store power so that the starter motor will work and make the engine start. Once the engine runs, the battery will work as a buffer in between the vehicle's electronic components and the alternator, it will keep the voltage steady, but also to absorb any eventual pike of tension. The alternator gets its power from the engine and it charges the battery when the engine runs.
Modern vehicles have a lot of electronic components that consume battery power even if the vehicle is parked. Depending on the battery’s age, the temperature and some other factors, a battery that is healthy should hold enough power to start the vehicle up, even though it has not been used for a couple of months. However, a lot of things can drain the battery faster and also prevent it from being able to start the vehicle. A small thing like leaving one light on could drain the battery overnight and destroy your day. That is why battery charging is handy, helping you make the vehicle driveable again within no time.
Batteries actually lose power if the vehicle is only standing parked and also when they are kept outside the vehicle. This is why battery charging is handy for owners of vehicle and repair shops.
Vehicle manufacturers have introduced more technology to the products, meaning batteries have evolved. A flooded acid battery is still popular however, EFB (Enhanced Flooded Batteries) and AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries are slowly becoming more common, especially on vehicles that have start-stop systems and also luxury vehicles. As our batteries become more and more complex, buying high-quality battery chargers are important to ensure proper charge and to avoid damaging the battery. Battery charging with CTEK is a safe and smart solution since we use electronics that are state-of-the-art to charge many different types of vehicle batteries safely.
Before you start with your battery charging, you need to know what kind of power output that is needed; for example, small utility vehicles usually and cars work with lead-acid batteries 12V, and heavy-duty vehicles work with lead-acid batteries 24V. You also need to consider what type of battery it is and if you want the battery charging process to maintain your battery, among other functions.
A few vehicles now have lithium-ion batteries that use LiFePO₄ technology, and there are vehicle owners that are choosing to retro-fit the vehicles with this type of technology due to the high performance. These batteries require a another type of battery charging which can be found for example in CTEK Lithium XS, CS ONE, Powersport and CS FREE.