Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, I have a Moonraker with original 12v set up, no 240. If I were to buy a extension lead type hook up, would I damage the leasure battery by charging it up thoughout our trip if necessary? I am trying to work out if the expense of converting the van to 240 is worth it. I dont intend to run much off the battery, but we are going ot Europe for 40 days. Cheers! Robbie

Hi,
Right, firstly if you want to run 12v without the engine running youll need another battery, a leisure battery(it can run very low and still recharge). Youll need a split charger to be added, this will charge your main batt first then trickle charge the leisure batt so when youve used all the batt power at least youll be able to turn the engine over. If you want the 240v to charge the leisure batt, then youll need an ac/dc converter. Or wire up a batt charger to the leisure batt.

I have a Moonraker with the original 12v setup.
The only electrical needs I have are for the CD/radio, a couple of strip lights at night and the water pump for the sink.
I just can't see that I would need 240v for anything. My concern is that if I relented my daughters would then feel obliged to fill the van with 240v appliances.
You will see that I have contributed to a solar panel discussion in Camping. I am hoping that a solar panel would keep the leisure battery topped up if I stayed anywhere for more than a couple of days.

Really hard to say which way to go. 240v should cost you no more than about £25 to do. Rcd double socket. Bit of 240v flex and an underbody hookup socket. Solar panels aren't worth the dosh. Lot of money for a very output.

Done properly, adding 230volts is going to cost alot more than £25! on top of what you have quoted 'Rcd double socket. Bit of 240v flex and an underbody hookup socket' you are going to need a good 3 stage charger (10amps plus that goes to float charge when the battery is fully charged) a mains hook up lead, and a couple of switched outlet sockets and maybe even a 'state of charge indicator' of some description.
Your senario is that for every 2-3 days of static camping your vehicle will need a good run to re-charge the leisure battery. Any more than 3 days and you will find your leisure battery getting critically low on charge. So if you think you are likely to be parked up for more than 3 days 230volting is likely a good option. It is also worth noteing that a flat leisure battery is never going to fully recharge over the trip unless you are doing 8hour plus journeys between camps. The point is, moving between sites every few days and driving say 2-4 hours will mean your battery is more likely only ever going to be 50-60% at best.
Martin

Just 240v will cost around £25. If you want charging I would go for one of the Sterling Alternator to Battery chargers. http://www.sterling-power.com/products-altbatt.htm. Will do a better job at keeping both batteries in peak condition. If the battery runs down while your camping you simply run the engine for 15 minutes to half an hour and you should be good to go again. They aren't cheap but is a better solution if you also do a bit of wild camping. Much better option than a solar panel and more effective than the trickle chargers in a ZIG type unit.

slobbo
Re-read Polanski's original post....it is quite clear that he is describing a 230Volt system WITH leisure battery charging
He is also going to need a hookup cable whatever he does.
He isn't going to do that for £25
I wasn't getting at you, just trying to accurately reply to the original post.
Martin

It's ok no offense. My second post was an alternative which I believe is more flexible than hookup with a charger.

Thanks to all posts!!! Martin is right, I already have a leasure battery and the original Zig unit, but all on 12v. I am now getting the idea of all this but one thing remains unclear: Once you have 240 inside the van, perhaps to a RCD, what do you do to have something permanently connected to the L battery so that as soon as you hook up, not only do you have a couple of live 3 pin plugs, but also the L battery is charging. Is is an electrical box of tricks that connects between the RCD and L battery or is is more complicated than that? Red Westie mentions a "good 3 stage charger" Is this how it would work? Can anyone recommend one? Perhaps one with charge indicator on it?Cheers to everyone, this site and all its members are truly incredible! Robbie

Hi there
The 3 stage charger I mention is just a clever battery charger working off the mains (so it would need wiring from your proposed 230Volt installation) as it says on the tin.....3 stages so high charge (on a flat battery) medium charge (for a partially/semi charged battery) and finally floating state, trickle or pulse, depending on the model of charger fitted, for when the leisure reaches full charge state (just milliamps or pulse to keep the plates and battery in good condition.
What intrigues me is you mention your van already has a ZIG unit.....is this not a 240volt charger type? if it is it might not be as smart as a modern charger but would do a similar job.
This sort of thing:
http://www.tayna.co.uk/Numax-Leisure-Ba ... P6127.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FULLY-AUTOMATIC-L ... tsupported" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've seen lots on here saying how good the Sterling range are...
http://www.sterling-power.com/products- ... budget.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sorry to jump in on the thread but I am looking at doing something similar...

In very basic format...

Currently: 240v Hook-up > RCD > 3 pin Plug Socket

Would like: 240v Hook-up > RCD > 3 pin Plug Socket + 12v Battery Charger > L Battery.
(might put a switch on it/go via a zig control panel etc but you catch my drift I hope...)


SO, My questions are... 1) Would a bog standard (few years old but works still) 12v trickle charge battery charger do the job, as I have one floating around my garage and would prefer to fit this rather than pay out for a new one??
2) When I fit a 'intelligent' split charge relay - for normal charging reasons, can the 240v to 12v charger be setup in the same/simalar way to charge BOTH batteries or is that over complecating things?

Thanks.

You could put in a manual switch but do you really need to charge the car battery from the trickle charger if it is not being used whilst camping?

slobbo wrote:You could put in a manual switch but do you really need to charge the car battery from the trickle charger if it is not being used whilst camping?

I want to keep the battery topped up as Im not always going to be at a camp site or have access to a hook up point. In a 2-3 day weekend away I would want to use the L Battery and keep it topped up and charged whenever I can access a 240v hook up.

Ok I am confused. You would normally have 2 batteries. 1 for starting and running the van the other for lights, camping etc. You normally have a split charge relay or intelligent relay/charger. Both of these will charge both batteries when driving anywhere. The relay will also isolate the car battery from the leisure when the engine isn't running so you can always start the car.

If you are parked up and have 240v then you can charge one or both batteries using a 240v battery charger. I guess it depends on the charger whether it can intelligently charge both batteries at once. My point is that you shouldn't need to charge the car battery as it won't be used whilst parked up as it isn't being used shouldn't loose charge between times driving the van. So just hook the charger up to the leisure battery.