Express delivery option to offshore, highlands and remote postcodes may take longer than the usual one working day. The surcharge may not apply to small items being sent via Royal mail or MyHermes etc... Where possible we will try our best to avoid courier service for surcharge areas. There’s also a winter mode to protect batteries during colder temperatures, as well as being ‘smart‘ to not damage batteries that are fitted to Start/Stop vehicles.

Available with either a UK three-pin plug (part number RSC804) or EU two-pin plug (part number RESC804) Now low-power functions, such as the immobiliser, won’t have such a frustrating effect when you do come to start the car (after disconnecting first). What’s more, it switches into maintenance mode to protect the battery once it has been fully charged. The whole unit is also IP65 rated, which means total protection from dust and low-pressure water from any direction. Safe to say you could leave the unit outside on the wall of your garage without worry. Finally, you’ll want to consider the maximum current the charger can support (the higher the current, the faster the charge) and what IP (ingress protection) rating it has. This basically tells you how dust- and waterproof the device and device casing is. For instance, IP68 is a great rating: it’s a completely sealed unit that can tolerate being submerged in up to one metre of water. IP44 can protect against dust particles bigger than 1mm and a light splash of water. Can’t I just replace my car battery? If you’re only needing a one-off charge, then easy-snap-on crocodile clips might be better. If you’re a flat dweller or your off-street parking doesn’t have convenient access to mains power, you might need to consider a portable or solar power charger.

Tested by Richard Newland for 4 months. Quality 5/5, Value 3/5. Bike batteries are getting smaller and lighter – but the stress our bikes put on them with ever-more powerful electronics systems and auxiliary add-ons is getting greater than ever. It doesn't take much to find you're out of juice when you hit the magic starter button. But if you don't have bike storage with mains electricity, what do you do? You get one of these. Charge the unit, and then take it on tour. Once charged, it'll hold its power for a year and will recover a dead bike battery enough to start your engine in around 15 minutes. The charge is delivered to your battery progressively, too – reducing the risk of jump-start damage. It's absolutely superb and really works. Yes, it's a pricey solution, but it works brilliantly and is invaluable if you're off the grid where your bike lives. However, they require very different charging characteristics, and as such, you should be careful not to pair the wrong charger with the battery, as this can have a negative effect on the battery and can even be dangerous.

The RSC806 is literally a plug-and-play sort of deal. All you have to do is connect it and the charger will regulate itself and adjust automatically to a long-term maintenance mode once the battery is full. STOP/START SupportedA nicely sized, mains-powered device, you can indicate if it’s cold weather and the device will manage power delivery more intelligently to protect the battery. What’s more, there’s a choice of eyelet or crocodile connectors. Car batteries are not power banks, so they don’t store electricity. Without going into the science of it all, they generate the energy needed through lead-acid chemical reactions. When a car is started, a very high current is sent in a very short burst to the crankshaft to get it moving. The alternator then does all the work on the electricity front.

These put some load on the battery so that it isn’t simply under constant charge, as this can also, paradoxically, damage the battery and reduce its capacity as well. From traditional car battery chargers to portable and solar-powered ones, there are options available to suit a range of budgets. However, buying the cheapest doesn’t always mean bagging a bargain. If you’re caught with a flat battery, the very last thing you want to find out is that the tool you’ve invested in to remedy the matter is a dud. It’s important to note that car battery chargers are not jump starters. A jump starter will offer the engine the short burst needed to get it going, but from that point on, it’s the alternator that recharges the battery. This is why, if you’re ever jumpstarting your car, you’re asked to run it for a good while to replace enough of the battery, so that you don’t require a jump start when you come to drive again immediately afterwards. Which car battery charger is best?The best car battery chargers you can buy in 2023 1. NOCO Genius10 Smart Charger: Best portable car battery charger This smart charger from Ring does basically all batteries except lithium and features a seven-stage charging process that's supposed to be kinder on your battery.

And this one from CTEK is superbly clever. Not only does it do everything you'd expect: charging, recovering, conditioning and maintaining whatever vehicle battery you connect it to (and yes, it does them all, from Lead Acid to Lithium-ion in all wet, AGM, Gel and other forms) – it does it without any programming from you.One point you should consider is what kind of battery your motorcycle uses. Lithium batteries are becoming more popular as they can offer better performance than traditional lead-acid ones. It has a 6a output, which gives it a decent amount of punch when it comes to topping up low batteries in a pinch. My bike wouldn't start after a month of autumn inactivity, but a 30-minute top-up from the Ring charger had it firing on the button again. Lesson learned - just leave it plugged in. With that said, read on for our buying guide on how to buy the right car battery charger for you, alongside our roundup of some of the best options available. You can’t damage the charger either as there’s short circuit and reverse polarity detection, just in case. There’s a 12-month warranty on parts and labour, though Draper is a brand associated with rigorous professional workshop quality, so you’re unlikely to experience issues with this battery charger. Its portability also makes it great for flat dwellers and other motorists without mains access near to where they park.