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you should check their webpage out for Down Unda. It looks like they have different models for Australia than the US. Also, if you want their 5 year warranty, you need to buy from an authorized reseller (i.e. probably not ebay). Looks like the mxs 3.8, 5.0 or 7.0 would be good choices depending on your needs and the cost of each.
you should check their webpage out for Down Unda. It looks like they have different models for Australia than the US. Also, if you want their 5 year warranty, you need to buy from an authorized reseller (i.e. probably not ebay). Looks like the mxs 3.8, 5.0 or 7.0 would be good choices depending on your needs and the cost of each.
I second the recommendation of Battery Tender. I use it for cars in winter storage. Easy to use and is a smart approach versus a constant trickle.
Originally Posted by Maallen40
Try this one.....my job takes me away from home for weeks at a time, sometimes up to two months....I plug this onto my E550 and forget about it. Other than the car losing all of its air after 6 weeks of sitting, it starts right up....plus I think I paid about 50 bucks for it
Just curious on the battery tender - have you all ever checked the output voltage with a multimeter while it was charging? I never did test those models while I was shopping.
cheers mate! not really familiar with the terminologies of amps and hours when it comes to batteries. ill look on ebay for either the 330 or the 4.3 on ebay but if you have a link either trough ebay or direct thatll be great. thanks!
Amp hours is how much total power or watts the battery has. I think there's some spec sheet that says to multiply the reserve capacity in minutes by .4167 in order to get amp hours. There's one AGM battery that's listed as 120 minutes reserve capacity so that works out to about 50 amp hours. In theory if the battery was completely dead which isn't likely, it would take 25 hours at 2 amps to fully charge up the battery. Lots of other variables like resistance and other losses affect total time, but that's the basic idea. So if you had a 7 amp charger, it would only take a little over 7 hours. Something like a .8 amp charger might take days if that to fully charge a battery if it can really do it. That's why there's rapid chargers that can charge at 20-50 amps and just take an hour or two to charge, but that might not be good for the battery, anything under 10 amps should be fine.
the website you attached does not have Australia but this ebay site says theyre an authorized dealer and comes with 5 yr warranty. if you reckon itll work with our cars ill give it a go.
ill just use it to charge the battery when cars are not in use, mainly for the 63. another thing is I installed dashcam on our cars so just in case battery dies on me when at home. also, would this help prolong the battery life? thanks!
Amp hours is how much total power or watts the battery has. I think there's some spec sheet that says to multiply the reserve capacity in minutes by .4167 in order to get amp hours. There's one AGM battery that's listed as 120 minutes reserve capacity so that works out to about 50 amp hours. In theory if the battery was completely dead which isn't likely, it would take 25 hours at 2 amps to fully charge up the battery. Lots of other variables like resistance and other losses affect total time, but that's the basic idea. So if you had a 7 amp charger, it would only take a little over 7 hours. Something like a .8 amp charger might take days if that to fully charge a battery if it can really do it. That's why there's rapid chargers that can charge at 20-50 amps and just take an hour or two to charge, but that might not be good for the battery, anything under 10 amps should be fine.
ah cheers mate! appreciate the added info. kinda like having the slow and fast charger for my RCs is that right?
if you can look into the last ebay link i posted. would that be enough to do the job at a reasonable time? but most importantly, wouldnt do any damage on my electricals. thanks guys!
Try this one.....my job takes me away from home for weeks at a time, sometimes up to two months....I plug this onto my E550
and forget about it. Other than the car losing all of its air after 6 weeks of sitting, it starts right up....plus I think I paid about 50 bucks for it
By air I hope you mean the tires and not airmatic...
ah cheers mate! appreciate the added info. kinda like having the slow and fast charger for my RCs is that right?
if you can look into the last ebay link i posted. would that be enough to do the job at a reasonable time? but most importantly, wouldnt do any damage on my electricals. thanks guys!
That should be fine, but seems a bit pricey but maybe that's the going rate in AU. Also I've never really heard of a charger damaging someone's electrical system, unless maybe you hooked it up wrong and it didn't have reverse polarity detection which this one does.
That should be fine, but seems a bit pricey but maybe that's the going rate in AU. Also I've never really heard of a charger damaging someone's electrical system, unless maybe you hooked it up wrong and it didn't have reverse polarity detection which this one does.
best price i can find for the MXS 5 is AU$119 with 5 yrs warranty. i appreciate all the help!
OP, didnt mean to hijack your thread but i guess all the info added on here will be useful for others as well to have more options.
