After serious thinking Tinkerer wrote :
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Tinkerer wrote:
Keep an eye on Lidl and Aldi. They do a proper charger - 4 amps or so -
which switches to a maintenance mode when the battery is charged. Cost
about 13 quid. They are on sale every few months.


Sounds similar to my "Winfield" from Woolworths. Well over forty
years old, choice of 6 or 12 volt, High or Low charge and still works
as well as ever.

Nothing like that. It is a sophisticated SMPS device which monitors the
actual battery voltage, and changes from charging to a maintenance charge
automatically so can be left on indefinitely.
Other thing is although the quoted output seems modest, it delivers that
all the time the battery is being charged (until it switches). Unlike many
which claim a much higher maximum but drop to a low figure quickly.


The old Woolies one has an ammeter on the front so you can momitor it. When
the battery is flat it bangs out the full 4 amps but as the charge level in
the battery increases this drops until it is half an amp or less. I assume
that is some form of what you call a maintenance charge. I have to say that
for a cheapo Woolies purchase it does seem to be very good and certainly has
longevity (better than Woolies in fact).

Not all all the same thing. Your chargers output drops simply because
the voltage difference becomes less. The Lidl ones charge rate drops,
because and only because the battery is fully charged. Your charger
will eventually damage the battery, the Lidl type one will not cause
damage even if left on permanently. The latest Lidle unit is really
rather good - I bought two a month or two back.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk