[turnsignalslol]

Hey everyone,

as the title states, I'm looking for recommendations for trickle chargers/battery tenders as I'm going to be going away for around a month and I heard that you should hook up your battery to a battery tender if leaving the car alone for extended periods of time.

I bought a Noco Boost Plus around two years back as something to have just in case but have learned that it is only a jump starter/charger and not something to have hooked up to the battery for extended periods of time.

I've seen a lot of people recommend the Ctek MSX 5.0 and it seems that's what BMW uses as well but at over $100, I was wondering if there were any good alternatives that didn't cost nearly as much. I don't plan on leaving my car alone like this for more than once or twice a year. I've seen some options from Noco but I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with Noco battery tenders and if they're safe for our cars. Our cars have AGM batteries, not Li-ion right?

All help is appreciated, thanks!

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by turnsignalslol

Hey everyone,

as the title states, I'm looking for recommendations for trickle chargers/battery tenders as I'm going to be going away for around a month and I heard that you should hook up your battery to a battery tender if leaving the car alone for extended periods of time.

I bought a Noco Boost Plus around two years back as something to have just in case but have learned that it is only a jump starter/charger and not something to have hooked up to the battery for extended periods of time.

I've seen a lot of people recommend the Ctek MSX 5.0 and it seems that's what BMW uses as well but at over $100, I was wondering if there were any good alternatives that didn't cost nearly as much. I don't plan on leaving my car alone like this for more than once or twice a year. I've seen some options from Noco but I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with Noco battery tenders and if they're safe for our cars. Our cars have AGM batteries, not Li-ion right?

All help is appreciated, thanks!

I heard this one is pretty solid…

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

I heard this one is pretty solid…

That's the one I use for my Z06. Was on sale a little while back for $87 I believe. I have an older CTEK that I've moved over to my son's Wrangler that's been working flawlessly for over 7 years. Why would one not spend over $100 on such a device?

[Mr. Hankey]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

I heard this one is pretty solid…

That one is perfect, set it to AGM and the car. That one you are posting is the MSX 5.0. That’s a great price. I’m going to get one of those myself.

EDIT: for me on Amazon that one is $94 …I got all excited…but if that price is real that’s fantastic for that charger/conditioner.

[Ronin76]

This was my contribution for the day. You are all welcome.

[JCoR]

I have used a Noco Genius2 for about a year with no issue. My Subaru had bad parasitic drain and was only driven every few days so it was plugged in full time when parked. $50 on Amazon right now.

[myaghi]

I use a CTEK CS ONE. It's on the expensive side, but it's plug it and forget it. It has some smart adaptive charging technology it you don't have to mess with settings, it will do it all for you. It even charges Lithium batteries.
I choose it because it is very simple to use

[Tag]

Originally Posted by Mr. Hankey

That one is perfect, set it to AGM and the car. That one you are posting is the MSX 5.0. That’s a great price. I’m going to get one of those myself.

EDIT: for me on Amazon that one is $94 …I got all excited…but if that price is real that’s fantastic for that charger/conditioner.

I see the same price as you.

[Mr. Hankey]

Originally Posted by Tag

I see the same price as you.

I guess I just need Ronin76 's app and location! Amazon sometimes is like airline prices...if you keep looking at some point they will reduce the price to entice you to buy...

[Tag]

Originally Posted by Mr. Hankey

I guess I just need Ronin76 's app and location! Amazon sometimes is like airline prices...if you keep looking at some point they will reduce the price to entice you to buy...

If you have a VPN client, you can use it to connect to different regions and check. Just make sure to clear cookies each time before searching.

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by Tag

If you have a VPN client, you can use it to connect to different regions and check. Just make sure to clear cookies each time before searching.

What price are you guys seeing? Is ot more than the $94.95? That is the price for me.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

What price are you guys seeing? Is ot more than the $94.95? That is the price for me.

$94.95 is what I see, but your screenshot above shows $69.95.

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by Tag

$94.95 is what I see, but your screenshot above shows $69.95.

Ha…I never noticed that price. I just checked and it still says $94.

[BimmerFix]

Originally Posted by Tag

If you have a VPN client, you can use it to connect to different regions and check. Just make sure to clear cookies each time before searching.

Could be wrong , but I highly doubt it matters here in the States.

More than likely either AMZ or the vendor/seller raised the price. Or a flash sale, discount got removed

[Ravenseal]

I've had a NOCO Genius2 for the last three years (in Colorado winters) and it works well even down to -20F. It's also half the price of the BMW branded CTEK.

[turnsignalslol]

Originally Posted by Tag

$94.95 is what I see, but your screenshot above shows $69.95.

The 69.95 price is for the US 0.8 charger, not the Mxs 5.0

[turnsignalslol]

Originally Posted by Ravenseal

I've had a NOCO Genius2 for the last three years (in Colorado winters) and it works well even down to -20F. It's also half the price of the BMW branded CTEK.

Is it simply "plug and play" i.e. I can set everything up and leave it alone for a month without issues?

[Ravenseal]

Originally Posted by turnsignalslol

Is it simply "plug and play" i.e. I can set everything up and leave it alone for a month without issues?

It is to my knowledge and their description of the unit.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Currently use on my Mustang which I drive to car shows only:

https://www.griotsgarage.com/battery-manager-v/

[Fastfwd]

I bought that CTEK MXS 5.0 after taking a trip and then letting the car sit for a while for my mileage budget to catch up..... It's a nice charger. Nice features.

I used a little Battery Tender Jr. 750mA for my motorcycles and my Mustang before this M2. It did the job. I still use it for my motorcycles.

The G87 is mostly a weekend car which usually consists of short trips. I installed a pigtail under the hood to make it easy to plug in and charge with the CTEK. Sometimes I hook it up during the week and it's surprising that the charger needs to do as much charging as it does.

I think you'll get your money's worth out of it. If not, there's the old Battery Tender Jr for like $40 and if I'm not mistaken it can do AGM batteries and it doesn't overcharge, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[BroDoze]

I bought a CTEK MXS 5.0 because of this and another thread.

I wish I would have been doing this a long time ago.

[KevinC]

I use the Noco Genius 1. It’s totally adequate for this use case, it’s tiny, properly handles AGM batteries, Noco makes good stuff, and only $30 from Amazon.