Best Leisure Battery Charger UK
We are the UK’s off grid power experts and today we’re going all in on the Best Leisure Battery Charger UK.
Frankly, it’s lucky we’re here to do so because all the content we found on the internet to answer this query was either just a list of random chargers that aren’t suitable for leisure batteries (some of which were even jump starters, not chargers!), or it was 10-15 years out of date!
The overall best leisure battery charger UK is he NOCO Genius 10 UK. The best reconditioning charger is the CTEK MXS 10. The top model for larger leisure batteries is the Victron Blue Smart IP65 charger (25A) And if you want to be able to charge the battery from your vehicle alternator or solar input, the top DC DC & MPPT charger is the CTEK D250. Finally, the best budget choice is the Haisato 20A charger.
Here were the winners in each category:
NOCO Genius 10 UK
• Voltage: 6V/12V
• Charging Amps: 10A
• Recommended Battery Capacity: Up to 230Ah
• For Battery Types: Flooded, AGM, Gel, Calcium, Lithium (LiFePO4)
• Waterproof / Dustproof: Yes, to IP65
CTEK MXS10
• Voltage: 12V
• Charging Amps: 10A
• Recommended Battery Capacity: 20-300Ah
• For Battery Types: Flooded, AGM, Gel, Calcium
• Waterproof / Dustproof: Yes, to IP65
Victron IP65 Charger
• Voltage: 12V
• Charging Amps: 25A
• Recommended Battery Capacity: 80-250Ah
• For Battery Types: Flooded, AGM, Gel, Calcium, Lithium (LiFePO4)
• Waterproof / Dustproof: Yes, to IP65
We are the UK’s experts on off-grid power. The chargers in this list are the ones we’ve tested and surveyed across a wide variety of users form caravan, motorhome and campervan owners, to professional mechanics.
Our selections were based on:
- Charging power (ie. was the power provided enough to charge the battery sizes it’s supposed to charge)
- Build quality
- Ability to handle various weather conditions
- Quality of clamps (this is crucial for its stated charging power to actually fully reach your battery)
- Manufacturer reputation for quality, longevity and reliability
In this article, we’ll also cover how to decide which one is the right charger for you. And we’ll discuss why getting a charger with the wrong charging Amps can significantly shorten the battery’s lifespan.
Finally, we’ll talk about how the reconditioning chargers on the market today can increase battery lifespan by as much as double.
Best Leisure Battery Chargers
- Top Pick: NOCO Genius 10 UK
- Best Reconditioning Charger: CTEK MXS 10
- Best for Large Batteries: Victron Blue Smart IP65 Charger
- Best DC DC Charger: CTEK D250SE (full CTEK DC DC Charger review)
Leisure Battery Charger Reviews
Let’s check out the top battery chargers in more details.
Below, you’ll see full reviews of these chargers, the results of our testing and analysis. That includes the pros and cons of each model, as well as which one is the right one for your particular needs.
NOCO Genius 10 UK
Pros and who needs this model of charger:
Ideal for smaller to medium sized batteries
The Genius 10 works with both 6V and 12V batteries. We recommend this charger for any 12V battery size from 33Ah to 100Ah. The reason for that is that your charging Amps should be at least 10% of the battery capacity so that it’s powerful enough to fill the battery with the charge it needs – making 100Ah the maximum. And the charging Amps shouldn’t be more than 30% of the battery capacity, making 33Ah the minimum battery size.
Lower cost than the Victron and CTEK chargers yet similar quality
NOCO aren’t the poor relation in this scenario, even if their chargers are slightly lower cost. The sophistication of the charging process, and the reconditioning mode, are in the same league as CTEK, if not quite as refined. And it is able to charge Lithium batteries, which the CTEK MXS10 cannot do. And its sturdiness, build quality and component quality is excellent, close to Victron levels.
The best performer for bringing batteries back from dead
Both the CTEK and Victron chargers have the ability to rescue dead batteries. But not as well as the NOCO Genius 10 UK can. It has Force Mode, that basically kick starts the battery back to life, from as low as 0 Volts. If you’ve ever experienced tried to jump start or charge a battery and the jump starter/charger wouldn’t even recognise that it was connected to a battery, never mind actually work, the reason is that the battery voltage was too low. That’s exactly what won’t happen with the Genius 10.
