Sterling power battery to Battery charger

Yep fitted one over a year ago now.....brilliant bit of kit....battery always fully charged( 225 amp) thoroughly recommend them.
 
10para said:
I also have two125 amp batteries from 50% charge how long would it take to bring them back to a full charge?

Have you the alternator to Battery or the battery to Battery charger?
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I have the battery to battery 50 amp.... So I'm assuming from empty battery which I think is 50% it takes 2 hours of driving to fully charge.. But in real terms maybe because we move most days it's always fully charged. But when we have been parked up for 6 days.....running the engine for just 15 mins seemed to be enough to keep us in power.
they do make bigger than 50amp so even faster charging. They also condition the battery so it is more efficient.....I think ....lol
 
the more I read about batteries and chargers, the more sceptical I get about bigger is better. You need to know the specs of your battery before you pump 30-40 Amp of charge in them. The batteries may not take it.

Another thing I wonder about is the charge cycle the B2B chargers are advertised for. I mean the desulphation and equalising charge etc. This is ok with a 240V charger at home plugged in uninterupted going the full length of the cycle, but what in a mobile situation when you switch the engine off after 1/2 hours driving?

I had a B2B charger in the previous motorhome and that worked ok as far as I could tell. But I wonder if there would have been a difference without it? I had more issues with charging the batteries related to bad cables and corrosion.
 
Stick to the 10% rule.

ie, a charging rate (in amps) of 10% of the total amp hours of the battery system.
 
Are these B2B chargers simple to fit yourself? I'm competent at most jobs but know nothing about electrics.
 
My Opinion

I have installed and just love the Stirling B2B charger
Its easy to install, batteries always totally charged, fully reconditioned all the time.
If like me you use storage without hookup you will also need solar to keep battery bank charged when parked to maintain alarms etc,
Dont believe the unbelievers after 5 years of having one of these I know it works and Im still on the same battery bank I started with and they are all perfect, thats engine battery and 2 habitation batteries. Magic!!!!
Bob::heart::heart::heart:
 
I have a 24volt Sterling BtoB with a remote readout that gives some usefull info ,though sometimes ignorance is bliss,I went for 2x 125amp/hr
batteries cheap off ebay £80 the pair new ,my reasoning was the money saved buying cheap helped finance the BtoB and hopefully ,if the effectiveness of the BtoB is to be believed I shouldnt have any trouble and if the batteries last 3/4 years I will consider it a result,so far it has been spot on and a real doddle to install ,as in all mostly uninformed decisions time will tell,
 
My 1988 Hymer charges the vehicle and leisure battery when the engine is running and has a mains charger for the leisure battery when on hook up.
When on hook up the ammeter for the leisure battery keeps flicking from zero to slightly into the green (+), probably a couple of times each second, this can also cause the lights to pulse slightly. We never stay on sites so the lights are not an issue, but would the flickering indicate an issue with the charger, the battery is new.

Would a Sterling battery to battery charger replace my existing charger or be used in conjunction with it ?
 
Trying to get my head around all this hype about B2B chargers.
I have a modern motorhome 210 amps of battery and tend to move every 1 to 2 days but have been static for 3. Watch tv every night through a sky box / inverter and to date had no issues with depleting my batteries. Use an 80 watt folding solar panel when the sun shines and have 100% led lights which obviously helps with power usage.
Would I need a B2B charger ? What are the benefits for me a Mr average motorhomer ?
 
Obanboy666 said:
Trying to get my head around all this hype about B2B chargers.
I have a modern motorhome 210 amps of battery and tend to move every 1 to 2 days but have been static for 3. Watch tv every night through a sky box / inverter and to date had no issues with depleting my batteries. Use an 80 watt folding solar panel when the sun shines and have 100% led lights which obviously helps with power usage.
Would I need a B2B charger ? What are the benefits for me a Mr average motorhomer ?
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It all comes down to usage, if you are a low user (Ah) and have a reasonable charging system then there would be no benefit for you. If you use a compressor fridge/cool-box (50Ah?) then the benefits are there. I intend next year to fit 2 x 80/100w solar panels in addition to using my B2B so that I won't have to run my engine or drive so much.
 
