Many many of you use CTEK conditioners which seem to keep,the battery gremlins at bay. However, this needs access to a mains power source.

Heres a noob question. Why not install a second, maybe smaller battery in the boot with suitable conditioning equipment to top up the main battery, and this occasionally could be taken away from the car to properly charge up.

....just thinking aloud....

 

You can't use a 12 volt battery to power a CTEK because it operates on AC power. There are solar-powered battery maintainers, but they don't work when parked in a garage.

If you don't have access to AC power, then daily driving should be sufficient to keep your battery fully charged.

 

Or buy this:

 

So...what exactly is that NoCo item?

is this acting as my proposed second battery? Or as an interface between them?\\

 

Open the link to Amazon and read about it. It's a small, portable and powerful device that you can keep in your car to jump start it in case the battery is weak and won't start the car.

What are you going to do if you can't attach a CTEK and you have a dead battery?

 

Steven, I don't think you can fully charge one 12-volt battery by attaching it to another. Even if the external battery is fully charged, it will discharge as it is working to bring the car battery to a higher voltage. Once a rough equilibrium in voltage between the two batteries is reached - and this will occur at some point less than full charge - the external battery will no longer be able to charge the car battery. If someone on the forum has a different theory, I would love to hear it. I strive to make my mistakes clearly, so as to be more thoroughly corrected.

 

In your situation Steven, best to just bring the battery home and keep it charged and just deal with the resets when you reconnect. I keep one of the battery pack Stuart pointed to in my boot for an emergency but the last thing I would want to do is let my battery drain over winter and then use it. Sure, it will work but a drained battery just shortens its lifespan.

guys, in the FWIW category, I bought the lithium battery pack that I have back in October 2019. Exactly one year late, I brought it in the house to check it and it was still 100% charged. Pretty cool. Still haven't have to use it.

 

Sean, removing and reinstalling the battery may not be a practical solution for some owners as It may be too heavy and cumbersome to remove and reinstall.

In addition, keeping a battery inside your home on a maintainer is a bad idea. Charging produces hydrogen gas, which is colorless and odorless and highly explosive in a confined space. And there are more hazards - just Google "Is it safe to charge my car battery inside my house?"

 

Oh duh, what was I thinking? If he doesn't have a garage.......
Fully agree. My bad.