leisure battery charging

[thebilby]

Hi all,

At the moment I am running a split charge relay wired to the leisure battery.
on the 240v side i have a ctek 3.6 mxs mains charger.
the van has a cr50 fridge, propex hs2000, 1 light, electric water pump and 1 12v output. about 42 Amp/hrs a day to run in total.

I have just changed the battery for a 110amp/h jobbie so we can go wild for at least two days but the ctek is too small to recharge when back on a hookup for two days.

so my question is...do i upgrade to a ctek mxs 10 (£120) and/or a stirling b2b or get a zig cf8 that would look after everything without all the unplugging and switching i do now?

any opinions would be gratefully received.

[AdrianC]

about 42 Amp/hrs a day to run in total.

An average of 1.75A, or 21w, over 24hr.

I have just changed the battery for a 110amp/h jobbie

So 84Ah out of a 110Ah battery? That's going to leave it REALLY, REALLY flat.

but the ctek is too small to recharge when back on a hookup for two days.

3.6A x 48hr = 173Ah. Although I guess you're still drawing that 1.75A at the same time? So 3.6-1.75 = 1.85A - so there's more available for charging than you've been taking out, so over the same period it should just about get you topped up, but that's pure maths and ignoring efficiency losses etc. A bigger charger certainly wouldn't hurt. If the MXS10's a bit pricey, then there's the MXS5 in between - I think ours was £60ish.

You're asking about the Sterling - but you don't mention how much driving between the two.

The unplugging and switching's down to your wiring, not the charger & battery capacity.

[bigherb]

I think you would be better off with a dedicated 10A leisure battery charger like the Numax. Ctec are good but they are only cooled by heat radiation if they are working hard and can't loose enough heat it will cut down the charging output. The Numax and the like are fan cooled when working at high output.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Numax-12V-10A ... 4ac6648e04" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[California Dreamin]

What he said^^^^^^^ but keep both and redirect the smaller to the starter battery.

Martin

[thebilby]

thanks for all the advice.

i've gone for a 12amp/hr intelligent charger from http://www.travelvolts.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; which is a fit and forget.

going to upgrade my split charge relay as well as it has been suggested that mine is a little small. looking at a VSR 140amp device. gets rid of the looong cable from the alternator.

[California Dreamin]

As you already have the wiring from the old setup the 'trigger/switch from the alternator' is already there....don't bother with an expensive SMART relay, you can just as easily fit a cheaper and more reliable standard heavy duty unit (70 or 100amp NAGRES) and replace the battery to battery cable and fuse for something heavier.

Martin