CTEK, which bills itself as the world’s smartest car charger, will soon be available in the Philippines via a local distributor. At the media briefing, Robert Briggs, CTEK director of sales and marketing for the Asia Pacific region, noted that as vehicles become smarter with more tech-features, an increased level of strain is placed on the battery, which is the heart of the car. Battery charging should be considered an essential part of car maintenance, as vital as checking tire pressures and fluid levels.
Sweden’s CTEK brand of automatic battery car chargers pack surprising power in a compact package. The 12V charger comes equipped with an intelligent micro processing unit that utilizes four different modes for charging and an overarching, automated, 8-stage recharging sequence.
Operating the CTEK battery booster is simple, as all you do is connect the clamps to your battery posts and select a mode using the push button controls. You can also just let the automated sequence decide what to do with the battery. The four modes you can choose from are “Normal,” “Snowflake”, “Supply” and “Recondition.” It also has modes to choose from such as Motorcycle, Car and Boat.
Once a battery has reached its optimum charge levels, a trickle charger will simply send a level of charge for a certain amount of time and then switch itself off, continually repeating the process until it is removed from the battery. This method of battery charging can potentially overcharge the battery, causing it to dry out, or even start to gas, and ultimately killing the battery. However, CTEK’s smart chargers move into a pulse maintenance mode once the battery is fully charged. Rather than sending in a charge and estimating the battery’s needs, a CTEK charger will stay in constant communication with the battery, reacting and charging only when it is needed.
In pulse maintenance mode, the battery will be allowed to naturally self-discharge to a certain level before being fully charged once again. Not only does this form of battery charging prevent the risk of overcharging but, as the battery is being exercised as it be would during normal use, the lifespan of the battery is extended considerably.
In Normal mode, a battery will go through seven phases of charging beginning with the desulphation phase and ending with the maintenance-charging phase while being charged at 14.4 volts. Snowflake mode is for charging in colder weather, while Supply is used for batteries that must maintain a high capacity at all times, including batteries for golf carts and floor sweepers. Recondition is specifically designed to recover deep discharged and flooded batteries using a constant current charge of 1.5 amps and a maximum voltage level of 15.7 volts.
One of the best features of the CTEK car battery charger is its ability to charge nearly every battery type available. This includes the common acid-lead batteries found in most automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, golf carts, lawn mower and boats, and can also charge deep-cycle, gel-cell and automated glass mat, or AGM batteries.
Because this battery booster automatically analyzes the charge and type of battery you connect it to, you can charge the batteries of your vehicle without worrying about using an incorrect setting or overcharging your battery.
The CTEK’s line of car chargers include all the safety features such as insulated, spark-resistant clamps and an automated charging feature that is programmed to prevent overloading your batteries, and the charger will automatically sense when the maximum charge has been delivered, then stop supplying power. The CTEK also features a reverse polarity warning light that turns on if you have placed the clamps on the incorrect battery post.
“While it is not truly equipped to be portable, the small, compact size of the CTEK car charger makes it easy to store and even install permanently in your garage or shop. CTEK’s patrons are usually showrooms, car collectors, fleet operators and car/motorbike enthusiasts who want to maximize or prolong their battery life,” says Johann Tiu of CTEK Philippines.
For more information, connect with CTEK Philippines through the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CTEK.Ph or via mobile at 0917-5754812.