battery charger question

euro lt35

Guest
hi

looking at getting a battery charger to top up my lesiure battery it's 115AH. But wanted to check with people if they would also work on campsites which often have a lower amperage. As we are on a longer trip this would be more useful for us?

Anyone got any experience of this?


Thanks
 
Hi,

I am sure it would not be a problem in this country but I have heard of French sites with a very low allowance. Why not get a low or variable rate charger then no matter how low your allowance is you should be able to run lights and your charger without a problem.

Richard
 
euro lt35 said:
Thanks richard,

On the variable rate charger is that something along the lines of the ring smart charge 16? SmartCharge16 - Portable Power > Smart Chargers > Standard Smart Chargers
It has a varible rate in it's output for charging the battery but not sure if that would have anything to do with how well it would cope with a variable rates as an input?
Click to expand...

Yes that looks good. All chargers take in a little more than they put out. That one looks like you can dial up whatever output you want and it also has a trickle charge to keep batteries in good condition when not in use.
 
You don't say what sort of motorhome you have, but under normal conditions when on hook-up the on-board electrics system will be charging the leisure battery anyway - Did you realise this?

Or do you have a home built with no charger, or a std motorhome with a faulty charger?
 
euro it35

Sorry but just had a closer look and its its a standby current not a trickle charge. It may well have a top up setting but I cannot see from the pic. If you pop into your local motor factors they will advise you. I would be tempted to buy a small 2 - 4amp charger as they are small, light and cheap. 16 amps of charge is not good for most batteries.
 
Hi Nosha

The campervan was a home conversion the 12volt is totaly seperate from the mains power in the van. If I could buy a unit that would normaly be built into campers as long as it does the job and charges away whenever I am plugged in. I would be happy with that.

Richard, I was looking at the same companys 8amp smart charger but it says it's only for Batteries up to 100AH and mine seams to be 115AH. If I could use a smaller one I would as I am in Spain and seam to only be able to find chargers for batteries up to 100AH.
 
euro lt35 said:
Hi Nosha

The campervan was a home conversion the 12volt is totaly seperate from the mains power in the van. If I could buy a unit that would normaly be built into campers as long as it does the job and charges away whenever I am plugged in. I would be happy with that.

Richard, I was looking at the same companys 8amp smart charger but it says it's only for Batteries up to 100AH and mine seams to be 115AH. If I could use a smaller one I would as I am in Spain and seam to only be able to find chargers for batteries up to 100AH.
Click to expand...

You could try this one Halfords | Halfords Fully Automatic Battery Charger if you dont have halfords then you can buy it on the net.They say its good for deisel engine and deep cycle batteries. If you want to plum one into the van google rainbow conversions. they do most things for vans and the guy is very helpful. Failing that try roadpro again very helpful on phone. You will get stung for a bit of postage but it should not take too long to get to Spain if you have an address?
 
Haaamster said:
Is it true that you cannot charge a leisure battery with a 12 v battery charger.

I did this earlier in the year and may have broken my new leisure battery :eek:
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Will need a bit more info to give you a definite answer. Specifications of the battery charger and exactly what you did with it.

Some elcheepo taper chargers will overcharge the battery if they are left connected for weeks. Chargers can also fail-dangerous and damage the batteries.

Ideally, a quality three-stage charger should be used and this can be left on indefinitely provided you have made sure the charger will go into float mode. If it doesn't, it indicates either a failing battery or too-large a parasitic/phantom load that may cause the charger to stay in bulk mode.

--------------------------------

OP - even a 12V 20 Amp charger will only draw around 1 1/2 to 2 Amps from the 220V mains, so it is unlikely to cause problems at most camp sites.
 
Haaamster said:
Is it true that you cannot charge a leisure battery with a 12 v battery charger.

I did this earlier in the year and may have broken my new leisure battery :eek:
Click to expand...

