Review of Draper 20486 Car Battery Charger

This is a review of the Draper 20486 Car Battery Charger, made for home use we look at how well it functions at charging a car battery.

The Draper 20486 is a battery charger for home/work uses only due to its size and mains connection needed. It comes boxed with a user guide and instructions also on the charger. The crocodile clips are easy to use, the length of the cables are decent and there is a large integrated carry handle.The design is quite large and bulky but is not too heavy at a weight of 2.5kg.

The battery charger requires mains electricity as it isn’t portable.  The jump leads attached are of a good length at around 2 and a half metres, being the longest we tested out of the 6.

Before using the charger I would check that your battery falls between the correct parameters for the battery charger.

To use you need to connect your jump leads crocodile clips to the correct battery terminal points, make sure to check the guidelines for your car make/model at the right position for this as some vary. There is then a switch on the charger to choose either a 6V or 12V battery option, make sure this is set correctly. Plug in the mains lead and then click the switch into the ON position. Charging will then start.

For me I found it a bit strange no LED lights to indicate the charge had started you just have to assume you have plugged, switched and clicked everything correctly once your charger is  clicked “ON”. I was a little skeptical but if you read up on the charging current meter that is displayed it will explain what it is doing and you will soon realise if it is operating from the point at which the dial is reading.

The charger operates very quietly. At the back of the battery pack appears to be a small vent which you can hear the battery charger “humming” away quietly another little indicator that the charger is working. Again with the lack of a charging indicator, was also a visible ‘had charged’ indicator. For our battery the dial went to 0 and I took this to meaning no further charge required and that everything was finished.

From flat it managed to charge our car battery after about 12 hours of charging. This will ultimately vary between battery makes and models but I would say it does take a while so if you are after your battery charging fast look elsewhere. On a very positive note after charging the battery was tested with the CTEK MXS 5 and was functioning well enough to go back into our car. I would recommend monitoring your battery charge and not to just leave it overnight as it will overcharge once left on past the point of charge and may cause it to destroy your car battery altogether.  There is no smart technology involved with this battery charger, so that was a negative to us.

The Draper Battery charger is great for a standard, good value for money car battery charger for use at home. If you are not in a hurry and have the time to check on its charging this is a worthwhile purchase.