CTEK Runs Warm No Load

[gathermewool]

Model: MULTI US 3300 (4-STEP)
-----Condition: brand-new
-----Background: this thing is supposedly water-resistant (IP-65 rated), so no fan or typical ventilation

Issue? With nothing whatsoever connected, this thing draws 3W and exhibits the following temps:

Ambient: 73.6F
CTEK: 98.4F at the highest point, which was on the line side of the charger, right around where the blue "MODE" button is.

Again, this thing was in stand-by, with no load. Changing charge settings does not change anything - I checked, just to be thorough.

Is this normal or is is thing drawing a little too much power and running a little two warm while not under load.

//

What made me check? I test ran it by topping off the battery in my Forester. With the full light lit on the CTEK charger, my DMM indicated 13.00VDC.
The charger was very warm.
I came back a couple of hours later and the battery was still full...and the charger was still very warm
I assumed it was pulsing or periodically trickle charging, but wanted to make sure; hence, above.

 

[gathermewool]

Of note: my DC Power Supply runs cool to the touch and the fan outlet is just about ambient temperature, even when it's cranking out 5A while charging.

My previous Solor Pro-Logix PL2520 also ran cool to the touch and the fan outlet was just about ambient temperature, even while charging a dead battery.

Obvious difference: both were fan-ventilated, while the CTEK is sealed.

 

[Rand]

have you ever felt how hot a 6watt led bulb gets..(and that is providing light too)

3watts as heat can be decently warm in a sealed package.

 

[gathermewool]

A 3W LED should be pretty bright.

 

[spackard]

Last weekend I used my BatteryMINDer to recharge an AGM battery. Selected highest (8A) output, ran all day, ambient went to mid 80's, never got too hot to touch. I was a little worried about it (no cooling holes or fans), but ended up being fine. So, at least 1 mfgr has figured it out.

Amazon reviews of your charger: about 6 in 2012-2013 mention the charger gets pretty hot.

 

[Y_K]

The closest format I have is MUS 4.3 Polar, right now connected to a 27F battery on a Land Cruiser with all lights up in supply mode, it is barely, barely lukewarm to touch

 

[gathermewool]

My concern (and a minor one at that) isn't that it gets hot while charging; it's that it's sitting 25F over ambient while just sitting there, plugged into AC with no load, drawing 3W line.

 

[Donald]

I have a Ubiquity network switch that runs at 80C. They say it runs hot. An understatement. Yes 80C not 80F.

 

[LotI]

I bought the same charger during Prime Days for $40. I have 2 NOCO 3500 units that have similar specs.

I was also surprised at the heat output of the CTEK but it seems to work fine. It does run hotter than my NOCO's. I guess time will tell but the CTEK's have been getting good reviews and endorsements.

 

[dkryan]

I may have missed it in your posts but did you contact CTEK and ask them about your concern?

 

[wrcsixeight]

Are you assuming no loads as the green light is on Indicating full charge.? If so..mistake.

What is battery voltage?

Do you know how many amps are on the output side?

Batteries range fairly widely as to how much amperage they require to be held at float voltage.

If the charger is not hooked to a battery.....Why is it plugged Into a wall outlet?

Often chargers drop.out.of absorption (14.2 to 14.8v) Well before battery is full, and the underxharged battery will still accept considerable current even at float voltage.

How are you determining a 3 watt load.?

Often low.currents are underreported by a measuring device.

 

[Panos]

Originally Posted by gathermewool
My concern (and a minor one at that) isn't that it gets hot while charging; it's that it's sitting 25F over ambient while just sitting there, plugged into AC with no load, drawing 3W line.


I have the mxs 5.0 model.When plugged in 230Volt AC ,my wattage meter shows 0,9 Watts.
Mine is a multistage one (7 or 8 stages).When It reaches the battery full state ,it lowers the voltage to aprox 13.8 Volts,this is at the 4-5Watts level ,still providing current to the battery to top it off to the last difficult bits of 100% SOC.
The Wattage graduately drops to about 1,5Watts in the following days (it depends on the capacity and health of the battery) and gets as low as 1,2 Watts in this 10-day stage.
After that it monitors the battery to give some short burst of current when needed for extended periods of battery storage while connected.
So 3 Watts is a bit high,but maybe this is the spec of the 3300.I'd say you should mail the company and ask.
My device is usually warm,never stone cold,never hot.Its sealed and water/dust proof also like yours.
However the mode button kind of failed after 4 years and got a new device replacement with another 5 year warranty

 

[meep]

Originally Posted by Donald
I have a Ubiquity network switch that runs at 80C. They say it runs hot. An understatement. Yes 80C not 80F.


off topic - Really???? I really like their products but that's crazy!

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
Are you assuming no loads as the green light is on Indicating full charge.? If so..mistake.

What is battery voltage?

Do you know how many amps are on the output side?

Batteries range fairly widely as to how much amperage they require to be held at float voltage.

If the charger is not hooked to a battery.....Why is it plugged Into a wall outlet?

Often chargers drop.out.of absorption (14.2 to 14.8v) Well before battery is full, and the underxharged battery will still accept considerable current even at float voltage.

How are you determining a 3 watt load.?

Often low.currents are underreported by a measuring device.


I Don't think you read my post thoroughly enough, bud.

 

[UncleDave]

I prefer my optimate 6 on small batteries (below 8D) to my ctek products until I get to 2500 which has a temp in clamp setup.

I've put them on a kilowatt and their background load is de minimus, nowhere near 3 watts.
I almost feel compelled to do it again but I've had the KW on the washer for almost a year now.

The optimate 8 has been hit or miss with people I had one die (was promptly replac3d by the vendor) and a few other boar members here had trouble which is sad as my 6's have been absolutely golden.

UD