Hi Haaamsster,
There are different types of leisure battery. Lead acid, gell, marine, hybrid, most of which are 12v. Putting 20amps into a gell battery is dangerous so you have to match your charger to your battery. Do you know which type of battery it was and what sort of charge you where giving it?
Richard
 
Tbear said:
You could try this one Halfords | Halfords Fully Automatic Battery Charger if you dont have halfords then you can buy it on the net.They say its good for deisel engine and deep cycle batteries. If you want to plum one into the van google rainbow conversions. they do most things for vans and the guy is very helpful. Failing that try roadpro again very helpful on phone. You will get stung for a bit of postage but it should not take too long to get to Spain if you have an address?
Click to expand...

Thanks, will look into trying to find something similar here in spain in one of the big auto stores. Was hopping to find out first if someone has used them in a campsite on lower amperage first to see how they worked on it. Even if they don't work out well in that setting I could probably still use it maybe twice a year to top up when I have axcess to mains power, so I should go ahead and get one. Will let you know how i get on with it. Thanks for all the help.
 
I use the Halfords Fully Automatic electronic charger (£40-50) on 2 x 110Ah batteries at once. I never have had any problems. I think it says that it shouldn't be used on anything greater than 110Ah but in practice what happens is it will just take a bit longer. You very rarely have to charge from flat anyway, and you shouldn't be doing so if you are using your battery capacity wisely.

If you give it a good run on a hook up, 12-18 hours I think will charge most batteries to say 90 or 95% But with cheaper chargers you wont get such a good charging regime and they wont charge as full as a better charger.

Even the Halford's Automatic charger would be classed as a budget product though, and I doubt it will charge as efficiently as the Stirling ones or top end products.
 
thanks guys for all the imput I picked up a battery charger during the week, and will give it a go the the next time we check into a campsite for a few days
 
euro lt35 said:
Hi Nosha

The campervan was a home conversion the 12volt is totaly seperate from the mains power in the van. If I could buy a unit that would normaly be built into campers as long as it does the job and charges away whenever I am plugged in. I would be happy with that.

Richard, I was looking at the same companys 8amp smart charger but it says it's only for Batteries up to 100AH and mine seams to be 115AH. If I could use a smaller one I would as I am in Spain and seam to only be able to find chargers for batteries up to 100AH.
Click to expand...

I would suggest you look at CTEK Chargers - lightweight and fully automatic so you can leave them connected permanently and not damage your battery by overcharging.
 
Hi Tony and TBear sorry I don't know if it is gel type or not all I remember is that it is a Lucas 110AH. I took it back where I got it from and played innocent "Don't know whats wrong wiv it guv but it should last more than 2 months :confused:"

They sent it away for a week and rang me to tell me they are giving me a new one today :D
 
Haaamster said:
Hi Tony and TBear sorry I don't know if it is gel type or not all I remember is that it is a Lucas 110AH. I took it back where I got it from and played innocent "Don't know whats wrong wiv it guv but it should last more than 2 months :confused:"

They sent it away for a week and rang me to tell me they are giving me a new one today :D
Click to expand...

Hi Haaamster,

Pleased you had a good result but when you get it ask about a charger. They are not all expensive. The cheaper ones just are not as versatile but you do need the correct one for an expensive battery to last as long as possible, especially a deep cycle one.

Richard
 
Hi TBear, here is basically what happened. Was in Germany on my way to 2 months skiinng and my van started making a grinding noise.Popped the bonnet and the alternator went BANG!!!!!!!!!!!. So I used my generator to charge my battery, I had to buy a German extension lead and charger. I started charging the battery but after a few hours it became obvious that nothing was happening so I put my brand new leisure battery on to get started. I litteraly just touched the connections and the battery went Pfffft!!!!
I noticed the green inspection port had turned black so I had obviously damaged it. Then I noticed that the original battery was not 12v but also a leisure battery so I must have wrecked that too.

Ah well it's all good now.Will look at the charger you suggested.
Many thanks
 
Haaamster

You have got me beaten. I have never had an alternator go bang or a battery go pffft which makes me think you should get a pro to look at your system.
The only voltages I have ever known four wheel vehicles to have are 12v and 24v. Both leisuire and vehicle tend to be the same but it is posible to have different ie when there are two wired in series or parallel. I would put money on both yours being 12v. They are very robust things, meant to survive the incredible changing conditions under your bonnet.
I think I would definately ask a pro what has blown it all just in case it happens again.

Sorry I could not be of more help

Richard
 
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