I am going on an extended vacation and do not want my car battery dead when I return for obvious reasons. I believe I am looking for a device that will maintain the battery and give it a boost when it drops charge. Is this called a battery maintainer? Does anyone currently use one for their E550? I believe I read good reviews on CTEK maintainers.
Any links to good ones? And what is the difference between maintainers, tenders, and trickle chargers?
Also, how can I test that it's really working before I leave on vacation? Is there a way?
Thanks!
How long is your vacation? I have left my car at an airport for 3 weeks numerous times and never had an issue starting it.
The battery should be about 100 Ah capacity. Parked car should not take more than 0.02A current. Half of battery capacity would be consumed in about 2500 hours, i.e. about 100 days. If the pull was 0.05 A (high pull) it would take 1000 hours (40 days).
How long is your vacation? I have left my car at an airport for 3 weeks numerous times and never had an issue starting it.
The battery should be about 100 Ah capacity. Parked car should not take more than 0.02A current. Half of battery capacity would be consumed in about 2500 hours, i.e. about 100 days. If the pull was 0.05 A (high pull) it would take 1000 hours (40 days).
So, how long vacation do you plan to have?
I'll be gone for almost 2 months. The wife is back in 3 weeks. The other option was for her to start the car weekly after the 3 week time frame. In any case, I think these battery tenders are good to have in the back pocket.
Yeah that MXS 3.8 will be great. Looks like the AU version of the 3300/4.3 sold here - for a little more money. Electronics will be fine as the CTEK chargers don't exceed 14.3 volts unless you use one with recondition mode (not on the mxs 3.8 anyway). Since recon mode goes above 15 volts you'd want to disconnect the batter from the car before charging.
Yeah that MXS 3.8 will be great. Looks like the AU version of the 3300/4.3 sold here - for a little more money. Electronics will be fine as the CTEK chargers don't exceed 14.3 volts unless you use one with recondition mode (not on the mxs 3.8 anyway). Since recon mode goes above 15 volts you'd want to disconnect the batter from the car before charging.
good thing i went with the 3.8 and not the 5 as i prefer less hassle as possible.
would it be ok to use the 3.8 everyday? i dont use the C63 often so is it ok to leave it plugged in even without any signs of battery wear? also, my wifes coupes dashcam does not last as long as my sedan when in park mode, i figure since she only drive about 10-15mins one way, the battery does not have enough time to charge, is it ok to plug the ctek at night then unplug it in the morning before she leaves? no signs of battery wear either, i just think it might help with the dashcam to stay on longer.
I wouldn't use it everyday as that is unneeded stress on your battery. If your battery won't start the car each day then you've got another problem. My W212 tends to not fully recharge my battery and keeps it at about 60% state of charge. I think that contributes to short battery life so I charge mine every 6 weeks to try to prolong the life. No magic to the 6 weeks - just what I'm comfortable with. I do the same on my wife's car even though her car keeps the battery at a higher SOC.
Each time I connect my charger it takes about 8-10 hours to reach full charge. It only take about 4 hours on my wife's car. No need to worry about disconnecting it until you're ready to use the car whether that be a day or weeks later. In trickle mode, the volts and amps are low and not putting much stress on the battery.
I wouldn't use it everyday as that is unneeded stress on your battery. If your battery won't start the car each day then you've got another problem. My W212 tends to not fully recharge my battery and keeps it at about 60% state of charge. I think that contributes to short battery life so I charge mine every 6 weeks to try to prolong the life. No magic to the 6 weeks - just what I'm comfortable with. I do the same on my wife's car even though her car keeps the battery at a higher SOC.
Each time I connect my charger it takes about 8-10 hours to reach full charge. It only take about 4 hours on my wife's car. No need to worry about disconnecting it until you're ready to use the car whether that be a day or weeks later. In trickle mode, the volts and amps are low and not putting much stress on the battery.
no problems with the battery in any of our cars atm. ill prolly charge em every fourth night just to maintain it i guess. cheers mate!
Update: got the CTEK MXS 3.8 from the post yesterday and plugged the coupe around 7pm (friday) last night, started from stage 2 and as of 8:30am saturday morning its at stage 4 (ready for use) but ill keep it on since its the weekend so wont be using the car anytime soon.
Im just surprised as to how small the battery is. Seems OEM with the MB logo but still...
Update: got the CTEK MXS 3.8 from the post yesterday and plugged the coupe around 7pm (friday) last night, started from stage 2 and as of 8:30am saturday morning its at stage 4 (ready for use) but ill keep it on since its the weekend so wont be using the car anytime soon.
