Among all the car battery chargers, trickle chargers are likely the most useful for car owners. Designed to keep your battery from going flat when the car isn’t in use, these handy gadgets are an affordable way to avoid relying on a jump starter.
A trickle charger is a great tool for car batteries that discharge quickly and on vehicles that don’t see regular use; such as classic cars, weekend vehicles and motorhomes that can sit dormant for several months in the year. It’s important to maintain the condition of your car’s battery to ensure it doesn’t degrade sooner than you’d expect.
They’re especially useful in the winter, too. If you have a classic or special car that stays off the road during winter, connecting it to a trickle charger will keep the battery healthy until the salt clears from the roads. This helps you avoid the hassle of using a jump starter.
The best trickle chargers at a glance
How we test: the best trickle chargers
Dave Kirby and Aaron Hussain are our resident classic vehicle enthusiasts, combined they are equipped with many years of knowledge and experience of keeping batteries maintained when their older vehicles are off the road. Both authors have learnt the hard way with what can happen if you let a battery deteriorate through lack of use, and know how a trickle charger can help prevent the frequent expense of replacing a battery and even a breakdown.
Both Dave and Aaron had access to off-street parking or garages to enable tests on several recommended trickle chargers on the market from brands such as CTEK, NOCO and Ring. Trickle chargers often come with short power cables so extension leads are usually required. We tested the trickle chargers on the basis of looking for performance issues, overheating, charging and maintenance time, additional features to prolong battery life, purchase cost, perceived reputation, weight/size, build quality and user information.
Our team of experts looked at price, power, compactness and any bonus extra features to select our top choices of trickle car battery chargers on sale now to help you make an informed decision on what to buy. So, without further ado, here are the best trickle chargers that can keep your car batteries happy.
Verdict
The CTEK MXS 5.0 is our trickle charger group test winner. For us, it ticked most of the boxes that we looked for in relation to performance, cost and ease of use. Other CTEK models feature in our rankings, and while each have their unique selling points, the MXS 5.0 is the best trickle charger for most people in terms of its capabilities, priced at under £100.
The best trickle chargers
Editor's pick
The best part is that the MXS 5.0 is easy to operate. There are four modes you can use, ranging from keeping a motorcycle’s battery charged to reconditioning a larger car battery. I simply set the mode to the car icon and went about my business. CTEK clearly designs its products with premium car owners in mind, many Porsche and Ferrari dealers use them to maintain their batteries.
It was reassuringly easy to monitor too. Lights indicated at 7 and 8 on the unit depict that the battery is at full or nearly full charge, and the MXS 5.0 goes into its trickle stage, whereby it keeps the battery charge topped up at around 95% and above. Tested on my classic Mercedes, which was laid up due to a fuel pump issue, I was able to keep the battery topped up and start the engine every two weeks to run up to temperature with no issues.
As for the downsides, the power cable isn’t long enough at around a metre long. I had to employ a long extension cable to stretch to the nearest plug socket, and then there was the hassle of waterproofing the sockets. You can get a 2.5 metre extension cable from CTEK, but that’s an extra £20. Extras can mount up too - I’ve got an extra set of crocodile clips with a traffic light indicator, and I have an extra set of eyelet clips as well (without traffic light indicator). Together, those extra clips come in at an extra £20.
Read our full review of the CTEK MXS 5.0.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Great quality charger
- Comes with useful accessories
- Value for money
- Ease of use
Cons
- The power cable is too short
- Useful accessories eat away its good value
Most comprehensive trickle charger
It has several charging and reconditioning modes including a Force Mode which allows you to charge batteries as low as 1 or 0 volts, before reconditioning your battery without overcharging. A thermal sensor helps prevent overcharging in hot weather and undercharging in cold temperatures.
Two of my vehicle’s batteries for testing had been untouched for three months over the winter and gave different experiences with the Genius10UK. With any battery charger, it’s important to establish a good connection from the charging clamps to the battery terminals. This is because my first attempt to charge the first battery with the Genius10UK failed after four hours, showing an error display (pictured), even though the initial reading said that it was charging on the correct 12V setting.
