Battery Chargers In Thailand

[ratcatcher]

Hi, I live in Phichit province and I have an old Absaar battery charger, looks like this, that's packed up.    

It's now time to buy a new one. I need some advice as to what is available and any opinions on LED displays  vs  standard amp meter.

Lazada has a lot of Chinese units labelled in English & Chinese for the Thai market??? 

I don't need to use it often and am wondering if there's anything half decent for between B1000 to B1500, or is that wasting money?

Any comments appreciated. 

rc

[JAS21]

CTEK 5.0 and you can't go wrong.  Can do both car and motor cycle, regular and AGM batteries. Very simple to use. You can leave it connected all the time and it will 'top up' as and when .... google it... I have had mine for many years and rotate around the cars.

[impulse]

There were quite a few shops selling battery chargers in the Chinatown building that sold everything to make your car or scooter smell better and look like it's going faster.  Lots to choose from and a wide price range.  I don't remember which one I bought, but I didn't pay over 1500 baht and it worked great.  (Though mine had an easy duty because my Mitsu Cyclone just needed a charge if I left it sitting idle for over 2 months after forgetting to disconnect the battery ground) 

 

That would lead me to believe that they're fairly ubiquitous at auto parts stores. 

 

If you're in BKK Chinatown, this building is worth a visit, along with 100 auto related shops in the neighborhood.  Right around the corner from Khlong Thom Market.  If you live near a building like that, it's one more excuse to wander around and ogle the goodies.

 

 13.747580°  100.508030°

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by impulse

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, ratcatcher said:

Any comments appreciated.

Mine in Muang Kao lecky shop cost me 350 baht it's a Thai one does wet or dry batteries, the green light goes off when the batteries charged.

[pineapple01]

Caution. Mine made my I Phone explode.

[ratcatcher]

My appreciation to all who replied. I am actually looking for a car battery 12v charger in the B1000 to B1500 range,not for any other kind of batteries.

[salsajapan]

15 hours ago, JAS21 said:

CTEK 5.0 and you can't go wrong.  Can do both car and motor cycle, regular and AGM batteries. Very simple to use. You can leave it connected all the time and it will 'top up' as and when .... google it... I have had mine for many years and rotate around the cars.

 

are they officially sold in Thailand at correct price ?

 

 

[transam]

Bloke is a bit boring in this vid but I thought interesting.....

 

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

12 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

My appreciation to all who replied. I am actually looking for a car battery 12v charger in the B1000 to B1500 range,not for any other kind of batteries.

I bought a "no name" Made in Thailand charger (can't find the picture).

6/12/24 V, up to 20 A. Max current selector and an amp-meter.

Cost 1400 and does the job.

Where?

I went to the district town and looked around at the usual hardware shops (mom&pop type).

There is plenty of such devices available.

 

This is an example picture from the net. Typical "tinplate box" design.

 

[KhunBENQ]

As written the above was a sample picture from the net.

So I took my tincase to the photostudio

 

[Coremouse]

If don't use often you don't need anything decent. Could live with a Tesco battery charger, cheap, slow, but do the 12-14v charging job. 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Coremouse

[Tuvoc]

On 6/1/2020 at 3:45 PM, JAS21 said:

CTEK 5.0 and you can't go wrong.  Can do both car and motor cycle, regular and AGM batteries. Very simple to use. You can leave it connected all the time and it will 'top up' as and when .... google it... I have had mine for many years and rotate around the cars.

 

Yes I have one of these in the UK, brilliant units. You just need to check the maximum capacity battery it is suited for. 110Ah is the maximum for this charger it seems. My 3.0 petrol engined car has a 95Ah battery, a big diesel probably has a bigger battery.

 

https://www.ctek.com/uk/products/car/mxs-5-0-uk

Edited June 5, 2020 by Tuvoc

[pikao]

https://www.lazada.co.th/-i220809174-s336800464.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1

 

Bought one like this two years ago (was about 1500 Baht by then) works well, easy to operate and comes with a function

to start the car directly from the device (could start even without or completely empty battery)

[JAS21]

If you want to understand a little more about battery Charging have a  look at the Battery University site. TBH buying any product that says on it's box 'Genuine Goods' would maybe make me think a little. 

 

But as you guys above say, buying a cheaper product seems to have worked out ok. 

 

For interest ...Mercedes sell what 'very much looks like a CTEK 5.0' !! for a much inflated price ...as do Ferrari for a massively inflated price, but they have painted it red ...   CTEK  showed me pictures of both Merc and Ferrari chargers at a past Motor Show when I was 'picking their brains' about battery charging. On some modern cars you have to be a little bit careful about the max voltage that you apply to their very expensive electronics ... 

 

Also what are called 'supercars' ...many have the 5.0 actually built into the car so it just need plugging in when you get home.

 

Though someone may be interested …….

[pineapple01]

How long are You leaving these Vehicles. Just crossed my mind that apart from charging a Fork Lift ive never used one in 60 years. We could leave Wifes cars for 3 months, and they never failed to start.

[canopy]

One other product to consider is portable hand carried gas generators often have a 12V DC output that can be used to charge car batteries. This can be handy if you need a charge in a hard to access area with no power source nearby.  And the generator can double as a backup generator for your house during power outages. One product does both functions.