David is so laid back he will have the inclination
When I park with my EHU socket against the fence at home I plug the lead into the van and drape it over the bike rackthen park up and take the lead and plug it into the outdoor socket
I was told years ago that I should never start the ignition when the EHU lead was plugged in as it could short out the Zig (other makes are available) control unit. Or is that only if the other end is plugged in?David is so laid back he will have the inclination
When I park with my EHU socket against the fence at home I plug the lead into the van and drape it over the bike rackthen park up and take the lead and plug it into the outdoor socket
It is if left standing a few weeks.
I agree completely David, it's feasible and likely that leaving the controller connected will give a net gain.I think anyone who assumes that is almost certainly wrong.
My point to you was turning off the solar controller is probably for the majority of folk the WRONG thing to do as it is quite feasible and entirely likely they will harvest enough each day to recover the self-consumption of the solar controller. If off they will get nothing; if on, they would (unless they are parked in an alleyway like Barry) likely see a net gain.
I just had a look at my numbers and in January 2022 I averaged 102Wh/per day. Pretty crap really, but I am in Scotland, parked north of a tall house in a month where the days are very short. But if all I need to cover the self-discharge of the Solar Controller is around 6W/h Day, I am easily covered.
Most people do not live in in Scotland (90% of the population don't) and don't have solar panels in shade most of the day, so in a better position than I. So unless you know you are in a location where it is not possible to get solar (such as parked in an alleyway or under cover), I still say DO NOT TURN YOUR CONTROLLERS OFF
Harvesting enough to charge the batteries is an entirely different matter.
I think anyone who assumes that is almost certainly wrong.
My point to you was turning off the solar controller is probably for the majority of folk the WRONG thing to do as it is quite feasible and entirely likely they will harvest enough each day to recover the self-consumption of the solar controller. If off they will get nothing; if on, they would (unless they are parked in an alleyway like Barry) likely see a net gain.
I just had a look at my numbers and in January 2022 I averaged 102Wh/per day. Pretty crap really, but I am in Scotland, parked north of a tall house in a month where the days are very short. But if all I need to cover the self-discharge of the Solar Controller is around 6W/h Day, I am easily covered.
Most people do not live in in Scotland (90% of the population don't) and don't have solar panels in shade most of the day, so in a better position than I. So unless you know you are in a location where it is not possible to get solar (such as parked in an alleyway or under cover), I still say DO NOT TURN YOUR CONTROLLERS OFF
Harvesting enough to charge the batteries is an entirely different matter.
I see your point David but I think there are way too many variables at play to make a general statement like DO NOT TURN YOUR CONTROLLER OFF.I think anyone who assumes that is almost certainly wrong.
My point to you was turning off the solar controller is probably for the majority of folk the WRONG thing to do as it is quite feasible and entirely likely they will harvest enough each day to recover the self-consumption of the solar controller. If off they will get nothing; if on, they would (unless they are parked in an alleyway like Barry) likely see a net gain.
I just had a look at my numbers and in January 2022 I averaged 102Wh/per day. Pretty crap really, but I am in Scotland, parked north of a tall house in a month where the days are very short. But if all I need to cover the self-discharge of the Solar Controller is around 6W/h Day, I am easily covered.
Most people do not live in in Scotland (90% of the population don't) and don't have solar panels in shade most of the day, so in a better position than I. So unless you know you are in a location where it is not possible to get solar (such as parked in an alleyway or under cover), I still say DO NOT TURN YOUR CONTROLLERS OFF
Harvesting enough to charge the batteries is an entirely different matter.
I think you've been misinformed there Caz, smacks old wives tale
I think you've been misinformed there Caz, smacks old wives tale
Some ZIG units had/have an issue with overcharging from EHU so generally there is a thought that you shouldn't leave a ZIG charger left on long term. It's simple enough to check out though with a multimeter, just check across the battery and the voltage should not go above 14.8v for a couple of hours or so max.
I cant see any issue at all with having EHU and running the engine at the same time apart from driving off with the EHU still plugged in of course!!!
Merl
He`d looped the EHU cable around the towbar on the back of the motorhome and around the EHU bollard.I fully agree and as an aside you won`t drive off whilst still connected to the EHU as happened on the Uttoxeter C.C. site as it was then many years back when we was there.
I was sat outside under the awning having a brew when i saw the motorhomer 2 pitches down from us get in the cab and start the engine, i jumped up and shouted and waved at him to stop but he just looked at me and drove off, his window was open so he could hear me as well.
He`d looped the EHU cable around the towbar on the back of the motorhome and around the EHU bollard so it ripped the whole damned bollard clean out along with several yards worth of cable out of the ground which also blew then entire site
Took a day and a half to get the power back, thankfully we had full solar and plenty og LPG
Some folks are plain crazy!
, the hookup lead has the SOCKET that goes into the motorhome) so that it faces backwards, then when you drive away with the lead still attached (and the lead NOT wrapped around a towball!), you get no damage to any parts. You just get the 3 wires in the cable pulled out the socket connector, while the socket still remains attached to the plug. That is rectified by making a phone call back home once you realise you forgot to unplug and requesting the cable plug into the outdoor EHU feed socket is pulled before the cat 
sniffs the bare wires. 
(I might make a little lead like that as the current Motorhomes plug is fitted on the side and not at the rear)
Only have 3 90W panels. more than many (but maybe only 3 x more probably?), but my harvesting in jan is over 15 x more than needed to cover the controller drain. so even with 90W panel and a controller like your 40mA drain one, there would still a net gain, and more so "down south", so I guess we will have to agree to disagreeI agree completely David, it's feasible and likely that leaving the controller connected will give a net gain.
But as I said, don't automatically assume so.
I see your point David but I think there are way too many variables at play to make a general statement like DO NOT TURN YOUR CONTROLLER OFF.
I dont know how many solar panels you have or their size but I'm guessing it's considerably larger than what the majority of folks have? Your solar controller also has a lower than average consumption too making your system as a whole probably 20 times better at battery retention than someone with a 90W panel and a Renogy controller taking 100ma.
Barry's real life experience backs up the info from Battery University below.
If we WERE to make a general decision on the 'controller on or controller off' debate then surely it would make sense to recommend the exact opposite and say " Charge you're batteries fully and then disconnect a terminal" This way EVERYBODY is covered and not just the majority?
Merl
