Sterling b t b

I've got a Durite B2B charger and it's very good and does much the same as the Sterling one. I've also got 80W of solar which I find perfectly adequate for my needs - small Waeco CoolFreeze compressor fridge/freezer, LED lighting and chargers for small devices like phones and computers. Also got a 600W modified sine wave inverter for when I need 240V AC, eg. small power tools and chargers (but not for cordless toothbrushes!) which are not available in 12 Volt.

I'm sure others will advise to use a simple voltage sensitive split charge system; this is not an option for me as my VB is 24V and LB 12V.
 
I use the 60 Amp sterling BtoB, I fitted it last year it seems to work well so haven't needed to use a mains plug in since, It makes sure the van battery is charged first then ramps up the amps for the habitation batteries using the temperature probe to regulate the amount they get,
very happy with the results so far,
 
b 2 b charger only work when the engine is running.

If your split charging system is sized and wired correctly and you drive a decent amount of time, you may not need an B2B
If you move frequently and have high battery usage, a B2B could be what you need as long as all the components are selected to suit.

just my 2p
 
What battery bank size do you have?

The cheapest option would be a split charge relay between van battery and domestic battery plus a pwm solar controller.

You could upgrade the solar controller to mppt, but with a 50amp panel I'm not sure it would be worth it.

The other thing to bear in mind is what type of domestic battery you have, traction and quasi-traction type leisure batteries generally shouldn't be charged at a current much more than 10-13% of the battery bank size. So for a 100ah battery - 10-13A.

The sterlings are a useful bit of kit in that they artificially draw down the van battery voltage to cause the alternator to chuck out more power (most modern alternators vary the power based on the van battery voltage level).

I went for a ctek dual d250s as its a split charger with a built in mppt solar regulator to charge the domestic batteries and will also charge the van battery from the solar panels, plus it's way cheaper than the sterling. It outputs less current (20a), but with a 225ah battery bank it was not far off optimum charge rate. The sterling's 50a would have been way OTT.
 
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Teutone said:
b 2 b charger only work when the engine is running.

If your split charging system is sized and wired correctly and you drive a decent amount of time, you may not need an B2B
If you move frequently and have high battery usage, a B2B could be what you need as long as all the components are selected to suit.

just my 2p
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Not necessarily true. If, like me, you connect your solar output to your VB, once the VB has sufficient charge the B2B charger will charge the LB. As it's very likely the engine will have been running just before you park up, the solar charge will go to the LB immediately the alternator stops charging.

In almost 3 years of using this setup we've never used EHU or suffered a flat battery. Mind you, when we're away from home we usually drive a fair distance every day, and the longest we've stayed in one place is 3 days. The solar panels comfortably keep our Waeco CoolFreeze running 24/7.
 
Check the specs of any B2B Price is not the governing factor.

We were talked into a Waeco B2B as we needed it quickly we agreed to have it fitted. This Waeco unit unlike the Stirling is DUMB. It draws its power from the vehicle battery even to the extent of totally drawing it down to unusable levels.

We were caught out with this in wet cold conditions where the B2B was drawing all it could to recharge the leisure bank at the expense of the vehicle battery which was also supplying lights, cab heater and wipers. I left the Newcastle to drive to Selby in horrible cold weather after a night out wilding. Lights, cab heater and wipers going all the way. Next morning after another night out the vehicle would not turn over, although it had just had a new battery fitted in Newcastle before we left, due to similar symptoms. I got the meters out and checked both batteries 12.6v in leisure bank and 10v in starter. I jumped started from the leisure and I could see the voltage dropping on the vehicle battery, and the leisure bank now showing 13.8v even though the alternator was shoving out full power. I disconnected the B2B and the vehicle battery voltage began to rise.

I would swap to a Stirling B2B any day as it gives priority to the starter battery and the vehicle.

We have solar but it is not much good in dull, misty conditions. We gave up wilding last week after 3 days of mist resorting to a CS site with hook-up. I find I have to drive at least 2hrs per day to keep the batteries up (ie. 100km or 80miles). A CS at £10 per night is less expensive. When the sun shines the solar supplies all of our needs.
 
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hextal said:
What battery bank size do you have?

The cheapest option would be a split charge relay between van battery and domestic battery plus a pwm solar controller.

You could upgrade the solar controller to mppt, but with a 50amp panel I'm not sure it would be worth it.

The other thing to bear in mind is what type of domestic battery you have, traction and quasi-traction type leisure batteries generally shouldn't be charged at a current much more than 10-13% of the battery bank size. So for a 100ah battery - 10-13A.

The sterlings are a useful bit of kit in that they artificially draw down the van battery voltage to cause the alternator to chuck out more power (most modern alternators vary the power based on the van battery voltage level).

I went for a ctek dual d250s as its a split charger with a built in mppt solar regulator to charge the domestic batteries and will also charge the van battery from the solar panels, plus it's way cheaper than the sterling. It outputs less current (20a), but with a 225ah battery bank it was not far off optimum charge rate. The sterling's 50a would have been way OTT.
Click to expand...
my van is a coach built nu venture all factory fitted charges relays etc and 85amp battery ,would fitting a sterling clash with and cause problems to the factory fitted system? .my thoughts are a sterling b2b would wak the battery up to charge in about 30 min on tickover.or have I got it wrong . the van electric S are CBE .
 
