A long time ago (3 years whoa) I bought a ctek 3amp charger/maintainer and used it for my genset so it would always be ready to go (it's an autostart but does not have a battery maintainer). I was amazed at how well the battery was maintained by the little 3A charger.
EDIT: 12/2012
I've had my 25000 for a couple years now and a few people have emailed me with questions I did not answer previously. I'll summarize them here
1 reliability like a charm. Unlike the 7000 series (7A), the 25000 (25A) series has an internal ducted cooling fan which only comes on during high current charging for long life.
2 featurs it has the desulphation mode like the other chargers, but can handle larger cells. Other than that it does NOT have the ability to select SLA (gel cells), wet cells, or marine cells
3 temperature sensor unlike it's smaller cousins, there are 3 wires at the end of the fixed cable (which does not work with their accessory system as it does not have the required connector) the 3rd wire is a temperature sensor designed to be held close to the battery during charge so that voltages are adjusted for cold or hot weather and battery temperature. This helps protect the battery from overcurrent or overcharge. To sum it up in one word its a very fast charger, and safe at the same time NOTHING like the old crank up the timer based on the voltmeter chargers.
Those where the 3 questions I was asked now everyone knows. BTWI just ordered another one of these as I loaned mine to a friend who uses ctek's smaller units and he was so impressed he gave me the money to buy a new one as he liked mine so much.
back to the original review now
I later bought 2 of their 7002 series chargers these were 7 Amp capacity and had extra features for dealing with a wider range or chemistries like the spiracell optima batteries I use in many applications. I even installed the under $20 dash mount charger interface in a spare din opening in my dash it was a 30 minute job but gave me the convenience of a plug in for my charger without having to pop the hood and clip it on just plug the charger into the dash outlet, and it included a battery guage of blinking leds red for discharged, yellow for discharging, and green for full. They blink all the time and use very little power
Since amazon does not carry the 25000 I became involved in discussions with CTEK and was shipped a unit for evaluation of my battery banks that are paralleled from multiple 12VDC cells. the 25000's closest relative is the 7002 and it features many of the same "stairstep" leds for indication of how the charge is progressing.
At 25A, it is the most powerful CTEK charger to date, equivalent to about 3.5 7002 chargers and priced at about 3.0 7002 chargers, so it's more economical if you have a battery bank. I am very pleased that they kept the battery desulphating features that ctek is known for in the 25000. The extra current is nice to have when you have 4 100AH cells in parallel for a 400 AH battery bank that occasionally needs topping off or desulphating. Ctek has always been at the forefront of chargers and accessories to go with them they are rated for wet environments and mine have been rained on more than once without a failure. If you have multiple batteries such as an RV with 2 deep cycle 12VDC cells and 1 engine starting battery, this is the ideal charger when you find AC. And with 25A, it most likely can power your 12VDC low power devices without draining your battery bank. When I say MOST that excludes the microwave, big screen TV but includes the 12VDC lighting inside the RV and a small TV set. The advantage to you is when you pull into an RV park with AC power you can recharge your deep cycle cells and run the inside lighting off the CTEK 25000 at the same time with 25 amps of supply current.
I borrowed the flir microbolimeter from the lab becuse the unit gets warm, but checking the ctek connectors they stayed relatively cool for running a 25 A current through them. That's impressive in and of itself.
I would highly recommend this to RV users, solar users, or anyone with a battery bank of 12V cells in parallel. Its rated for 50-500 AH storage capacity and represents the top of the line in CTEK power chargers.
Charges fast and is smart enough to extend the life of my batteries. So called automatic chargers don't do the same things this one can do. The auto float is an awesome feature. Other chargers will continue to "cook" your battery.
Buy CTEK 56-674 Battery Charger Now
I've used three other chargers and the "Multi US 25000" is the best! It saved three of my expensive AGM batteries. Sure, I wish it had a digital readout 'cause I like eye-candy but I'm not too lazy to put the volt meter on the battery(s). Nice heavy cables/clamps and soldered too. Temp sensor on the positive clamp. I do wish they had made the battery cable in such a way that I could reach further than 31 inches between the positive and negative battery posts (battery bank). You can charge up to 500 amp hours worth of batteries at a time.
Read Best Reviews of CTEK 56-674 Battery Charger Here
I received this new CTEK US25000 and it worked for 1 day! I contacted the seller and he said he would get back to me, so far not a word in 6 months!
I have used CTEK battery US3300's and never had a problem, as in most first runs probably just working out the bugs, as for the seller, not good customer service.
Thanks, Ron
Want CTEK 56-674 Battery Charger Discount?
No instructions of any kind. Not even a small piece of paper. Don't know if it works or not. Do you turn it on? How do you use it??
