Anybody tried the Motobatt dual charger?

[Aviatore]

I'm running a large step down transformer to my US battery charger. As its a 2k watt capable transformer (for the power tool peak requirements etc) it is a huge waste of electricity to leave on for such a small application. Having to turn it on and off defeats the purpose of a battery minder soooooo....

I wanted to know if the motobatt MBC2B dual charger or similar has been used by anybody here. Looks like it shuts off when not needed and reactivates when it is. Did you like it, dislike it, know of a source for a cheap one, have one to sell etc?

http://www.motobatt.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=81

Best price so far

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOTOBATT-2-BANK-12-VOLT-2-AMP-AUTO-ATV-MOTORCYCLE-CHARGER-SAFETY-GLASSES-/201411937862?hash=item2ee5164646

[J.P]

Not used that one but there are a good few of the newer 'clever' chargers around on the market from manufacturers like CTEK, OXFORD, etc. I think a must if you're going to leave the bike for more than a couple of weeks over winter, especially if you have an alarm on the bike.

[alan s4]

I use one of these......

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered-12v-15w-battery-auto-trickle-charger-l58bf

I don't have access to power in my garage so a mains charger is not an option. I've got 2 mounted on the roof to keep my bikes charged.

[Aviatore]

I think a must if you're going to leave the bike for more than a couple of weeks over winter.

Looks to be the case... :Furious:

Insurance, £470 for both, £480 for just one... (how that works I'll never know), registration and road tax £250, taking my old french A1 license to a full UK one £450... so its going to be a slower process than I had hoped it would be... don't want to buy batteries next year.

Thanks for the recommendations though, I've got mains in the garage but that solar power idea is amazing. Cheaper initial purchase and no running costs! Any downsides?

[J.P]

Cheaper initial purchase and no running costs! Any downsides?

Haha, UK Sunshine :)

[Darren69]

Yea, lack of

[Aviatore]

Don't know what you're talking about I'm looking out the window and I can see the sun... riiiiiight.... wait for it.... wait for it.... nnnnnot yet... ok now, and its gone.

Just figured out how to solve that, I'll run a high power sun lamp from the garage mains!

[marchesini]

http://www.motobatt.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=81

Best price so far

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOTOBATT-2-BANK-12-VOLT-2-AMP-AUTO-ATV-MOTORCYCLE-CHARGER-SAFETY-GLASSES-/201411937862?hash=item2ee5164646

That looks cool. I'm going to change all my batteries over to MotoBatt (I think and this looks perfect for me) I've gone off the Optimate so would be interested in getting one of these.

Keep me updated as I need to buy a matching battery as well.

S

[Aviatore]

Why did you go off Optimate?

What I've read (not an expert) about AGM batteries though is that they don't like higher voltages that regular lead acid batteries could deal with. Supposedly a higher voltage, anything over 14v, turns the water in the electrolyte to hydrogen and oxygen. In a regular battery this wasn't a problem as you just topped off the battery. In a sealed battery there's supposed to be a platinum (check fact) catalyst to turn it back to water which isn't unlimited so you can dry your battery out

At least thats what the "experts" online say is the reason for needing smart chargers... Sometimes I wonder if its worth it, if it didn't require disassembling the tank to access a regular battery, it seems like less maintenance than a maintenance free battery!

[marchesini]

Why did you go off Optimate?

I've had a few and have 2 broken ones in a box somewhere. For whatever reason, my battery never seemed to show a full charge either - regardless of how long it was left on charge for.

So out goes the baby & bathwater. Goodbye Yuasa & Optimate, hello to the Motobatt family. At least that's the plan.

The other massive benefit is that it seems you can charge more than one bike up at a time - I have 3 Ducatis and if I could trickle charge all of these from a single charger - happy days!

S

[alan s4]

"Lack of Sunlight" not an issue for solar. I live in Glasgow, not exactly the sunshine capital of the UK, and both batteries (Motobatt and Yuasa) are always fully charged.

[steeevvvooo]

I have a single motobatt (big boy model) in the for sale section. Comes with two cables so I just switched the charger over every couple of weeks when I popped into the garage for something.

Not your ideal solution if you want to keep them both connected permanently, but significantly cheaper! :)