Best all round car charger to get?

cormie

Hi there,
I'm looking to get a car charger for 2 separate vehicles and just wondering which one to go for? It's mainly for my phone but it would be nice to have the option to charge higher power items too if needed and if it's going to cost an extra £2 per charger, that's fine.

I already have this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0042AP7F2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A37XFMI9DD5A57 and it does the job and comes with a nice sturdy quality cable too but my friend pointed out it's only 1.2amp (or 1200mah - I haven't a clue about any of this stuff)

There is then some very highly rated and reviewed "powergen" models from amazon.

2.4 amp - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GX5ORL4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3H9QVQ3445GSN

3.6 amp - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088U6OZY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3H9QVQ3445GSN

4.2 amp - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088U4YAG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3H9QVQ3445GSN

Am I better off just going for the 4.2 amp one? Very well reviewed as the rest of them are, I just don't want to blow my phone or charge it badly and damage the battery but at the same time would like a decent unit that will have no problems charging whatever is put to it.

Any feedback appreciated

cormie

Oh, another important thing to mention is that when charging from the cigarette socket on I think 4 vehicles I've tested different chargers etc with, they all seem to have a whistling noise when connected to the charger and aux in of the radio at the same time. The whistling noise seems to be somewhat affected by the acceleration too? As soon as I unplug the charger, it goes back to a clean sound. Do any of these chargers have something to combat this or would there be any other suggestions?

cormie

Checked the reviews on the 4.2 amp one and it seems to mention no audio interference, but reading further into that review he mentions about fuses blowing? Hopefully nothing to worry about?:

Although car chargers can be quite cheap I did a lot of research because I wanted something that could handle the higher power demands of more 'modern' devices, which are getting more hungry as people want more CPU and battery technology is allowing them to be. There are 5 of us in our family.

The build is solid and clicks snuggly into my 35mm socket. The connectors fit tight with solid electrical connections. The LED is useful to confirm the lighter socket is delivering power. There is no radio interference which some reviewers report for other chargers, and because other reviewers didn't mention interference is the second reason I bought this one. Phew.

I have done some brief tests and it does not disappoint, but not yet spent any time confirming the ratings.

Now the confusing part. Why does it have a 5 Amp fuse?

The fuse is a F5AL250V, which is a 5A quick blow 20mm fuse, accessible via the screw on tip. I checked this out because reviewers of other chargers say either their electronics blow or the fuse does. I was not particularly worried because nobody reported this charger blowing anything.

The web description says the input is 1000mA 1A and the leaflet that comes in the box says 1.8A. If it is delivering 3.6A at 5V, which is 18W, that is 1.5A at 12V and 0.75A at 24V. That is my only concern. It should not need more than 1.5A therefore I would expect 2A fuse. If it is capable of handling 1.8A at 12v then it may deliver 4.32A total output!!!

I think I will get myself a spare fuse.

biko

For years I used one of those "cig lighter socket to normal plug" yokes.
Not a bother with phones or laptops. I don't know the rating on it but if it's rated for a laptop it will work with a phone.



The whistling noise is common, google ground loop isolation.

cormie

Thanks for that, I have a inverter thingy separate in the vans which I got for the likes of laptops, seems to work ok with the engine on, would prefer something a bit more compact for general USB charging this time though.

I'm not sure if the whining noise only comes when connected to the head unit, will try test it soon with a decent set of earphones while the audio player is charging and see if the problem is still there.

cormie

Did a bit of testing with the audio again, seems it's related more to the head unit than to the charger as when I plug in my good set of earphones, there's no difference in the noise when the music player is charging via the car and not, whereas with the music player connected to the head unit, there's a very obvious noise which is worse with the music being charged from the cigarette socket usb port than it is when being charged from the usb port that's on the head unit itself.

I found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PnLke3QURY

Maybe it would be a solution?


So with regards the chargers themselves, from purely a power perspective, should I just pay extra and get the 4.2 I wonder? I guess it does everything the others do and is just a bit more powerful for when needed?

This may actually be better in motors forum actually?

Also, another USB charger I have won't charge my phone but will charge a new dash cam which is mini usb powered technology can be such a headache