Has anyone looked at car to car chargers for mhs (1 Viewer)

[chaser]

Just surfing through eBay after the Ctek thread and saw these
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=182049882726&globalID=EBAY-GB
Now I am thinking for the price could they be a useful thing in a mh , if your engine battery was flat couldn't you just connect from your cig lighter thing on your hab battery to the cig lighter on your dash board, save messing about with jump leads and things, just a thought that's all, I am willing to be shot down if there is a reason it won't work

 

[Electraglide]

I have one, works ok. The cigar socket needs to be live all the time, not controlled by the ignition key.Very handy if you have solar only connected to hab battery.

 

[Don Quixote]

Why do you think they sell jumper cables as thick as your fingers? because of the current/amps going from one battery to another, and you want to trust a 9.99 bit of string................. Why oh why pay so much for your MH and then buy some cheap and dangerous cable to start your MH if needed.

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[DBK]

I suspect they "work" by giving the battery which is flat a bit of a boost charge then are probably disconnected before you try and see if the battery has been given enough oomph to turn the engine. In a sense no different to the little battery powered things you can get. It is surprising how few Ah are required to start an engine (lots of amps but only for a short time) but if the battery was very flat I would worry about a fuse being blown unless it has some sort of current limiting device.

 

[chaser]

Why do you think they sell jumper cables as thick as your fingers? because of the current/amps going from one battery to another, and you want to trust a 9.99 bit of string................. Why oh why pay so much for your MH and then buy some cheap and dangerous cable to start your MH if needed.

I know that , that is why I asked, battery chargers don't have cables as thick as your fingers, but they will start a car after a short while.

 

[chaser]

Well blow me down @Motorhome Man has posted the same thing in another revived thread
http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/connection-between-hab-and-vehicle-batteries.122421/

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[Don Quixote]

I know that , that is why I asked, battery chargers don't have cables as thick as your fingers, but they will start a car after a short while.

It's a SIMPLE jumper cable.................................... with STRING cables.......... Enough said.

 

[DBK]

It's a SIMPLE jumper cable.................................... with STRING cables.......... Enough said.

It doesn't work like jump starting where you need several hundred amps, it's a battery charger using the charged battery to charge the flat one and so it only needs battery charger thick leads. This is why it says "start your car in minutes" though I suspect it could be quite a few minutes if the battery box well flat.

Can't comment on the quality of the thing but the principle is sound but a set of jump leads would be a lot quicker.

 

[xsparks]

I have one of these and they work well . The idea is that you leave the gadget connected for a few minutes to a known good source , car etc and when the digital display shows a reasonable charge you start the vehicle with the previously flat battery. There is no current flow through the gadget when starting vehicle,in fact it can be disconnected completely. Its even possible to top up vehicle battery from your leisure battery when stuck.Don't be put off by previous comments ,I speak from experience not just taking a guess .Takes up very little room and no getting you're hands dirty.

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[Don Quixote]

I have one of these and they work well . The idea is that you leave the gadget connected for a few minutes to a known good source , car etc and when the digital display shows a reasonable charge you start the vehicle with the previously flat battery. There is no current flow through the gadget when starting vehicle,in fact it can be disconnected completely. Its even possible to top up vehicle battery from your leisure battery when stuck.Don't be put off by previous comments ,I speak from experience not just taking a guess .Takes up very little room and no getting you're hands dirty.

So you have one and it works, but would anyone be happy to use the car / MH wiring from the lighter socket to charge a battery! NOT me, but if it works for you or others fair enough. As already stated set of jump leads would be a lot quicker and SAFER...........

 

[sdc77]

Be interesting to hear what our electricians say about it. But I can say that using jump leads from our leisure batteries to starter battery would not be quick or easy.

 

[DavidG58]

Its even possible to top up vehicle battery from your leisure battery when stuck.Don't be put off by previous comments ,I speak from experience not just taking a guess .Takes up very little room and no getting you're hands dirty.

That's an interesting concept, having accidently flattened my cab battery a couple of times, this could get you out of a problem without getting out, great in some situations, dark and wet come to mind, no fiddling with hard to open bonnet catches, no flagging down strangers to connect jump leads to

Presuming you can simply connect from a 12V socket on the hab side directly to a 12V socket on the cab circuit, job done

I like the idea

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[xsparks]

I don't wish to argue with previous contributions I only comment on subjects of which I have some knowledge as I would not wish to mislead anyone.

 

[Old Soldier]

It's a SIMPLE jumper cable.................................... with STRING cables.......... Enough said.

I think the thread title says it all. "Car Charger". You are talking about jump leads to actually start the other vehicle. Totally different thing. As for the idea, I'm sure it would take quite a few "minutes" to provide sufficient boost to start on an original flat battery. I have one of these units, never used it so might give it a try next time I have a flat battery.

