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CTEK Battery Chargers

aussie123

By aussie123
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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Hi Guys

I bought a CTEK M300 Marine Battery Charger a few days ago as I have been having trouble with the 3 deep cycles in my boat.

2 weekends ago at Borumba when supposedly fully charged they would not turn the prop on my bow mount.

I nearly tore my boat apart in the dark and poring rain looking for a bad electrical connection as I did not expect a 3 year old charger to have died,especially when it was telling me it was charging fine.

I also bypassed my battery switches and circuit breakers trying to eliminate all possible failure points.

From what I can work out,my old charger has died and even though it says it is charging it was not so over time my batteries went so dead they would not register on the hydrometer.

Every cell was under 1100 on the hydro across the 3 batteries.

I got this new M300 and started charging the first bank (2 x 6v 240 AH) batteries and after an hour the CTEK said they were charged (not looking good).

The hdro still said under 1100 so I thought the batteries were damaged from having no charge for so long.

I was expecting an $800 battery bill for replacement so I was not happy.

I switched the CTEK to recond mode to see what happened and after 6 hours the hydrometer was reading 1200 so I switched back to full charge mode and a few hours later they were showing in the green across all cells (perfect).

Same happened with the house battery but this one was worse than the cranking batteries as it was not getting any charge from the motor at all due to being always isolated.

Normally I just top up the house battery at home here with the charger or switch to both banks to divert power into the marine electronics if I ever needed to.

It wouldn't accept a charge at all so I went to recond mode overnight and this morning all cells are back to 1200.

I just switched to full charge so later today I will see if it takes a full charge like the other bank did.

So far I am extremely impressed with the CTEK M300.

It also comes with a bonus 0.8ah charger to leave permanently hooked up.

Hopefully this new charger will solve my issue of getting less hours out of my batteries every trip over the last 12 months.

I was at the stage of not getting a full days fishing out of 2 battery banks running the electric motors and electronics in the boat.

I think the money I paid for a CTEK over a cheaper brand was well worth the extra cost and being fully waterproof as well will make life so much easier when trying to charge the batteries when it is pouring down rain like up at Borumba several weekends ago.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Will you be having them in your store?

Cheers

Ray

Definitely will be Ray.

No way I was going to pay full retail for one so I opened up an account with the company,lol

I added the M200 15amp and M300 25 amp last night to the site but it will take me a week or 2 to add the rest of their products as there is around 200 battery related items all up.

I've got the same models Lance and swear by them. I fixed thgem up with Anderson Plugs and extension leads so its easier to leave on charge at home. Great product.

I am a convert now Dave.

This thing has saved me the cost of 3 large deep cycle batteries so it has really paid for itself already.

I will probably use Anderson plugs as well because I can plug into the minn kota anderson plug at the front of the boat and charge back to the batteries and diverting to either bank via the battery switch.

My old charger was setup like this but I cut the anderson plugs off and went direct onto the batteries in the end as I though the plug connections were the cause of my charging issues to start with.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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CTEK's are awesome chargers - and the recon function is a lifesaver !!

I am more than impressed Manni.

I just checked the house battery and it is slowly climbing up now on recond mode.

It's up to 1250 across all cells now which technically is now charged.

That is the one battery I thought I was going to lose.

I will leave it desulphating on recond all night and tomorrow it should be as good as a new one.

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Manni79 Newbie

Manni79

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CTEK's are awesome chargers - and the recon function is a lifesaver !!

I am more than impressed Manni.

I just checked the house battery and it is slowly climbing up now on recond mode.

It's up to 1250 across all cells now which technically is now charged.

That is the one battery I thought I was going to lose.

I will leave it desulphating on recond all night and tomorrow it should be as good as a new one.

Yeah my leccy battery was kinda false charging had one trip and the leccy died after a few hours. Recond the battery and was like new again, had done many trips and charges since and it's working a treat.

At the right price i'm sure you'll sell a bunch of them

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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CTEK's are awesome chargers - and the recon function is a lifesaver !!

I am more than impressed Manni.

I just checked the house battery and it is slowly climbing up now on recond mode.

It's up to 1250 across all cells now which technically is now charged.

That is the one battery I thought I was going to lose.

I will leave it desulphating on recond all night and tomorrow it should be as good as a new one.

Yeah my leccy battery was kinda false charging had one trip and the leccy died after a few hours. Recond the battery and was like new again, had done many trips and charges since and it's working a treat.

