Winter project

maingate said:
I think he is much like yourself ...... a bit paranoid about running out of power. :lol-061: In his case it is more understandable.

I offered the solution of a standalone 12 volt supply of around 110+ amps (2 x 110 Ah batteries @ 50% discharge), kept topped up by solar with a petrol generator as backup.

On top of that he would have a further 2 x 110 Ah batteries with some spare capacity after domestic use.

As the OP has a generator also, I am totally confused at what his problem is. He has not given details of what kind of van he has, if he Fulltimes or has a dwelling that he can use. Therefore I will leave it up to the rest of you to sort him out with only minimal input from the OP.

I'm out.
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But would his 500amps not blow his charger, I`m not paranoid about running out of power, not with my setup LOL
 
Johnnygm7lsi said:
I would put in another battery so you have 4 batteries in total, but your alternator, your battery charger if its the onboard Elektroblock type, and you genny will struggle to charge up all those batteries, so I would fit a 120amp Sterling batt to batt charger, and then fit isolator switches to separate 2 of the 4 sets of batteries to stop you getting a voltage drop when you switch your lights ECT on, it looks like your life support system is voltage drop sensitive. Your 2 isolated batteries will keep your Life support going all night, then switch them over to charge them in the morning with the engine running (about 30/40 minutes) or driving will do the same.
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If the alternator etc. is going to have trouble charging 4 batteries why would you want to add something else to the circuit like the Sterling Battery to Battery Charger. The problem is lack of power generation. You would certainly be ok for one night and you could always have an alternative plug in to the leisure battery circuit. Use the leisure battery with care and use led bulbs through out and no high power drain items like inverters and you will have a reserve in case you need it.

You possibly need to adopt the KISS principal so you have a system you can rely on.

1 x Engine Battery
1 x Leisure Battery
1 x Life Support Battery

Be able to plug into Leisure Battery or Engine Battery in case of emergency ( Simple Plug Socket will do )
Solar Panel Charging Life Support first and Leisure Battery Second
Upgraded Alternator for Charging batteries
Simple wiring and Diagram of how it all works

..
 
maingate said:
I think he is much like yourself ...... a bit paranoid about running out of power. :lol-061: In his case it is more understandable.

I offered the solution of a standalone 12 volt supply of around 110+ amps (2 x 110 Ah batteries @ 50% discharge), kept topped up by solar with a petrol generator as backup.

On top of that he would have a further 2 x 110 Ah batteries with some spare capacity after domestic use.

As the OP has a generator also, I am totally confused at what his problem is. He has not given details of what kind of van he has, if he Fulltimes or has a dwelling that he can use. Therefore I will leave it up to the rest of you to sort him out with only minimal input from the OP.

I'm out.
Click to expand...

Thanks and bye
 
OK maybe it would be easier if I say what I'm thinking of doing and see what you think.

For now stick with the one solar cell of 100 watt which is installed already and fit this dual charger :- Solar charge controller | 20A Duo Battery Solar Charge Controller

Keep two of the three batteries I have and keep the mains charger that is fitted already for the habitation.

Bye a pair of good deep cycle batteries of 110 ah each and add this mains charger :-12V 20A Connect and Forget Leisure Battery Charger | Caravan | Motorhome | Boat | eBay for the life support which draws 5 amp@12 volts. I have a LVAD implant which in laymans terms is a electric heart pump which runs on a battery pack during the day and I plug into the mains at night when I'm at home and 12 volt when in the van.

I still need to find a way for the engine to charge both sets of batteries but understand that it will probably involve buy a new bigger alternator.
The generator will be mounted to the rear bumper in a box of some sort and wired in with a 3 way switch (off/generator input and site input)

I just holiday in the van for up to 3 weeks at a time as often as possible, as stated in my first post it's a Autotrail Mohican (2000) 2.8

Please let me know what you think.
 
soothingduck said:
OK maybe it would be easier if I say what I'm thinking of doing and see what you think.

For now stick with the one solar cell of 100 watt which is installed already and fit this dual charger :- Solar charge controller | 20A Duo Battery Solar Charge Controller

Keep two of the three batteries I have and keep the mains charger that is fitted already for the habitation.

Bye a pair of good deep cycle batteries of 110 ah each and add this mains charger :-12V 20A Connect and Forget Leisure Battery Charger | Caravan | Motorhome | Boat | eBay for the life support which draws 5 amp@12 volts. I have a LVAD implant which in laymans terms is a electric heart pump which runs on a battery pack during the day and I plug into the mains at night when I'm at home and 12 volt when in the van.