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No idea about clashing but a sterling 50a b2b seems like substantial overkill for an 85ah battery. You'd be way better off increasing the size of your battery bank before going for expensive charging options.

What's the current charging system?
 
My LB bank is 120Ah and my Durite B2B charger is 20A. Works very well. Oh, and in my experience Durite B2B chargers do not drain the VB.
 
molly 2 said:
my van is a coach built nu venture all factory fitted charges relays etc and 85amp battery ,would fitting a sterling clash with and cause problems to the factory fitted system? .my thoughts are a sterling b2b would wak the battery up to charge in about 30 min on tickover.or have I got it wrong .
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Extremely unlikely. The B2B charger can only supply up to the maximum output of the alternator, which is unlikely to be very much at tickover.
 
hextal said:
No idea about clashing but a sterling 50a b2b seems like substantial overkill for an 85ah battery. You'd be way better off increasing the size of your battery bank before going for expensive charging options.

What's the current charging system?
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factory fitted CBE .
 
On top of that, i believe the sterling is a multi stage charger (I'd certainly hope so for that kinda cash), so will likely bulk charge up to circa 80% then back the current right off for the absorption/float stage.

You don't really want that be discharging the battery more than 50% regularly, 80% if its a proper traction battery. So you're not going to be able to make much use of the charger with a single 85ah battery.

Personally id look at increasing the size of the battery bank as 1st priority.
 
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John Thompson said:
Check the specs of any B2B Price is not the governing factor.

We were talked into a Waeco B2B as we needed it quickly we agreed to have it fitted. This Waeco unit unlike the Stirling is DUMB. It draws its power from the vehicle battery even to the extent of totally drawing it down to unusable levels.

We were caught out with this in wet cold conditions where the B2B was drawing all it could to recharge the leisure bank at the expense of the vehicle battery which was also supplying lights, cab heater and wipers. I left the Newcastle to drive to Selby in horrible cold weather after a night out wilding. Lights, cab heater and wipers going all the way. Next morning after another night out the vehicle would not turn over, although it had just had a new battery fitted in Newcastle before we left, due to similar symptoms. I got the meters out and checked both batteries 12.6v in leisure bank and 10v in starter. I jumped started from the leisure and I could see the voltage dropping on the vehicle battery, and the leisure bank now showing 13.8v even though the alternator was shoving out full power. I disconnected the B2B and the vehicle battery voltage began to rise.

I would swap to a Stirling B2B any day as it gives priority to the starter battery and the vehicle.

We have solar but it is not much good in dull, misty conditions. We gave up wilding last week after 3 days of mist resorting to a CS site with hook-up. I find I have to drive at least 2hrs per day to keep the batteries up (ie. 100km or 80miles). A CS at £10 per night is less expensive. When the sun shines the solar supplies all of our needs.
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sounds very strange. Your B2B charger is not supposed to charge with the engine off as far as I know. Is it connected to the D+ signal of the alternator?
 
Teutone said:
sounds very strange. Your B2B charger is not supposed to charge with the engine off as far as I know. Is it connected to the D+ signal of the alternator?
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Yes the Waeco B2B is connected to the D+ Terminal. It does disconnect when the alternator stops giving output. It discharges the vehicle battery when the demand on the vehicle battery is high as it does not cut back but demands its maximum to give priority to the leisure batteries. If this exceeds the alternator output then it draws the excess from the vehicle battery.

When I said the vehicle battery was discharging it was while the engine was running (alternator giving full output) and it diverted all the charge to the leisure batteries and was wanting more, so the vehicle battery that was already at 10v was being drawn down further. As soon as I took the lead off the battery that supplied the B2B the voltage in the vehicle battery started to rise.

It is strange that a company can market such a product.
 
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John Thompson said:
Yes the Waeco B2B is connected to the D+ Terminal. It does disconnect when the alternator stops giving output. It discharges the vehicle battery when the demand on the vehicle battery is high as it does not cut back but demands its maximum to give priority to the leisure batteries. If this exceeds the alternator output then it draws the excess from the vehicle battery.

When I said the vehicle battery was discharging it was while the engine was running (alternator giving full output) and it diverted all the charge to the leisure batteries and was wanting more, so the vehicle battery that was already at 10v was being drawn down further. As soon as I took the lead off the battery that supplied the B2B the voltage in the vehicle battery started to rise.

It is strange that a company can market such a product.
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That is really strange. I can't imagine that a company like Waeco would design a product in such a way. It's hard to tell without looking at your installed device. Maybe the fitter has made a fundamental error? I would not be happy with a situation like this.

EDIT:
just remembered something from my install. I was surprised to see in the manual of my electroblock that there is a choice of D+ ON to switch the unit or D+ OFF !
Found this when checking things with the multimeter and was surprised that the D+ signal went OFF when I started the engine! Turns out there is a extra little box which does this with a selector switch to use D+ On or D+ Off as the signal for the charger.
 
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I have found out that their is a sterling 20 AMP BtB about £180 . the spec of the 50 AMP is 85 AMP battery and upwards .anyone used the 20 AMP. Bazz
 
molly 2 said:
Thanks for heads up ,it says new but no returns .all their items say no PayPal.
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