If you have a car in storage for the winter, or your car just won't start, you might need the help of a battery charger!

Car battery chargers plug into your mains electricity socket and attach to the terminals of your car battery. They can be used to charge up a battery that has run low, or to maintain a car battery that isn't being used - for example, if you leave your car in storage over the winter.

If you want to know how to charge your car battery, take a look at our guide.

What do they do?

All chargers send electricity to your car's battery, but there are three main functions that they can perform. Make sure that the charger you buy can do what you need it to!

• Maintenance charging - Also called 'trickle' charging, this sends a small amount of electricity to your battery to keep it healthy while it's being stored for long periods of time.
• Conventional charging - This sends power to your battery to charge it up from a low amount of power. It takes between 6-24 hours, but normally about 10 hours to charge a battery from empty to full.
• Engine start function - This is the same as jump starting your car. It takes a lot more power, so is normally seen on more heavy duty chargers.

Smart chargers

Smart chargers can be used for both charging your battery and long term connection for maintenance charging. They'll automatically detect the fastest charging mode, and will switch to a trickle charge when the battery is full - so there's no risk of over-charging and damaging your battery!

Which one do I need?

If you know what sort of charging you want to do, there are just a couple of things to think about when picking a battery charger:

• Engine size - How big is your engine? A bigger engine needs a bigger battery, which in turn needs a more powerful charger! Check that your charger is suitable for the size of your engine.
• Battery type - What kind of battery have you got? Lead acid batteries work with all kinds of battery charger as long as they're suitable, but if you have a gel or calcium battery, or an AGM/EFB normally found in cars with stop/start functions.

So, there you have it - a quick guide to Car battery chargers. Make sure that the charger is right for the job that you want, and that it's compatible with your battery, and you're good to go! Head over to our range for more information.