Battery Charging

[bagman]

G'day
I'm off on holidays for a month and as there is no one around to run my VF Series 2 Calais-V I'm concerned about coming back to a flat battery.
This has happened in the past with my VE.
So I bought a BatteryLink Multi-Stage battery charger.
Went to test by hooking up to battery but noticed that I can't close the boot properly with the charger power cord hanging out.
So I thought, well does it matter if the boot light is on while I'm away as the battery will be charging. Opinions ?

Then I thought, can I connect the charger to the jump starting connection points in the engine bay ?
Excuse my ignorance on this, but would connecting to the jump starting points in the engine bay be the same as connecting to the actual battery ?
Would appreciate your thoughts on this matter and suggestions.

Do I just forget about the multi-stage charger and just call the NRMA if I come back to a flat battery ? Easy way out I guess!

Thanks in advance for your replies and advice.

Cheers
Bagman

[Wonky]

I've only ever hooked up my Ctek charger under the bonnet as in the garage the boot is too hard to get to (I back in). Works fine. :) Done it on 2 VEs.

[Camos]

Problem with a flat battery like that is the plates get a calcium build up and reduces life of your battery.

Not sure about the jump start points you mention, don't have any experience with late model Holden's but connecting straight up to the battery would be fine.
Alternatively could you leave a window down slightly? Only if in a secure garage though.

If you don't mind reprogramming your clock and radio you could always take the battery out of the car and connect it to the charger while away.

[BLACK 346]

I've only ever hooked up my Ctek charger under the bonnet as in the garage the boot is too hard to get to (I back in). Works fine. :) Done it on 2 VEs.

Yep, my CTEK is on Snow flake mode now connected under bonnet, makes charging real easy :)

[Micks]

If not using my vehicles for more than a month, just slip one terminal off the battery. Never had a problem doing this & the vehicle always starts with no issues or top up charging.

[bagman]

Problem with a flat battery like that is the plates get a calcium build up and reduces life of your battery.

Not sure about the jump start points you mention, don't have any experience with late model Holden's but connecting straight up to the battery would be fine.
Alternatively could you leave a window down slightly? Only if in a secure garage though.

If you don't mind reprogramming your clock and radio you could always take the battery out of the car and connect it to the charger while away.

Doh ! Of course, window open is perfect solution. Thank you for that suggestion.
That's great thinking outside the square !

Appreciate all the suggestion so thank you all so much.

[XUV]

Take the boot light globe out , leave boot full open to vent battery gases.

or how long are the clamp leads off the charger?

If long enough leave charger out of boot, and probably a better idea in case charger over heats

[whitels1ss]

If not using my vehicles for more than a month, just slip one terminal off the battery. Never had a problem doing this & the vehicle always starts with no issues or top up charging.

That's exactly what I do with mine as well.

[whitels1ss]

does it matter if the boot light is on while I'm away as the battery will be charging. Opinions ?


Most cars these days automatically turn the boot light & interior lights off after around 10 or so minutes

Just open the boot & check it in around 20 minutes to see if your boot light is still on.



Edit:

I don't think I would like to go away for a month & leave my car with a battery charger hooked up though.

As Mick suggested earlier, I would just disconnect a battery terminal before I left.

[XUV]

I've had my ctek 5.0 hooked up for up to 2 months with no probs,

it goes into pulse mode after 8 days, and the only side effect is a fresh battery, it's all good

the one on the tractor can be there for 3,4, 5 months,

batteries in the shed can be on a Projecta 15a till needed ,

These new ones don't boil batteries like the old days.

The only down side to disconnecting your battery is the alarm won't work