Hook up during cold weather (1 Viewer)

[Percy52]

Is it a good idea to keep the van hooked up to the mains on the drive during this cold weather to avoid the battery going flat? I notice a couple of vans locally that are hooked up and wondered what others do.

 

[suavecarve]

I hook up ............... mainly because the father in law was a sparky and a motorhomer for 30+ years and tells me to do so

 

[Khizzie]

Is it a good idea to keep the van hooked up to the mains on the drive during this cold weather to avoid the battery going flat? I notice a couple of vans locally that are hooked up and wondered what others do.

Yep hooked up and got little tubular heater on all the time on a frost controller .also of course keeps batteries charged. .Roy

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[maison]

We keep hooked up. It pays to keep batteries topped up.

It also means, if I want to do any work in the m/h, I don't have to run extension leads, simply plug in into a socket in the van.

 

[hilldweller]

Is it a good idea to keep the van hooked up to the mains on the drive during this cold weather to avoid the battery going flat?

Temp does not matter, just keep that battery topped up.

We also have a small heater to keep the temp above zero.

 

[rangi]

Yeh! we keep it hooked up and a small Fan heater on a timer 1/2hour 4 times a day, open as many cupboards as possible Fridge and Bathroom too, also cover Water Pump and Boiler with pieces of an old Duvet to protect from frost

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[cornish boy]

Yep, hooked up with the charger on and a 1kw heater connected to a frost stat.

 

[CWH]

@Khizzie @hilldweller @rangitira @cornish boy
May be a silly sort of a question but...
If you've got the van hooked up, why put a heater in rather than use the van's own heating system?

 

[Khizzie]

@Khizzie @hilldweller @rangitira @cornish boy
May be a silly sort of a question but...
If you've got the van hooked up, why put a heater in rather than use the van's own heating system?

My van is gas only heating . Otherwise I would consider it. Roy

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[rangi]

@Khizzie @hilldweller @rangitira @cornish boy
May be a silly sort of a question but...
If you've got the van hooked up, why put a heater in rather than use the van's own heating system?

SAME ANSWER AS @Khizzie Gas =naked flame

 

[cornish boy]

Because our Alde heating thermostat minimum setting only goes down to 6 degrees whereas the frost stat I use is set at 2.5 degrees. If I run the Alde heating it costs a fortune!

 

[jezport]

Schaudt who build chargers for a lot of german vans say that you should not leave them on hookup for long time periods.
A cold van in cold weather wont suffer condensation. But a van heated warmer than the ouside temperature will get condensation so I dont heat ours when not used

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Khizzie]

Schaudt who build chargers for a lot of german vans say that you should not leave them on hookup for long time periods.
A cold van in cold weather wont suffer condensation. But a van heated warmer than the ouside temperature will get condensation so I dont heat ours when not used

Not found that in 9 years sorry.

 

[Podney]

So...maybe there are two questions:
1. I assume that if you are on hook up, both the vehicle battery and the leisure battery are on charge? If my assumption is correct,is this a good or bad thing??
2. Is jezport correct in his statement re condensation? Seems logical to me,but I know little. If the motorhome is kept in storage thru December to January is it necessary to do any of this?
Maybe better to take it out for a run every 2/3 weeks?
Pod.

 

[John&Kate]

Temp does not matter, just keep that battery topped up.

Schaudt who build chargers for a lot of german vans say that you should not leave them on hookup for long time periods.
A cold van in cold weather wont suffer condensation. But a van heated warmer than the ouside temperature will get condensation so I dont heat ours when not used

We cant quite keep ours hooked up constantly just yet, and I agree with the temp, as long as water not getting inside and the MH is dry inside, the temp should equal outside and there fore not get damp or condensate, however this weekend we spent a night in the MH for the 1st time since October half term and the leisure battery was under-charged and we could'nt quite get to the end of our DVD, and I was the only one to get a full use of the shower.

Were on our second MH in our second year of MH'ing and there is still MUCH to learn. Going to look into a new leisure battery after reading some older posts last night.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jezport]

Not found that in 9 years sorry.

You may not have found it. But if you contact Schaudt their technical dpartment will find out.

 

[Khizzie]

So...maybe there are two questions:
1. I assume that if you are on hook up, both the vehicle battery and the leisure battery are on charge? If my assumption is correct,is this a good or bad thing??
2. Is jezport correct in his statement re condensation? Seems logical to me,but I know little. If the motorhome is kept in storage thru December to January is it necessary to do any of this?
Maybe better to take it out for a run every 2/3 weeks?
Pod.

