Motoring Discussion > Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good Accessories and Parts
Thread Author: Dulwich Estate II Replies: 11
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New Mon 10 Feb 20 20:28 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - Dulwich Estate II
Possibly a decent charger at a decent price.


www.hotukdeals.com/deals/aldi-auto-xs-car-battery-charger-not-ctek-but-similar-1299-3404430
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New Mon 10 Feb 20 21:28 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - R.P.
I have an Aldi charger somewhere - used to use it on the fleet of bikes that we had between us. Supplemented the Optimate ones. Now down to two main bikes and the C90 don't use it anymore but figure it has always worked as expected. Looks like a bargain.
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New Mon 10 Feb 20 21:38 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - Bromptonaut
Depends what you want to use them for.

We needed one for the caravan's leisure battery. Only one in Halfords range that would deal with requisite amp/hours was badged not by rating but for cars up to 3litres.

Batteries in cars with stop/start are another complication.
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New Tue 11 Feb 20 10:49 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - Manatee
The 'auto-xs' might be OK but it is not a CTEK so don't buy it on that basis. The similar appearance is deliberate of course.

Not to say it isn't OK. I have several Aldi/Lidl ones and a couple of CTEKs. I'm happier with the CTEK one of which has been on my MX-5 since November.
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New Wed 12 Feb 20 11:07 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - Clk Sec
Thanks for that DEII. I've been meaning to get my hands on one of these chargers for the past year or so.

Ordered from Aldi yesterday.
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New Wed 12 Feb 20 11:14 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - sherlock47
Be aware that some of these cheap clones cannot deal with seriously discharged batteries. You need to get the volts up using an old style non electronic charger first.
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New Wed 12 Feb 20 11:27 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - Clk Sec
>>Be aware that...

I'll be keeping my ancient Halfords charger - just in case!

Thanks.
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New Wed 12 Feb 20 12:40 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - VxFan
>> Be aware that some of these cheap clones cannot deal with seriously discharged batteries. You need to get the volts up using an old style non electronic charger first.

I think this applies to most, if not all trickle chargers, even some of the CTEC ones.

When LIDL previously started selling similar ones to these a few years ago, customers were returning them complaining they didn't work. Had they RTFM, they would have realised why. They are not a battery charger as such. They are for maintaining a battery that isn't used very much to help prevent it from going flat.
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New Wed 12 Feb 20 13:28 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - Manatee
Somebody had to have done a comparison of the LIDL and ALDI chargers:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1JIDYBmP7k

The LIDL 5 amp one "Ultimate Speed" seems a bit better built that the slightly lower rated ALDI "AutoXS" one. That, and one has FLIRT technology and one has FART.
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New Wed 12 Feb 20 15:40 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - bathtub tom
>> Be aware that some of these cheap clones cannot deal with seriously discharged batteries. You
>> need to get the volts up using an old style non electronic charger first.

I've one of the LIDL types that do seem to 'pulse charge' a completely flat battery - I put a meter across it to see.
Took ages, but it 'did what it said on the tin'.
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New Sat 15 Feb 20 17:13 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - hawkeye
The Aldi battery charger I have will not switch back on after the power is cut whereas the C-Tek does, I believe.
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New Sat 15 Feb 20 18:32 
 Battery Charger - Possible ctec clone - Looks Good - R.P.
My CTEK did after a planned power outage the other day.
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