RING RSC704 SMART CHARGER

PRICE: £49.99

What is it?

As the name suggest, it’s a battery charger for your car/ van/motorbike.

It’s designed to work with modern vehicles and their complex electric, including cars with stop/start systems. It features a threestage charging cycle that automatically switches between modes to keep batteries in good condition and claims to work twice as fast as traditional linear chargers. It also has built in protection against overcharging, works as a long-term trickle charger in maintenance mode and is weatherproof, allowing for outdoor use. Is it any good?

It certainly seems to be. We recently had starting problems caused by a battery drain. Hooking up the NC704 was simple and with just one button to operate it there was no chance of messing things up. The status light gave a simple, clear indication of the charge and it brought the battery back to life within a few hours.

As a bonus, the unit is as small and light as a paperback – great progress compared to clunky chargers of old. For those with electric vehicles there’s the more advanced RSC706, which also features a ‘repair’ mode.