Im just surprised as to how small the battery is. Seems OEM with the MB logo but still...
Yeah, that is OEM but it does seem smaller (and on the wrong side ). My battery takes up all the space that you see to the left of yours. By the way, you can use the brass colored post on the right side for the negative. That way you don't have to take off the air intake cowl. No need to connect directly to battery then.
If I connect mine in the evening it is usually done by noon the next day thanks to the low state of charge the alternator leaves the battery in.
What's the difference between the Mxs 3.8 and the CTEK 3300??
The MXS 3.8 is a Euro 220v model. Beyond that it has more stages than the 3300 and slightly more amps for faster charging. It is between the ctek 3300 and the ctek 4.3. But they all do pretty much the same thing for what we need.
MXS 3.8:
Rated Voltage AC 220–240VAC, 50–60Hz
Charging voltage SMALL, NORMAL: 14.4V, COLD/AGM: 14.7V
Min battery voltage 2.0V
Charging current 3,8A max
Charger type 7 step, fully automatic charging cycle
Battery types All types of 12V lead-acid batteries (WET, MF, Ca/Ca, AGM and GEL)
Battery capacity 1.2–80Ah up to 130Ah for maintenance
CTEK 3300:
Input voltage AC 85-125VAC, 50-60Hz
Charging voltage 14.4V /14.7V
Charging current 0.8/3.3A max
Type of charger 4 step, fully automatic switch mode with pulse maintenance
Type of batteries 12V lead-acid batteries (Wet, MF, AGM, GEL and Ca) Battery capacity 1.2-120Ah
CTEK 4.3:
Charging voltage 14.4 / 14.7 / 15.8 V
Charging current Max 4.3 A
Type of charger 8 step, fully automatic charging cycle
Type of battery 12V lead-acid batteries Battery capacity 1.2 - 110 Ah, up to 160 Ah for maintenance
The MXS 3.8 is a Euro 220v model. Beyond that it has more stages than the 3300 and slightly more amps for faster charging. It is between the ctek 3300 and the ctek 4.3. But they all do pretty much the same thing for what we need.
MXS 3.8:
Rated Voltage AC 220–240VAC, 50–60Hz
Charging voltage SMALL, NORMAL: 14.4V, COLD/AGM: 14.7V
Min battery voltage 2.0V
Charging current 3,8A max
Charger type 7 step, fully automatic charging cycle
Battery types All types of 12V lead-acid batteries (WET, MF, Ca/Ca, AGM and GEL)
Battery capacity 1.2–80Ah up to 130Ah for maintenance
CTEK 3300:
Input voltage AC 85-125VAC, 50-60Hz
Charging voltage 14.4V /14.7V
Charging current 0.8/3.3A max
Type of charger 4 step, fully automatic switch mode with pulse maintenance
Type of batteries 12V lead-acid batteries (Wet, MF, AGM, GEL and Ca) Battery capacity 1.2-120Ah
CTEK 4.3:
Charging voltage 14.4 / 14.7 / 15.8 V
Charging current Max 4.3 A
Type of charger 8 step, fully automatic charging cycle
Type of battery 12V lead-acid batteries Battery capacity 1.2 - 110 Ah, up to 160 Ah for maintenance
Ok great I can still go with the 3300 then. I'm in the USA.
Yeah, that is OEM but it does seem smaller (and on the wrong side ). My battery takes up all the space that you see to the left of yours. By the way, you can use the brass colored post on the right side for the negative. That way you don't have to take off the air intake cowl. No need to connect directly to battery then.
If I connect mine in the evening it is usually done by noon the next day thanks to the low state of charge the alternator leaves the battery in.
Cheers mate! Yeah i was wondering why the + had an easier access. Havent checked the battery on my other cars but i was surprised to see a tiny one on the coupe. Lol
g4benz, yeah Fisch is right, i think the model just varies from location.
3 weeks is no big deal at all. Wouldn't bother with a battery tender for so short a time.
Many years back a family member fell ill and her car was not touched for a year. I finally got to the car, went in, and it started right up. 3 weeks is cake
3 weeks is no big deal at all. Wouldn't bother with a battery tender for so short a time.
Many years back a family member fell ill and her car was not touched for a year. I finally got to the car, went in, and it started right up. 3 weeks is cake
I wouldn't mind risking it on a car that doesn't have this many electronics. I wonder though, do these tenders/chargers have any damaging affects on the life of a car battery?
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). My battery takes up all the space that you see to the left of yours. By the way, you can use the brass colored post on the right side for the negative. That way you don't have to take off the air intake cowl. No need to connect directly to battery then.
