Battery charging

[chiz]

I am starting to look into wiring in a system to charge my leisure batteries. A few years ago I bought some very nice 100amp gel batteries. The type that are usually used for an electricity back up in business like banks. I have two of them fitting very neatly in the jump seat.

What I would like to do is wire in a system that will efficiently charge them off my alternator while driving and then a way of charging them when I am in a camp site that has electric hook up.

Has anybody done something similar or have any suggestions.


Cheers

[lloydy]

If your wanting to charge 200ah of batteries properly off your alternator, you'll be wanting o use something like a sterling battery management charger. I and a few others on here have them, they are great and charge your batteries to 100% (your alternator never will) and do it quickly.
Do a search on this forum for sterling charger, lots of info to be found.
Lloyd

[California Dreamin]

Lloydy has a great system on his van, as good as it gets but it really depends on how much money you want to spend.
Most users settle for something a little less expensive albeit not quite as good:
A reasonable split charge relay setup without going too bonkers:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Camper-Spl ... 5647a9ec48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and
Staged mains charger that switches to 'float' once the batteries are charged on site.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NUMAX-LEISURE ... 4ab22307ba" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Split charge setup similar to this but ugraded ie: bigger relay/heavier wiring/40amp fuses:



Martin

[Timwhy]

Martin

Martin isn't the relay in the diagram a 30 amp? Anyway, what Martin said! You can also wire in battery maintaineers, that are plugged in to your main electrical hook up at the campsite. I have two wired in to my set up, one for each the house and the starting batteries. Also solar is more reasonable now, you may get more bang for you Euro going this route. Hope you find a solution that works for you!

[lloydy]

As above, my way is expensive.. It's just that if you are going to fit batteries of that size, you need something good to charge them properly otherwise you'll never get the full benefit out of them.
A cheaper option is to buy a advanced alternator regulator (about £80) and a split charge diode ( about £40). This will give you roughly the same charging capability as the sterling, but is a bit more tricky to wire in.
Or you can do as above and just fit a split charge relay, nothing wrong with this and most people have it.
Personally though, if you are going to the trouble of fitting batteries that size you might as well fit a charging system that will charge them properly.
When I was deciding what to do, I found this link handy. Tells and shows you each type of charging circuit and +/- points
http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/store/circuits.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[slobbo]

Come see me over xmas Chiz and we can sort it out for you. Got mine working a treat now.

[chiz]

Thanks Rob. I hope that there are mince pies involved?

Lloydy in the info you sent to me there is mention of a battery to battery system. Would this do the job? It also appears to be at a sensible price.

http://www.sp-shop.co.uk/Battery-to-Battery-Chargers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chiz]

And here's another bit about it.

http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/Sterling ... harg02.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[lloydy]

The battery to battery is the one I have. It's great, I have the 50amp one and 160ah of batteries. Works perfectly, never worry about power usage now. As per the wiring diagram in my link, with the battery to battery charger you can also fit a mains charger to the starter battery and the sterling will use it to charge the leisure's up as well.
It does cost a bit to fit, cable is very expensive (you will need 35mm2 minimum), but it's worth it if you ask me.

[Russel]

Just be careful if you take your van round to Rob's! You know wot his dad calls him?
Russel

[slobbo]

Cheeky git.

[v-lux]

For the sake of a few quid off ebay, fit yourself some kind of voltmeter for the leisure batteries.

Nothing wrecks batteries more than being over discharged. It wont matter what charging setup you have if you've destroyed the batteries by running them lower than 11v.

[slobbo]

For the sake of a few quid off ebay, fit yourself some kind of voltmeter for the leisure batteries.

Nothing wrecks batteries more than being over discharged. It wont matter what charging setup you have if you've destroyed the batteries by running them lower than 11v.

I've got a battery brain on mine which cuts the power at 11.8v so you always have enough charge to start your vehicle. Same principle if you fit one to your leisure battery.

[v-lux]

I've got a battery brain on mine which cuts the power at 11.8v so you always have enough charge to start your vehicle. Same principle if you fit one to your leisure battery.

Nice set up! That's even better than a gauge if money will stretch to it, fit and forget. I always think things are at their best when you could let 'anyone' loose with your vehicle and not have to give them a booklet to learn beforehand. Automated systems rock!