Cons and why this one is not for you:
Not suitable for larger battery sizes
If your battery is more than 100Ah, a 10A charge is a little small. It’s not that you couldn’t charge a 200Ah battery, for example. It’s just that it’s better for the battery health (and therefore longevity) for it to get a nice, full 20A charge. And it’d take a lot longer to charge as well. For 110Ah, 120Ah? Well, we’d definitely still recommend an 11A or 12A charge at least, but it’s up to you.
You’ll have less visibility of the battery than with the Victron charger provides
What do we mean by visibility? Well, you’ll connect this charger and it’ll work away, at its job, charging the battery. Which is fine, and probably fine for charging a car battery. But if you’re charging a leisure battery, it might be for using in your campervan. So you might want to be able to check the voltage level, the current charging process that’s going on. The Victron App gives you the ability to see that. NOCO (and indeed CTEK) don’t have that option.
A jack of all trades…
It does everything well! But it’s not quite as clever in charging as the CTEK model, and it’s not quite as high-end or feature-packed as the Victron IP65 charger.
Where to get it?
You can check it out, the lowest cost seller is here, on Amazon.
CTEK MXS10
Pros and who needs this leisure charger:
Exceptional ability to recondition batteries
The MXS 10 performed really well in rejuvenating and restoring leisure batteries to health. Can it rescue absolutely every wreck of a battery that’s been sitting in a garage unused for 5 years? Well, no, probably not! But as long as you have your expectations in the right place, you’ll find that even batteries that are quite deeply sulfated can be returned to health. And it’s not just sulfation, the CTEK’s Recond Mode will reverse acid stratification, another major battery killer.
The fastest charging
Our testing found it to be the fastest charging on the UK market. You’ll get a workable amount of charge into a 100Ah battery if you charge it overnight. If you’ve got a smaller battery than that, it’ll make quick work of charging, in just a few hours. If you’ve got a 200Ah battery it’ll need a whole day’s charging, but really if you’ve got a battery that size, you should be charging it with a 20A charging Amperage (not possible with this CTEK).
Most sophisticated charging stages
The 8-stage charging process is the best of the lot. Forget the fact that it’s one stage more than the 7 stages of the Victron leisure battery charger. The CTEK process is extremely clever at giving the precise amount of charging voltage and Amperage at the right times. That’s why we rate it as the charger best equipped to deal with batteries in all kinds of different states and charge levels.
Cons and why this model is not for you:
Doesn’t work with Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries
That’s the major weakness of this leisure battery charger. The other top models on the market work with both lead-acid and Lithium chargers. If you’ve only got Lead-acid batteries, then this charger is great. But if you have Lithium batteries, you’d need to get a separate charger for them.
It costs around £20-30 more than the NOCO Genius 10 UK
It’s a little better for charging sophistication and battery reconditioning but doesn’t work with Lithium batteries. Decide which one is better based on how important those aspects are to you.
It can’t recover extremely discharged batteries
If your battery has very highly discharged, down to 0 Volts, the Genius 10’s Force Mode can still force it back to life. But the MXS 10 needs a minimum voltage of around 2 Volts to able to detect it and get to work. Bear in mind, though that a battery discharging to 0 Volts is very rare!
Where to get it?
You can see it right here, on Amazon.
Victron Blue Smart IP65 Charger
Pros and who needs this leisure battery charger:
It’s made for leisure batteries
The Blue Smart IP65 charger was made specifically for deep-cycle batteries. That’s what leisure batteries are, the charging cycles, amperages and voltages used for charging are all designed with this type of battery in mind.
Great build quality, reliability and high-spec components
Victron are known for the quality of their products. They last well and don’t break down often. The components used are the best quality on the market so there’s little risk of fire or failure.
You can see everything that’s going on with the battery and charge on the App
And the App’s a good ‘un. Simple to use and easy to see the info you need. You can select the charging mode that you need – such as the battery type (Lithium batteries, for example, have a different charge profile). See exactly which stage of charging the battery is in – there’s a 7-stage process, including absorption stage, bulk stage and float stage. The correct voltage is chosen for each stage.
