Which Battery Conditioner?

[rspecos]

I must say I've read with some surprise the previous threads around the debatable quality of the battery in the 997. I will be going on holiday soon and leave the car garaged for several days and I am really concerned to come back to a flat battery. I am, therefore, considering buying a battery charger/conditioner to avoid the problem.

I've seen the CTEK Multi XS3600 and XS800 on the Halfords site. Which is the most suitable for the 997 1st Gen? Do they work?

The car is under extended Porsche warranty. Whilst I'm sure that there is obviously no way my OPC could detect the use of "non-approved" parts in an attempt to invalidate the warranty (I've been alerted to this type of stringent behaviour by all sorts of unfortunate stories in the forum), it dawned on me that the insurance could instead refuse to pay if the car were destroyed by a fire caused by the failure of a charging device not approved by the car-maker.

Should I pay for the premium price tag of the Porsche Charge-o-mat II or be less paranoid and save by opting for the CTEK?

 

[Alex L]

Have a read: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/997-turbo-forum/466411-battery-charging-help.html

Mine has been brilliant, I use it every time I know I won't be taking the Turbo out for at least the next 48 hours.

This model can charge a battery from flat too, something that the Porsche version cannot.

 

[THX911]

If still there, Costco had a deal on the CTEKs a month or two ago. Yes, CTEK is the guys who manufacturer Porsche Charge-o-mat and I have seen official Aston martin, Ferrari, etc logos on them too.

I think XS800 (this is the one I have) is a battery conditioner only and good enough to keep the battery topped up while you are away

and

XS3600 can charge a battery from flat and suitable for your yacht too []

 

[garyw]

It seems as if there is something wrong with my battery!!
My car has stood for 3 weeks and when I tried to start the car it turned over and fired up first time...[&:]
Has anyone got any advice []

garyw

 

[mpt964]

i have a ctek 3600 which works very well. just plug into cigar lighter. sorted!!

 

[SteveMorrow]

I use the CTEK multi XS 3600 and it has been fine. Please note that if you want to use the cigar lighter, to plug your charger into, you will need to buy the connector seperately as it isn't included with the charger itself.

 

[garyw]

TThe main difference between the Porsche branded CTEK and the unbranded is the Porsche one comes with the cigar lighter attachment fitted.
That the the extra £££s

garyw

 

[rspecos]

Thanks all for the advice. I'll go for a CTEK Multi XS3600 with optional cigarette lighter connection

 

[Robin M]

I use an Accumate Charger/Conditioner when the car is off the road betwen November and April and the car gets intermittent use during the summer around 5K miles. Never had a flat battery and am on the original battery from New (April 2003). One thing I do do every few months is look at the electrolyte level of the cells and top them up if necessary. Most Batteries fail due to low electrolyte and a bit of distilled water goes a long way to preventing this. If you are really keen you can measure the SG and top up with Battery Acid instead but I have not found this necessary so far.

 

[rspecos]

Robin,

I think you've got a point there. Checking and topping up the cells levels is quick and it goes a long way. Now that you mention it, I can still remember my father doing that to his 1970 VW Beetle when I was a child!