Engine battery charging

molly 2

molly 2

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Is there a gismo that can top up my engine battery from LB and solar panel .I know their are SP controller that split charge ,i have a good controller but it dose not split. Thanks Bazz
 
Try this ,its what i have in my van and works v/well,£25 of ebay or amazon.
 

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I use the Stirling Battery Maintainer it's simple to fit and remove we have had our son 4 vans now we go ours from Road Pro

Alf



molly 2 said:
Is there a gismo that can top up my engine battery from LB and solar panel .I know their are SP controller that split charge ,i have a good controller but it dose not split. Thanks Bazz
Click to expand...
 
Alf said:
I use the Stirling Battery Maintainer it's simple to fit and remove we have had our son 4 vans now we go ours from Road Pro

Alf
Click to expand...

I use the same, good bit of kit and easy to fit. (though the way these threads are going lately, I expect someone will say it's a load of c**p)
 
Durite Voltage sensing split charge relay.... £30 odd quid and a doddle to fit relay closes when engine battery is fully charged by running engine
AND also closes when solar power has fully charged the habitation batteries to put spare charge into starter battery.
 
This, off Sterling's website, explains the difference between relays and FETs

A voltage sensitive relay is great where a large current flow is required, but it takes a relatively large amount of power to hold in a relay, this is power you cannot afford if you are only producing low current, also if the other battery you are charging is a engine battery then the starting current that will be present on engine start up will cause problems through the relay unless its current limiting. The battery maintainer uses FETs instead of relays and as such uses very little power itself (less than 1.5 ma) and so the power generated for example in a solar cell ) can be passed through with little loss. Also the maintainer is current limiting so the high load on starting would not affect it. Relays also have a limited life cycle and on low power generation a relay could be clicking on and off all day, however with a FET control system does not have any physical contacts to wear out and no noise produced.

Again, some will say 'we've been using relays since Adam was born' - they would probably have said the same about candles when electric light was invented. :)
 
Thanks for your Very informative​ information ,the Sterling is at the top of my list .Just need to clarify if it is compatible with a smart alternator, i will contact Sterling. Thanks
 
molly 2 said:
Thanks for your Very informative​ information ,the Sterling is at the top of my list .Just need to clarify if it is compatible with a smart alternator, i will contact Sterling. Thanks
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Molly the b2 for smart alts are expensive but the little unit i showed you will work just fine at a fraction of the cost,dont wast you money.
 
Interesting !

As I am away from my MH at the moment I cannot say what The main Power management system is..
However having had a solar Panel fitted to charge the LB I have observed, checked , re-observed..
That the engine battery gets charged from the system...maybe only when the LB is full !

I keep my MH in storage over the winter and having had problems before this last 6 months I deliberately left the "system switch" on in order to maintain the EB
The storage has perspex roofing so the Solar system will provide power
It was checked recently and both batteries are fully charged !

The EB started the vehicle despite 5 months without use !

PS vehicle is a Lunar Premier H622 based on a Renault Master
 
Thats the way mine works splitting 200w solar into both batteries but picking up the lowest first,at £25 and simple for most diy folk its a no brainer.
 
Trev forgive me if I am wrong your device only works with the engine running.
The Stirling Battery Maintainer works all the time, you can select which battery is the primary one in my case the leisure battery this then allows a small milli amp charge to the main van battery when stood this allows for any discharge on the van battery by ECU or Alarm etc it won't discharge the leisure battery as there is a cut off.

Alf



trevskoda said:
Like the joby i use fit and forget,forget all the boosters cigy plugy things as to much ar--g about.
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If you connect the two batteries like this, could there be a problem with one battery expiring and either 1) you don't realise and carry on using a duff battery till both fail and leave you stranded, or 2) The duff battery makes the other fail as well in it's struggle to keep the duff one charged.
 
Simple answer NO

Alf

Caz said:
If you connect the two batteries like this, could there be a problem with one battery expiring and either 1) you don't realise and carry on using a duff battery till both fail and leave you stranded, or 2) The duff battery makes the other fail as well in it's struggle to keep the duff one charged.
Click to expand...
 
Alf said:
Trev forgive me if I am wrong your device only works with the engine running.
The Stirling Battery Maintainer works all the time, you can select which battery is the primary one in my case the leisure battery this then allows a small milli amp charge to the main van battery when stood this allows for any discharge on the van battery by ECU or Alarm etc it won't discharge the leisure battery as there is a cut off.

Alf
Click to expand...

Nop it works of the solar panel and is active in daylight hrs,look at the picture again.
 

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