Tried and tested: Ring RSC706 Battery Charger review

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There’s little particularly interesting about a battery charger. That is until you have a weakening battery, or are perhaps not planning on using the bike for a while over winter, and you want to look after its electrical system. Then you will be interested in this, Ring RSC706 battery charger.

Or you emerge from your winter hibernation and hit the starter button on the bike and at best get the dreaded clicking sound and worst, nothing whatsoever happens.

Then, you suddenly become interested in charging cycles and current capacity as you consider what you need to make sure you have enough electrons to turn your engine of choice over and help it spring back into life.

This Ring RSC706 battery charger from electronics specialists Ring will help you on your way to do that. It’s a powerful yet smart charger that will look after your bike over winter while giving it the clout to stay reliable and packed with power for the rest of the year.

It has a maximum charging capacity of 6 amps and will look after a variety of types of battery, including the traditional lead/acid, gel, calcium and the newer breed of lithium batteries that have different charging requirement from other forms of battery.

The capacity and its ability to work with various forms makes it ideal for stop/start vehicle batteries as well as bikes and it will cope with engines up to 3500cc, so even the largest bike will be well covered.

In addition to a normal connect-and-charge operation, which includes a fast-charge to get you going as soon as possible, the Ring RSC706 battery charger also has a winter setting for long-term connection to the bike to maintain the battery’s condition while it’s laid up over the darker months.

There is also a repair function that will help to recover a partially damaged battery, for example when the plates have begun to suffer from a sulphur build-up which can affect the battery’s ability to hold a charge.

Finally, it is IP65 rated, so that it can be used outdoors, so it is; “Protected from low-pressure water jets in any direction, limited ingress protection.” Having said that, I’m still not sure I’d personally leave it out in the rain but it would appear to be safe to do so.

The Ring RSC706 battery charger verdict

I’ve been using this charger for a couple of years and it has done everything I have asked of it. I’ve left it connected to a middleweight sportsbike throughout winter and it has always been perky and ready to fire up instantly.

In fact, it kept the battery so well charged that its capacity for energy was greater than mine when there was a carburettor problem and the thing wouldn’t start.

It also looked after a 750cc farm quad bike through two winters of abuse and very hard work, generally being connected when the quad was parked up overnight to make sure it was ready for work the next morning.

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However, on the odd (alright, not so odd) occasion that connecting it was ‘missed’, half an hour of fast charging was enough to bring it back to life and get about the day’s chores again.

It will also find and repair batteries that you might ordinarily give the last rites to. One of the kids’ dirt bikes was so low that it barely flickered on a voltmeter but with the Ring charger connected and left for a couple of days, the battery was back with a vengeance and lasted until the bike was outgrown and passed on to its next custodian.

The indicators on the front are handy to tell you what is going on and if you just connect it to the battery and leave it, it will sort itself out, starting in the fast-charge cycle if necessary then slowing when the battery’s content has come up. However, the front button can be used to swap to the winter mode for long-term maintenance.

It comes with crocodile clips as well as a – fused – hard-wire harness to connect to the battery and with a quick-release plug for bikes that need regular charging, making it dead easy to use and keep your battery in the best health.

The Ring RSC706 battery charger is a genuine fit-and-forget solution to make sure your bike’s battery (as well as any other vehicles) is kept fully charged and ready for action.

Pros:

Repair function to maintain and charge flat batteries

Cope with variety of battery types

Long-term, ‘winter’ charging function

Cons:

None we can think of

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