At the right price i'm sure you'll sell a bunch of them

Sold one already :P:P:P:P

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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As you know mate I sold them when I worked selling batteries and they are all very good chargers and I even have 1 that I leave onmy betteries for weeks at a time and never had a problem ever

I am super impressed with them Dassa.

I have used and owned a multitude of chargers over the years with my commercial and rec boats and so far this one seems the best by a country mile.

To me a charger is a charger but the recondition feature in this ctek appears to be miles ahead of any desulphating devices and chargers that I have used before.

This 25 amp one came with a free 0.8 amp trickle charger so I will permanently mount that in the boat to keep them topped up all the time.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Sounds good Lance, Will this charge all of them overnight like your old charger?

Sure will Stu and far more efficiently than my old one.

This M300 marine one has a temp sensor and very low ripple to stop overheating a gassing so it adjusts the charge depending on the temp making it far more efficient and better for the batteries.

Night time charging like I mainly do when away will allow a higher charge to go in due to the cooler temps at night.

I am going to fit a VSR soon to take over the charge switching between both banks so it's all fully automatic.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Are toy able to get the d250s duel as well lance? I know it's not strictly a boating item, but I'm going to need out in my Ute sometime this summer

Yea mate I can get them.

I was looking at one a couple of days ago when I had the rep here,nice looking bit of gear.

I will have them on the website in an an hour or so,if not in the morning but I can do you a better price than whats on the site when you are ready. :P

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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I just disconnected the charger from the house battery to run some tests on it.

This battery was by far the worst out of the 3 and I fully expected to lose this one.

It took an awful lot of work to recondition and charge it and it certainly was a good test for the ctek.

All 6 cells now have a reading of 1260 with no variation whatsoever so it seems perfect again.

Today I will hook up all my wiring the right way again and get rid of all my little bypasses that I did in the dark while trying to problem solve this issue and throw the electric motors and make sure they are running correctly again.

I might even set the bow mount up in a garbage bin and run it at trolling speed until the batteries are fully discharged and see how many hours it runs for. :P

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crazywalrus Enthusiast

crazywalrus

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I just disconnected the charger from the house battery to run some tests on it.

This battery was by far the worst out of the 3 and I fully expected to lose this one.

It took an awful lot of work to recondition and charge it and it certainly was a good test for the ctek.

All 6 cells now have a reading of 1260 with no variation whatsoever so it seems perfect again.

Today I will hook up all my wiring the right way again and get rid of all my little bypasses that I did in the dark while trying to problem solve this issue and throw the electric motors and make sure they are running correctly again.

I might even set the bow mount up in a garbage bin and run it at trolling speed until the batteries are fully discharged and see how many hours it runs for. :P

make sure you through a line out

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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I just disconnected the charger from the house battery to run some tests on it.

This battery was by far the worst out of the 3 and I fully expected to lose this one.

It took an awful lot of work to recondition and charge it and it certainly was a good test for the ctek.

All 6 cells now have a reading of 1260 with no variation whatsoever so it seems perfect again.

Today I will hook up all my wiring the right way again and get rid of all my little bypasses that I did in the dark while trying to problem solve this issue and throw the electric motors and make sure they are running correctly again.

I might even set the bow mount up in a garbage bin and run it at trolling speed until the batteries are fully discharged and see how many hours it runs for. :P

make sure you through a line out

lol,i do still have a fish in the garage I can catch :P

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Having NO previous experience with ctec chargers how would the m200 compare to my projecta IC1500 ?

Cheers

I have not used a Projecta but I did have a hard look at them 3 years ago.

At them time they were quite new and there was mixed reviews about them from the guys who had bought them.

Some say they were a copy of the ctek and others refute that so who knows the real truth.

I decided against buying one then as they were new and had a few issues at the time but no doubt they would have addressed any concerns by now.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Sounds like a great bit of kit to invest in Lance. I get my bow mount fitted this side of Christmas so might have to stuff one in the stocking based on the feedback you have given it.

I'd say a good move Greg.

To say I am more than impressed is an understatement really.

The ctek has surpassed all my expectations by a country mile and the only complaint I have about it is a drop of battery acid on it took the paint off the cover. :angry:

It has a 5 year warranty too which is reassuring for the long term.