On the second attempt, the charging indicator lights ascended both in colour from red to orange to flashing green in its maintenance stage. Although I achieved good connection, I thought the maintenance stage of over 10 hours was far too long and rightly or wrongly, I turned it off before it had notified me that it was complete. The first battery was topped up a month later with the CTEK MXS 7.0 trickle charger (number three on our list) and was completely charged and maintained within a couple of hours. The Genius10UK charged up the second battery without issue.
Review by Dave Kirby
Pros
- Comprehensive and smart trickle charger
- Very good quality
- Charges a wide range of batteries
- Durable build quality
Cons
- Cable is quite short
- Slower maintenance charging times
The best specified trickle charger
It's designed with logical battery indicators in mind, and the mode button allows for a simple navigation through the various modes. It's built to the same standard using premium materials, as per CTEK's whole range, can handle extreme temperatures on both ends and will charge AGM batteries. It will also run a battery diagnosis on a poor performing battery and will restore one in a Recond mode.
From my testing, I found there was not much difference in performance between the MXS 7.0 and the NOCO Genius10UK trickle charger – which is why they feature in second and third place. The MXS 7.0 works as well as you would expect, with the only real downside being the shorter mains cable – although it’s not that much shorter than that of the NOCO. I had hoped to use the MXS 7.0 on a ‘dead’ battery and bring it back to life, but this option is no longer available. I intend to update my review with further testing in the future.
What had stopped it from ranking higher is that most people only need the MXS 5.0, and with the added cost, motorists buying the 7.0 will do so because they need a charger to handle seven amps. There are of course the other costs associated with adding more accessories, as with the 5.0, but I’ve always been impressed with the optional CTEK indicator eyelet M8 connector, which shows an LED ‘traffic light’ system to display a battery’s condition – useful if like me you store vehicles over winter. CTEK has a great range of trickle chargers, as you’ll see in this guide.
Review by Dave Kirby
Pros
- Can handle seven amps rather than five
- Premium-feeling build quality and materials
- Modes and battery indicators are easy to set and understand
Cons
- The same issue as the MXS 5.0, regarding the cost of the accessories
- Shorter mains cable
Best solar trickle charger
Similarly to other chargers in our guide, the instruction manuals are diagram-heavy, but after a short time I found it otherwise straightforward to set up and use. I was able to connect the cables correctly because they were clearly labelled. The optional solar panel was likewise easy to set up. It’s well made with some weight to it – but given its capabilities I expected that. You can even charge a phone or laptop using the power bank function.
Mains charging time is claimed to drop to an hour for a 0-80% charge, but the point of the CS FREE is that you don’t always have to rely on mains power. It can be charged up beforehand to deliver power to a battery afterwards – useful if you are in a remote location. When in use, the smaller ring of four lights surrounding the power button indicates how much battery life you have in 25% increments. Using the solar panel on a sunny day with patchy clouds took three hours to fully charge.
I tested the battery boost function on a completely flat battery from a classic Audi 80 from the early 1980s, which after 15-minute or so wait, pumps some life back into the vehicle to get it started. I was impressed at the CS FREE's performance in this scenario and would 100% rely on it to provide some life back into a dead battery on any car, old or new. If you’re regularly away from home in remote locations and need more than just a simple trickle charger, the CS FREE could be for you.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Can be used in remote locations
- Top build quality
- Useful jump starter and power bank functions
Cons
- Costly with optional solar power kit
- Four functions not needed by all
Best value trickle charger
The RSC804 is a lightweight trickle charger and is simple to set up, although clearer written instructions would have been preferred – especially when explaining the different modes for different battery types. As I expected for the low price point, the RSC804 won’t restore the health of poor performing batteries – but this would suit the needs of average motorists.
I tested the Ring RSC804 on a smaller, 44Ah 12V battery that hadn't been trickle charged for three months over the winter. Once connected to my battery and the mains electricity, the Ring's large LCD screen fired into life and got to work straight away once on the correct 12V setting - it even provided a handy blue lit background for the initial reading. Despite the three months between charging, my battery was moved onto the ‘reconditioning’ stage within two hours.