 

[mustaphapint]

I have one too. It's been useful to give a flat car battery a boost from another vehicle in the past. I've not used it for years but carry it in the MH just in case. I too would find it awkward to route jump leads from the main battery to the leisure batteries.

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[PP Bear]

Don't want to get hooked up in any hot topic, but to say I'm a mechanical and electrical engineer and I most certainly wouldn't use one on any of my cars or motorhome. They all cost me 10's of £1000's of pounds and deserve to be looked after.

If it's a boost you need, then there are booster systems you can buy. Lots more pennies, but worth it should you need one. Many come with a work light and even tyre compressors if required.

Just my humble opinion you understand

 

[sdc77]

I used to have one of those boosters.. was heavier than the generator and got rid of it.

 

[Old Soldier]

I used to have one of those boosters.. was heavier than the generator and got rid of it.

Quieter though!!!

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[PP Bear]

I used to have one of those boosters.. was heavier than the generator and got rid of it.

Of course the genny is the perfect answer, just need to go splash out and bobs your uncle, power all day and night

Never have a flat battery again.....perfec as

 

[xsparks]

I think you need to consider how it works .It uses the same science as these phone battery banks that you can precharge and carry in your pocket as back up. It uses a good source to trickle charge the recipient battery . it does take some minutes admittedly but there is no risk of a spark igniting the gas of your battery or a short between the jump leads. Remember there are no fuses on jump leads and mistakes can happen. Whereas there are fuses on this device. And there pretty much idiot proof. I think the previous posts should consider what the cigar lighter in the car was used for and remember it was very nearly a dead short when heating up to light cigarettes. If you where to place jump leads from vehicle to vehicle and leave for a short time and then remove them the result would be the same. You will have charged the recipient battery by result of equalisation.

 

[Reallyretired]

Seems a very useful idea. They can, even according to the manufacturers, take up to half an hour to get enough charge if the battery is really flat, but we aren't usually in a hurry and half an hours delay is better than not going at all. The booster packs are fine but very heavy for something you may never use, and jump leads are not practical on our MH as they would need to be at least 10m long.
These little gadgets are less than a tenner and weigh next to nothing.

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[DavidG58]

Have ordered the one in @chaser link, as I might have guessed he had already found the cheapest one

However for those worried that it is too cheap I also found the same thing for £29.99

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluecol-C...706739?hash=item2a62697c73:g:KsMAAOSwL7VWq-kp

 

[Larby]

Last year in France, one morning a Belgian had a completely flat battery (0.8V). Having ascertained he had a solar panel I took off positive terminal from leisure battery, connected a wire from the terminal to his vehicle battery.
In 8 hours, enough charge to fire up his engine.

 

[chaser]

Have ordered the one in @chaser link, as I might have guessed he had already found the cheapest one

However for those worried that it is too cheap I also found the same thing for £29.99

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluecol-C...706739?hash=item2a62697c73:g:KsMAAOSwL7VWq-kp

Cheers , seems a no brainer to me , we shall have to see, didn't mean to say it was the best thing since sliced bread but got to be a useful back up

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[hilldweller]

Could be a bit iffy on our FIAT. The cab sockets are relay controlled and turn on with the ignition. 1. If really flat the engine battery might not close the relay - you're stuffed. 2. The small charge transferred might not overcome all the electrics when I turn the ignition to activate the relay -- possibly stuffed.

So have a go but don't treat it as a life saver.

 

[DavidG58]

Could be a bit iffy on our FIAT. The cab sockets are relay controlled and turn on with the ignition. 1. If really flat the engine battery might not close the relay - you're stuffed. 2. The small charge transferred might not overcome all the electrics when I turn the ignition to activate the relay -- possibly stuffed.

So have a go but don't treat it as a life saver.

My Mercedes and I guess all or most other Mercedes have permanently live 12V sockets drawing from the cab battery, that's how I managed to flatten my battery, (3 times so far) new battery fitted recently though so problem probably solved, plus I am banned from using it

Good point though about non live sockets

 

[ColinandDawn]

Hello all,

I have a Marks & Spencer version and can confirm it worked for me.

Regards,

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[sdc77]

Good point though about non live sockets

Because of that we have two extra 12v sockets wired (and fused obviously) directly to the battery. They are sometimes quite useful and there if we need them. (They are situated low down almost out of sight in the drivers footwell area.

 

[xsparks]

I think people making some of the comments assume its to start the vehicle ,its not , its a charger just the same as any battery charger except that its 12v to 12v instead of 240v to 12v. The people that say they wouldn't use such a device on their expensive vehicles would probably use a mains charger from Argos or similar. But they wouldn't expect to start the vehicle with it.

 

[TheBig1]

the idea of charging the vehicle battery partially from the leisure battery is sound. works well and some rv builders include a switch and relay to do this in an emergency. i certainly would not rely on low current wiring between 12v sockets though. not only would it take an age to transfer enough charge, you risk blowing fuses or melting wiring in your motorhome

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