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Eug Newbie

Eug

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I run the CTEK 7000, very happy. It can stop charging when the ambient temp is high which is frustrating say up north, would benefit with a cooling fan but I guess it's just a protective function for the battery and unit.

Sounds like a great bit of kit to invest in Lance. I get my bow mount fitted this side of Christmas so might have to stuff one in the stocking based on the feedback you have given it.

Craig and I reckon you won't get the bow mount on in time :P

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Just looked it up on your site www.reeltackle.com.au

Price is unbeatable.

Cheers

Ray


/>http://www.ctekbatterychargers.com.au/ctek-m300-battery-charger.html

$399.00 Free freight Australia Wide.

I have found a local supplier that will sell the x300 toe for $369

And what is your point here ???

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  • 2 months later...
Tybo Newbie

Tybo

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Aussie 123, I know you greatly recommend the CTEK M300 with the starter, it sounds like the ultimate charger. What are the smaller CTEK M45/M100/M200 like, does anyone use them?

The reason I ask is that I want to upgrade my battery charger, and may even upgrade my solo battery to a fixed dual system. At this stage the battery I have has no issues(that I know of), holds a good charge and charges up everytime I do so?

In your opinion(or anyone else that wants to jump in) are the smaller CTEKs just as good? I do not have a bow mount or electric motor, and therefore do not need a huge charging unit, although I guess it's better to have more than less. I really like the idea of the starter analyzing and maintaining the battery, and if I get it, I might not have to change my existing battery at all. But at nearly double the price, especially considering I'd like to get another battery as well, would I kick myself if I didn't get the CTEK 300.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Aussie 123, I know you greatly recommend the CTEK M300 with the starter, it sounds like the ultimate charger. What are the smaller CTEK M45/M100/M200 like, does anyone use them?

The reason I ask is that I want to upgrade my battery charger, and may even upgrade my solo battery to a fixed dual system. At this stage the battery I have has no issues(that I know of), holds a good charge and charges up everytime I do so?

In your opinion(or anyone else that wants to jump in) are the smaller CTEKs just as good? I do not have a bow mount or electric motor, and therefore do not need a huge charging unit, although I guess it's better to have more than less. I really like the idea of the starter analyzing and maintaining the battery, and if I get it, I might not have to change my existing battery at all. But at nearly double the price, especially considering I'd like to get another battery as well, would I kick myself if I didn't get the CTEK 300.

All of the M Series CTEK's are basically the same unit except different amperages.

I bought the bigger M300 because I need to charge up 3 large deep cycles over night when I go away fishing. otherwise here at home I could of got away with a smaller unit like the M100 or M200.

Crazywalrus has the M200 (15amp) and he loves it.

The M300 also comes with a free 0.8 amp charger that you can use to keep the batteries charged while not using the boat which is a great bonus.

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Tybo Newbie

Tybo

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aussie123 wrote:

All of the M Series CTEK's are basically the same unit except different amperages.

I bought the bigger M300 because I need to charge up 3 large deep cycles over night when I go away fishing. otherwise here at home I could of got away with a smaller unit like the M100 or M200.

Crazywalrus has the M200 (15amp) and he loves it.

The M300 also comes with a free 0.8 amp charger that you can use to keep the batteries charged while not using the boat which is a great bonus.

Thanks heaps Aussie, great advice and answered a big question I was wanting to ask on AFO.

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  • 4 months later...
Sparklo Newbie

Sparklo

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Hi All,

Sorry to bump back an old thread but just wanted to know which charger would be appropriate for me. I'm just wanted to charge a starting battery and sometimes the deep cycle. Would I need to go all out for the M300? or the M200 or M100 will do? Doesn't bother me if it doesn't charge overnight cause I really only take the boat out once a week. Any help would be appreciated.

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aussie123 Newbie

aussie123

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Hi All,

Sorry to bump back an old thread but just wanted to know which charger would be appropriate for me. I'm just wanted to charge a starting battery and sometimes the deep cycle. Would I need to go all out for the M300? or the M200 or M100 will do? Doesn't bother me if it doesn't charge overnight cause I really only take the boat out once a week. Any help would be appreciated.

The M100 will do your home charging just fine but if you ever go away or want to do 2 days fishing in a row and need to charge both batteries overnight the M200 will be better suited.

I run 2 banks of deep cycles and I have the M300 as I often need to get all 3 batteries fully charged overnight and it does the job perfectly.

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