Soon after that, the LCD display reading switched from the voltage reading to 'full'. But I had no real idea about if the maintenance cycle had finished – clearer instructions could have clarified this. The battery was reinstalled into my classic car for springtime driving and appeared fully charged when it was started without hesitation. For the money, I don't think many people can complain at this trickle charger's ability among more costly rivals.
Review by Dave Kirby
Pros
- Value for money
- Effective smart battery charger
- Weatherproof
Cons
- Does not restore poor batteries
- Maintenance charging information
Best simple trickle charger
This mains-powered smart battery charger works as a battery charger, maintainer, trickle charger and battery conditioner. It also has the same Force Mode which helps charge up dead batteries and has the same thermal temperature sensor to cope in hot and cold temperatures.
There aren't as many battery reconditioning modes as on the Genius10, but this is reflected in the price. For someone who wants an ultra-simple, good-quality trickle charger, this is a great option.
We have not yet tested the NOCO Genius5UK, but we believe it would rank much higher. It's priced around £80, equal to our current winner, the CTEK MXS 5.0, likely both in price and in performance.
Pros
- Compact size makes it useful in tight spaces
- Useful in hot or cold temperatures
Cons
- Same issues as the Genius10
Best for stop/start systems
Stop/start systems can strain your battery. You might notice this if you're expecting the engine to turn off, but it doesn't at some points. The CT5 helps keep the charge in the battery maintained, so your car's tech works as well as it should.
We have not yet tested the CTEK 40-106 CT5. CTEK markets several trickle chargers with this one being aimed at owners of cars with start/stop systems. It's priced fairly at under £100, but it's worth noting that our group test winner, the MXS 5.0 and third place ranked MXS 7.0 also have a feature to charge AGM batteries.
Pros
- Perfect for cars with stop/start systems
- Great quality trickle charger
Cons
- The instructions aren't the easiest to read
Best budget trickle charger
It features a couple of safety features too, to protect your battery, namely protection against short-circuiting, overloading and reverse polarity. Keeping a battery topped up doesn't get any simpler than this.
We have not yet tested the Clarke ATC12VB Auto. We await an opportunity to test out this trickle charger, but due to its basic capabilities, we advise buying any other product from our list.
Pros
- Affordable
- Simple to use
Cons
- Only works on lead-acid batteries
What you need to know about trickle chargers
What are the different types of trickle chargers?
Mains-powered trickle chargers are the simplest way of trickle charging, simply plugging into a standard three-pin plug and connecting to your engine. While it means your car is tethered to a power source, it is a good option if your car is kept in a garage.
Battery-powered options work the same as mains-operated chargers but use an internal battery to provide the volts to your battery. These are often rechargeable via a USB port and mean you can trickle charge your car on the go.
Solar-powered ones are a bit cooler because they solely rely on the great orb of fire in the sky (the sun). A solar battery charger means they’ll effectively charge your car for free so long as there is sun and the solar panel is in direct sunlight. If you need to move around a lot, though, we can recommend the best portable battery chargers.
Why is my battery going flat?
As batteries age, they become less efficient and so will discharge quicker. Modern cars are also jam-packed with electronics, stop/start systems included, that can help drain a car’s battery. You can check the status of your car’s battery using a specific battery testing kit. These help you detect whether it’s low on charge or whether it’s a good idea to start the car right up.
Computers, alarms, central locking and even the little clock will contribute to a discharging battery. This will then be compounded if you leave your car for long periods of time without driving it. If your battery dies on the road or see someone else’s conk out, then it’s always a good idea to carry a set of jump leads.
When should I replace my car’s battery?
It is recommended you replace them every couple of years. If you’re unsure whether your car needs a new battery, or you want to identify signs that you need a new car battery, you can check out our guide to know if you need a new car battery. We also have a handy car battery buyer’s guide so you can get the best battery for your pride and joy.
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