Trickle Charger for Car - Recommendations

aspirepranesh on 03/08/2023 - 11:42
Last edited 03/08/2023 - 13:49

Hi everyone,

I am new to this topic and would appreciate some recommendations.

I am going away on a holiday for 2 weeks and the car would be parked at the Airport during this time and to be honest, I work from home and don't drive the car much.

Is there a good trickle charger that you can recommend that I could buy and is it safe to use it over 2 weeks to avoid the battery from going dead?

Thanks in advance

UPDATE:

I have a Cupra Formentor VZx and I have been mainly doing short distances and maybe I should take the car out for a long drive before I park it at the airport for 2 weeks.

Thanks for the tips guys. I do get free road side assist with Cupra.

Automotive Battery Charger Car Battery Charger

Comments

  • Sawtell on 03/08/2023 - 11:48
    +6

    Where will you plug it in at the airport for 2 weeks?

    If you are worried about the battery buy a jump pack and leave it in the car in case you need it when you get back.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/Gooloo%20type%3Aozb…

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 03/08/2023 - 11:54

      i can recommend the gooloo charger. already used it 4 times, paid for itself already. also makes for another backup battery bank if required.

      2 weeks i think dont really need to have it on trickle charge.

  • seannami on 03/08/2023 - 11:50
    +2

    I assume by trickle charger you are in an EV? What car are you driving? Do you have anything connected to the 12v that runs while the car is off (dashcam/sentry etc?).

    I doubt leaving the car sitting for two weeks would be much of an issue, and would you be able to plug the trickle charger in at the airport? If you were really worried about the 12v going dead you could potentially disconnect it for the duration or get a portable jumper ($100ish on Amazon for a basic one), but the only dead 12v from disuse I've ever had (in a Prius) took well over a month or two during lockdown to drain, and it was pretty old as it was.

    • outlander on 03/08/2023 - 12:12

      Ha! I'm dealing with the same (prius gen2). Thankfully all the 12v battery really does is trigger the relay for the main battery, so you can start it with just about anything. Even a tiny 6ah will do the trick.
      Big pain getting to the battery though, when it's in the back and the boot doesn't open.

  • outlander on 03/08/2023 - 12:15
    +1

    2 weeks isn't really enough to warrant needing it. But if you want to be extra cautious, you can disconnect the battery. That will stop the standby load from draining it, but will also mean the central locking and security system doesn't work.

    • Euphemistic on 03/08/2023 - 12:35

      And more than a few setting a will be forgotten.

  • JimmyF on 03/08/2023 - 12:29
    +6

    is it safe to use it over 2 weeks to avoid the battery from going dead?

    2 weeks!? The cars 12v battery won't go flat in that time unless you have a bad battery already. Your drive to the airport will fully charge it beforehand.

    I left mine 6 weeks while on holiday and it started without issues.

    • aspirepranesh on 03/08/2023 - 13:50

      Phew. I think I am just being paranoid overly! Thank you

  • JimB on 03/08/2023 - 12:32
    +2

    As above 2 weeks is nothing. It should be fine after 2 months.

    Having said that, if you only ever do short trips, reconditioning your battery once every year is a good idea. Ctek mxs 5.0 is a perennial favourite here on OZB for very good reason.

  • Euphemistic on 03/08/2023 - 12:35

    How do you plan to use a charger at the airport?

    Are you looking for solar?

  • brendanm on 03/08/2023 - 13:25
    +2

    Might want to get one of those little hand crank dynamo setups, as I doubt the airport will allow you to traipse an 80m extension cord around their parking garage.

  • Mechz on 03/08/2023 - 15:58

    Jaycar have solar trickle chargers for ~$30.

    They're handy to have about.

  • Sheila Dealer on 03/08/2023 - 16:23

    I have a 15 month old Yaris Cross Hybrid. Left parked for 18 days and there was zero charge left in the 12v battery. The Gooloo wouldn’t even charge it but I must admit I didn’t use the boost. I was unaware that hybrid cars could be such a problem when not driven for a period of time. Very frustrating. The car only has 6500km on the clock which I guess doesn’t help.

  • azero on 03/08/2023 - 17:00

    2 weeks is essentially nothing if your battery is in good condition. I left my car with a 6 year old battery in the airport for 2 weeks with no troubles. Even 4 weeks it was fine.

    Make sure that you unplug phone chargers etc… turn off automatic headlights, ac / radio before turning off the car. So it won't create a big draw on the battery when you try to turn it on after 2 weeks.

    • Sheila Dealer on 03/08/2023 - 17:07

      None of those were connected. I just had enough charge to unlock the car. As I said my car is 15 months old.

      • azero on 03/08/2023 - 17:12
        +1

        I'd guess you probably had a bad battery to start with, or else the electronics for the hybrid drawing on the battery for some reason.

  • ThriftyKangaroo on 03/08/2023 - 20:22

    I have left my car for almost 3 months expecting it to be gone with phone ready to call roadside assist and it was still working ! So i think you would be fine but do take note to unplug anything connected to the battery to prevent drainage, ie dash cams etc.

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