Leisure battery advice

Post by **bmouthboyo** » 23 Apr 2012, 21:01

Hi guys,

I have a autosleeper trident that at present does not have a leisure battery. It has a small zig type thing above the sink but it only seems to handle lights and tap pump.

I have just won this 150ah battery i hope to fit under the cooker area:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130677046695? ... 3818wt_922

Is this good for £60?

I understand i will need a split relay and some wiring and i guess a small 12v fues box for connecting bits. I plan on running radio, fridge?!?, propex in future, and possibly rarely an inverter for small tv, etc

Can anyone advise on what else i might need? Any advice wiring it up or links? As not that experienced with electrics. Am i going to now have to run a live all way to radio as its presently on permanant live under dash? Or is it good idea to wire small fuse board there from leisure anyway?

Thanks guys

Post by **1_eyed_jim** » 23 Apr 2012, 21:06

Have you checked Wiki? Sure most of this is on there

Post by **Dazco** » 23 Apr 2012, 22:31

Have you looked under the drivers seat to see if there is a split charge relay . If yours is the same set up as mine which im sure it is then it should have the relay and wiring which runs across to the box under the passengers seat. A wire is then run from the battery under the passengers seat and upto the small switch cluster above the sink

Post by **Mocki** » 24 Apr 2012, 10:47

bmouthboyo wrote:Hi guys,

I have a autosleeper trident that at present does not have a leisure battery. It has a small zig type thing above the sink but it only seems to handle lights and tap pump.

I have just won this 150ah battery i hope to fit under the cooker area:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130677046695? ... 3818wt_922

Is this good for £60?

I understand i will need a split relay and some wiring and i guess a small 12v fues box for connecting bits. I plan on running radio, fridge?!?, propex in future, and possibly rarely an inverter for small tv, etc

Can anyone advise on what else i might need? Any advice wiring it up or links? As not that experienced with electrics. Am i going to now have to run a live all way to radio as its presently on permanant live under dash? Or is it good idea to wire small fuse board there from leisure anyway?

Thanks guys

the 12v part of the fridge should NOT run on the leisure battery. It should run through a relay just the same as the leisure battery, so it is only on when the engine is running, taking its power from the main battery.

Post by **bmouthboyo** » 24 Apr 2012, 15:09

Really? Is it not possible to run the fridge from the leisure?

Post by **lloydy** » 24 Apr 2012, 15:23

its possible, but your battery will last a couple hours. 3 way fridges use a lot of juice! Or have you got a compressor fridge?

Post by **Hacksawbob** » 24 Apr 2012, 15:24

Yes really, unless you want a dead leisure battery feed it from the alternator only.

Post by **bmouthboyo** » 24 Apr 2012, 16:58

Ah that's a bit of a pain for cooling beers etc at a festival. Seems a bit pointless having them installed given the damage they seem to cause to the sill area etc and given most people seem to only run them when engine is running. I am guessing using the gas for it is pretty expensive too?

Post by **Mocki** » 24 Apr 2012, 17:21

bmouthboyo wrote:Ah that's a bit of a pain for cooling beers etc at a festival. Seems a bit pointless having them installed given the damage they seem to cause to the sill area etc and given most people seem to only run them when engine is running. I am guessing using the gas for it is pretty expensive too?

costs about 20p a day on gas...... cheaper than charging your battery 3 times a day!

Post by **bmouthboyo** » 24 Apr 2012, 17:26

Ah when i say gas i meant propane sorry. Doesnt sound as bad as i thought though.

Thanks for advice

Post by **lloydy** » 24 Apr 2012, 17:32

they cost next to nothing on gas, and thats how most people run them.

Post by **bmouthboyo** » 24 Apr 2012, 17:48

OK sounds like a good idea.

If I am not drawing a large load (stereo and lights) but have have the linked 150ah battery am I goign to have to go for a heavy duty kit like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Split-charge- ... 3f15f64a3f

Seems like a lot of money. Will I need to buy a kit rated to match the 150ah?

Post by **lloydy** » 24 Apr 2012, 17:52

Looks ok, but you would probably get it cheaper buying the bits separately.

Post by **lloydy** » 24 Apr 2012, 17:54

can get a much more powerful relay here for £30
http://www.the12voltshop.co.uk/Shop/200 ... -200-.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **bmouthboyo** » 24 Apr 2012, 18:22

Thats great thanks

I guess I only need heavy duty (40 amp) cable going from the starter battery to the relay / leisure, leisure to earth and leisure to 12v fuse box. So as long as its close by shouldn't need to much.

I am not used to having much electrics in my van so not sure how best to future proof myself. Do most people here provide a multi cigar socket panel somewhere in the back for 12v devices like laptop chargers etc? I think my current control panel has some kind of small cigar socket? Not sure how this is different or why its smaller?

I think I went a bit overkill with the 150ah battery but thought It is probably better to have too much than too little.

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