A good battery reconditioning / rejuvenating process
We’ve all allowed our batteries to get too deeply discharged from time to time. Lead-acid batteries, in particular can really punish you for this. Allow them to become too deeply discharged and they’ll accept less charge over time, and that means they’ll deliver less power. And ultimately, they’ll fail faster than they otherwise would. This Victron charger’s battery reconditioning mode removes sulfation and keeps the battery healthy.
Cons and why this model is not for you:
It’s expensive
The 25A model is around £50 more than the NOCO and CTEK – but remember it’s charging power is 2.5 times it, so it should cost more. For a fairer comparison, the 10A Victron Blue Smart IP65 charger is around the same price as the NOCO Genius 10 UK. Remember, though, your charging Amps should be at least 10% of the battery capacity. So if you have a 120Ah battery, charging Amps should be at least 12A.
It can recover dead batteries, but the NOCO Genius 10 does this even better
The Victron tested well for the ability to recover and then charge at low battery voltages. But the Genius 10 is the best we’ve seen for this, recovering from voltages down to 1V, and with Force Mode it’ll recover batteries down to 0V. This Victron charger can’t match that recovering ability.
The charging process and reconditioning ability is not quite as good as the CTEK MXS 10
While we like the Victron’s technology for reconditioning, CTEK have the much-renowned CTEK Recond Mode – it has a phenomenal ability to remove sulfation and recover batteries that had seemed dead to the world. If you allow your lead-acid battery to spend too much time in a discharged state, it’ll get sulfation. The MXS 10 is your best option as a desulfating charger. The Victron will do the job too, just not quite as well or in such extreme cases of badly sulfated batteries.
As you’ve read, there are a couple of ways that our No.1 and No.2 rated leisure battery chargers are better. But to look at every aspect – the Victron charger has a very good charging process, can rescue low-voltage batteries, and is extremely well-made.
Importantly, it also has high charging amperage models, such as 25A, that bigger leisure batteries need to be able to fully charge and kept in good health. It’s the best all rounder.
Where can you get it?
You can see the lowest priced seller, on Amazon here.
And the lowest cost for 15 Amp, 10 Amp versions (and some smaller ones) of the Victron Blue Smart IP65 charger can be seen here.
What To Consider When Buying A Leisure Battery Charger
Here’s how to decide which leisure battery charger is the right one for you.
How many charging Amps do you need?
As we mentioned in the article, you’ll need a charger that can provide Amps of at least 10% of the rated capacity of the leisure battery (what size leisure battery do you need?). So a 200Ah battery needs a charge of at least 20 Amps, and a 100Ah battery needs a minimum 10A charge. And so on.
And on the other side of the equation, can your charging Amps be too high? Yes, they can. Don’t get a charger with charging Amps above 30% of the battery’s rated capacity. So a 100Ah battery shouldn’t be charged with more than 30A, and a 200Ah battery (what’s the best 200Ah Lithium leisure battery?) shouldn’t be charged with more than a 60 Amp charge.
Do I need a charger with desulfation / reconditioning mode?
Almost all modern battery chargers have a battery reconditioning mode. From our testing, the best performing chargers are CTEK, NOCO and Victron. Other chargers have similar modes that have some effect, but not as much as chargers made by these three manufacturers.
If your charger has this mode, use it! It can extend your battery lifespan by as much as 2-3 times. Not only that, your battery will maintain power for longer, deliver more consistent power and deteriorate much more slowly as it ages.
Do you need to charge a Lithium battery?
If so, you’ll need the NOCO or Victron charger. The CTEK MXS10 doesn’t charge Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries.
Best Leisure Battery Charger Summary
That’s it for our analysis of the best leisure battery chargers in the UK.
The results from our testing and analysis? The NOCO Genius 10 UK is the best overall, while the CTEK MXS 10 is the top leisure charger for reconditioning. The best for larger battery sizes is the Victron Blue Smart IP65 charger (25Amp).
If you’d prefer the Victron Blue Smart IP65 with smaller Amperage charge, from 15A, 10A, 7A, 5A or 4A, you can check out the lowest priced seller here.
In the article we discussed the pros and cons of each model, and which one is right for you depending on your particular situation and the battery you have. We let you know which size of charger you’ll need, and we advised that the chargers on this list won’t just charge your batteries, they’ll also recondition them so that they last a lot longer and work better in that time.
Hope you enjoyed reading, good luck with your charger selection.