I still need to find a way for the engine to charge both sets of batteries but understand that it will probably involve buy a new bigger alternator.
The generator will be mounted to the rear bumper in a box of some sort and wired in with a 3 way switch (off/generator input and site input)

I just holiday in the van for up to 3 weeks at a time as often as possible, as stated in my first post it's a Autotrail Mohican (2000) 2.8

Please let me know what you think.
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What size is your present alternator, even if you fit a 150amp one, which is fitted as standard to my renault master, it will still only put out a trickle charge when it sees 13.5v from the engine battery, thats the problem with motorhomes, the sterling batt 2 batt charger takes the power from the alternator and boosts it to 150amp as a 4 stage charge, everything else looks fine
 
Johnnygm7lsi said:
What size is your present alternator, even if you fit a 150amp one, which is fitted as standard to my renault master, it will still only put out a trickle charge when it sees 13.5v from the engine battery, thats the problem with motorhomes, the sterling batt 2 batt charger takes the power from the alternator and boosts it to 150amp as a 4 stage charge, everything else looks fine
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Ok sounds good but does that mean I would need two sterling batt 2 batt chargers wired from the starter battery ?
 
soothingduck said:
Ok sounds good but does that mean I would need two sterling batt 2 batt chargers wired from the starter battery ?
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Well the way I have wired mine is, I have the batt 2 batt powered from the alternator, the batt 2 batt charges 4x 110amp batteries in the garage, they feed my 240 inverter, which I use to run my microwave, tv, sky, laptop, charge phones ect, and my van leisure batt and engine batt are charged separately from the original charging system, but I also have the rear batteries linked to my hab battery but with a switch to isolate the hab battery from the rear batteries so the original charger doesn't charge them and overload the charger, but when I`m parked and the leisure battery runs low, which it never has yet, I can switch the big battery bank on and it is like boosting my leisure battery, you can see the photos in my profile photos., so my 4 batteries as a separate system from my leisure and engine battery,
 
the charger you have linked to is a mains powered job with up to three independent outputs , OK when on hook up .What you might be interested in is something like these
Alternator Splitting Systems | Sterling Power Products it would also be worth a phone call to Sterling (Charles) for advice on the correct unit for your job I have dealt with them quite a bit over the years and they have always been very helpfull
 
FULL TIMER said:
the charger you have linked to is a mains powered job with up to three independent outputs , OK when on hook up .What you might be interested in is something like these
Alternator Splitting Systems | Sterling Power Products it would also be worth a phone call to Sterling (Charles) for advice on the correct unit for your job I have dealt with them quite a bit over the years and they have always been very helpfull
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+ 1 on phoning sterling, they are very helpful, although you have to get charles in the right mood, or ask to speak to Will in the tech dept, he is very helpful, and a bit more tolerant than Charles, tell them what you want to do, but buy from Power Inverters - Sterling power inverter Products they are the supplyers for sterling and are much cheaper, strange, sterling will sell direct, but prefer to sell thru them,
 
You could also look at LifeP04 Batteries. They are a lithium cells with built in auto shut off. Not a cheap solution but are very quick to recharge and are light weight compared with lead acid batteries. They are starting to use them on Electric Bikes because they are more efficient than anything else available.

..
 
QFour said:
You could also look at LifeP04 Batteries. They are a lithium cells with built in auto shut off. Not a cheap solution but are very quick to recharge and are light weight compared with lead acid batteries. They are starting to use them on Electric Bikes because they are more efficient than anything else available.

..
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Seam to expensive for me but would be interested in what make/model batteries you recommend.
 
Rethink

After looking in to this it all looks like a lot of stuff and messing about to run 2 sets of 2 leisure batteries in my van,so I got to thinking could it be done with one set of 4 batteries with a voltage Regulator on the outlet for my life support?.
As some of you may know this all came about due to my life support alarming when I flushed the loo or any other sudden drain, I think this is down to the voltage drop.
I would like to fit the ctek D250S dual/smartpass as it seems a much more advanced system to the sterling power b2b option with 4x110 Ah batteries in one pack as its a lot simpler.
So my question is could I just fit a voltage regulator to the outlet that I plug my life support in, where to get it from and what is it called. :help:
 
soothingduck said:
After looking in to this it all looks like a lot of stuff and messing about to run 2 sets of 2 leisure batteries in my van,so I got to thinking could it be done with one set of 4 batteries with a voltage Regulator on the outlet for my life support?.
As some of you may know this all came about due to my life support alarming when I flushed the loo or any other sudden drain, I think this is down to the voltage drop.
I would like to fit the ctek D250S dual/smartpass as it seems a much more advanced system to the sterling power b2b option with 4x110 Ah batteries in one pack as its a lot simpler.
So my question is could I just fit a voltage regulator to the outlet that I plug my life support in, where to get it from and what is it called. :help:
Click to expand...

What is the voltage requirement of your life support, and also the D250S will only charge 2x110 Ah batteries, but that may be enough for you
 
soothingduck said:
The ctek web site says up to 500 Ah
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I just found one that says up to 800 Ah and also this one


The D250S Dual refines all DC sources including alternators and solar power, to perfectly match the amount of charge the battery requires whilst minimising charge time. The D250S Dual is a 20A multi-step charger that automatically adjusts the charging voltage and current according to the battery state of charge and temperature to ensure that the battery is safely optimised for performance.

90% efficiency
Adapts to parallel energy sources, use with alternator, solar or both
Automatic starter/service battery separation
Input voltage 12.9-22V DC; 14.4V Charge Voltage
Max charge current 20A; charges batteries 40Ah to 300Ah
IP65 rated - splash and dust proof
Temperature sensor
2 year warranty

There must be a few versions of the D250S
 
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