My car sits unused most of the time. I take it out on average once a month, if that, for short trips of less than 2 miles to grocery store, bakery, gas station. If my car is driven 10 miles per month, that's a lot. Two months ago, my 2012 vehicle had only just hit the 12,000 mile mark (most of that from two multi-state trips) and for the second time in 3 years, my battery was completely dead and needed replacing. This was a huge inconvenience since I was once again stranded with no way to start my car. When purchasing the new battery, a mechanic at the auto parts store suggested a trickle charger. How great! I never knew that I could plug a car that isn't a hybrid into a wall socket for recharging!!! I was immediately determined to purchase a charger and set about my thorough research. This Ctek MXS 5.0 charger was by far the best reviewed charger I could find anywhere and additionally, it is the only one I could find that has a setting specifically for AGM batteries. Despite what the compatability tool says on Amazon, it is actually a perfect match for my 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited. Before purchasing, I read everything I could find about it and I was amazed at how simple it is to use. It's basically plug and play after hitting just one button for an initial setting. After that, it handles everything on its own, even recovering after a power outage with no intervention by the owner. It also has a 'Recondition' mode. It is recommended to, in a separate process, run your battery through 'Recondition' mode about once a year to add to the life span of the battery. I purchased it and brought the included eyelets to my mechanic and he installed them on my two month old battery. Upon connection, the charger started working immediately. Because my battery is basically new, it moved through each of the phases quickly, as evidenced by the lights on its front, and in minutes it got to the phase where it floats a charge to keep the battery always topped off. It can be left connected to the car battery and electrical outlet indefinitely, so I no longer have to worry about my car sitting idle or running out in the dead of Winter to start it. I looked at all Ctek accessories that can be purchased separately, and decided the only thing I needed was the bracket for mounting the charger to my garage wall. I wanted the charger sitting safely off the floor and did not want it sitting on the car itself. I purchased the simpler, least expensive of the two brackets available ($10.00) and it was the perfect solution. The charger has 6ft cords on each end. One that goes to the electrical outlet and one that connects to the 'comfort connect' port of the included clamps or eyelets. Because my electrical outlet is farther than 6 feet from the charger, I purchased a 20-foot 16AWG extention cord, which is just long enough, and no longer, to allow the charger to be plugged in. The rule is to get the shortest extension cord possible, and the manual clearly spells out the acceptable minimum AWG for various lengths of extention cord to be used. Again, the device is so simple to use, that the instruction manual is very short and concise, with little to read. The cord of the eyelets themselves is very short, I believe only 8 inches. They offer a longer one for purchase separately but that only gives you an additional 4 inches of length. My mechanic did extend the length of the eyelets several inches by splicing them to a longer piece of cord. The manufacturer says this is allowed in order to run the 'comfort connect' port of the eyelets through the grill of your car. With this added length, the eyelet cord now reaches from my battery out through the grill of my car, where its 'comfort connect' end is discreetly secured with an undetectable zip tie. This means that I never have to open the hood of the car anytime I want to connect or disconnect the charger. The eyelets remain on the battery at all times and the hood can always remain closed. I can simply connect and disconnect the charger from the outside of the car at this port at the front of the grill. I'm including this info because, when I first started researching, it was not at all clear how the physical set up works. This Ctek charger really is a quality device. Nothing about it feels cheap or flimsy or plastic-y. It's remarkably simple to use, and at under $90, I think it's a total steal for the valuable service it provides. I only wish I had known about it years sooner. In every respect, it's a total no brainer.
UPDATE: 2 years later, it's going strong and is still one of the best purchases I've ever made!