I have a WAECO B2B and it is definitely not the same as a Stirling. It has no sensing in it and it will flatten your vehicle battery simply to keep the leisure one up to 14.4v. If I run with lights, heater and wipers on, the main battery can go down to below 8v. This happened to me in 2010 in Italy in a blizzard. It killed my starter battery and I had to be recovered to a garage from the AutoRoute. It again happened in the UK at Selby after I had had another new starter battery fitted in County Durham and drove there in bad weather. The van would not start the next morning. I put a meter on the battery after I jump started the van from the leisure bank after disconnecting the B2B The starter battery was charging so I reconnected the B2B and the leisure's were showing a charge at 13.8 and taking more than my amp meter could show, but the starter battery was going down I watched it drop to below 10v despite the engine running and charging. As soon as I disconnected the B2B my vehicle battery started charging.

I was told by the supplier it was the same as a Stirling. He had the Waeco 40amp in stock and I urgently needed a booster for my 330Ah leisure bank. I would have had to wait until he got a Stirling, so I took his word. BIG MISTAKE.
 
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St3v3 they checked the unit and asked me if I wanted a replacement or refund, I said that there wouldn't be another going anywhere near my vehicle and accepted the refund. I then spent it on a solar panel.

Drew
 
John Thompson said:
I have a WAECO B2B and it is definitely not the same as a Stirling. It has no sensing in it and it will flatten your vehicle battery simply to keep the leisure one up to 14.4v. If I run with lights, heater and wipers on, the main battery can go down to below 8v. This happened to me in 2010 in Italy in a blizzard. It killed my starter battery and I had to be recovered to a garage from the AutoRoute. It again happened in the UK at Selby after I had had another new starter battery fitted in County Durham and drove there in bad weather. The van would not start the next morning. I put a meter on the battery after I jump started the van from the leisure bank after disconnecting the B2B The starter battery was charging so I reconnected the B2B and the leisure's were showing a charge at 13.8 and taking more than my amp meter could show, but the starter battery was going down I watched it drop to below 10v despite the engine running and charging. As soon as I disconnected the B2B my vehicle battery started charging.

I was told by the supplier it was the same as a Stirling. He had the Waeco 40amp in stock and I urgently needed a booster for my 330Ah leisure bank. I would have had to wait until he got a Stirling, so I took his word. BIG MISTAKE.
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Check your main EARTH cables! I had the same problems and bought new battery, alternator etc and in the end it was just a corroded earth strap.

you can check it easy your self. Put a voltmeter to the battery terminals and then use one lead of your jump leads (take the black one to not confuse yourself) and connect it to the HOUSING of the alternator.
Then connect the other end to the MINUS pole of the battery and watch the voltmeter. All with engine RUNNING of course.
Mine was so bad, I didn't need the voltmeter to verify. There was a huge spark when I connected the jump lead to the battery pole!
To future proof the connection, I added an extra earth strap from the alternator housing to the ground point under the battery where the battery cable attaches to the chassis. Job done!

We only have 12Volts to work with in vehicles and any corrosion will increase the resistance dramatically and the result is a huge power drop.
 
Btob

Silverlocks said:
I have installed and just love the Stirling B2B charger
Its easy to install, batteries always totally charged, fully reconditioned all the time.
If like me you use storage without hookup you will also need solar to keep battery bank charged when parked to maintain alarms etc,
Dont believe the unbelievers after 5 years of having one of these I know it works and Im still on the same battery bank I started with and they are all perfect, thats engine battery and 2 habitation batteries. Magic!!!!
Bob::heart::heart::heart:
Click to expand...

I have recently purchased and fitted a sterling BtoB charger but only two led's show. One is the battery type and after 15 mins the alternator overheat led shows but the alternator feel cool. Can you help.
 
leggings said:
I have recently purchased and fitted a sterling BtoB charger but only two led's show. One is the battery type and after 15 mins the alternator overheat led shows but the alternator feel cool. Can you help.
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Have you connected it correctly? You should have Led 14 (battery type) and Led 16 (constant current) on.

16 CONSTANT CURRENT:

Green:
This should be on from start up( slow flash shows unit on, but on rest mode, for the first 2.5 min. On start up and approx. every 20 min after, see graph ) and shows that the alternator should be working at it’s maximum. It should remain on until the green float comes on and this shows the high charge rate is complete.

Refers to BB12xx Series
 
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