I will repeat myself , I have had no issues with condensation in my autocruise stargazer in the 9 years I have had it. Other foreign built vehicles may suffer from it in certain circumstances..i wouldn't know about that ... My batteries don't seem to have suffered from being on charge foe extended periods. . Others may have had issues but I haven't. Roy

 

[sylvester1954]

I get a littel confused at times about this subject (hey but whats new say some that know me ). Whilst I am parked up at home I cant park outside for long so I give the van 24 hrs on hook up and then leave it for a week, also I will take it for a 20 mile run each week to help boost the batteries. With a solar panel and two leisure batteries that keeps the van going till the next tour.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Minxy]

We used to give our camper/MHs a charge every couple of weeks and/or take them out for a good run, however we now have ours hooked-up all the time BUT have it set on a time so that it comes on for an hour a day to keep it topped up, it saves having to remember when it was last turned on and we know the batteries will always be 'good to go'! In late Spring through to early Autumn we don't need to bother at all as we have a solar panel, but if we re due to go away for any length of time, such as away for our long holidays,w we'll put turn the hook-up on for at least 24 hours before hand as this not only ensures the batteries are fully charged but that fridge is also nice and cold.

I agree with @jezport that Schaudt do NOT recommend you keeping the hook-up turned on all the time and to be honest there is no need to do it and I don't think it does batteries any favours to keep them constantly on charge either for long periods (I'm sure I read about that in the dim and distant past but I can't remember where!).

As for heating ... never done it other than on the odd day if I'm working in the van, the only thing we tend to do is put an electric blanket in the fixed bed to warm it a bit if we are due to go away but that's something hubby insists on doing, if it was just down to me I wouldn't even bother with that! IMV a warm van is much more likely to get condensation than one where the inner temperature isn't much above the outside temperature.

 

[Mr Colpot]

We keep ours on ehu while on the drive with the heating on low (electric) so we don't have to drain down the water. Also keeps the Frost off the window so I don't have to freeze scraping it off.

 

[sdc77]

We use our van all year round but when it's on the drive it's always hooked up and it has a small oil filled rad on..
Always a nice temp ..
Always charged
No frost problems
No wear or tear or issues with the on board heating ..
No condensation

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Minxy]

We keep ours on ehu while on the drive with the heating on low (electric) so we don't have to drain down the water. Also keeps the Frost off the window so I don't have to freeze scraping it off.

As we drink the water from our tank we always empty it when we get home so don't have to worry about it freezing, and we have an old set of external screens which we leave on the van when it's at home in colder weather to keep the cabs windows clear in case we want to use it.

 

[maison]

It should not cause problems leaving heating off.

Dealers don't run heaters in the m/h when on their forecourt awaiting sale.

 

[Puddleduck]

Ours is on hook up and has a dehumidifier plugged in.

All cupboards are open.

Some people say that the dehumidifier pulls in moisture from outside which may be true but at least there is a flow of air through the van

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotzsue]

Keep the van in storage, no facility for hook up, have 2 leisure batteries, solar and a battery master. check the van a couple of times a week. Batteries always topped up, don't bother with heating, put the diesel on when we set off if needed, only done that once. so far no problems with condensation. do put a couple of moisture traps in though. Use the van as often as we can too.

 

[treetops1]

Don't use heating on the drive never had a problem with damp .we do put them little 90p dehumidifiers in the toilet,on the two beds , and two in the cupboards also leave all doors open .The dehumidifiers rattle when we put them in and rattle when we take them out . The solar panels put enough in the batteries on the odd sunny day to keep them happy through winter .probably check every 3or 4 weeks , I do disconnect the water pump in the garage .No problems to date lol.

 

[tonyidle]

A simple point maybe: with a correctly designed charger (and they all are these days) the battery is not 'on charge' when left on EHU for long periods. It is on 'float' (at 13.8 volts) which is the correct long-term storage voltage for a lead-acid battery. At this voltage there is no gassing and the battery is maintained in an optimum state. I cannot imagine why Schaudt say their unit should not be left on for long periods unless they're worried about liability if it fails and causes a fire. Unlikely again as current draw from the unit is a few milliamps at float voltage. I have a Hymer with a Schaudt unit and mine is left hooked up whenever the van is on my drive. The longest period of no use is around 3 months.

Condensation occurs whenever moisture-laden air is in contact with a surface that is cooler than itself. In my experience metallic parts in caravans and motorhomes can and do attract condensation under some circumstances that occur during a British winter. In the caravans I owned it affected poorly-protected parts like locker hinges (that rusted) which led me to use a very low wattage heater with a thermostat on frost setting. That appeared to cure it and the van smelled more pleasant after a spell of cold weather than when it wasn't 'heated'. So I still do it. It does no harm, costs little, and prevents anything in the van from being subjected to sub-zero temperatures. Whether it does any real good is unknown.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[davidathomas42]

I also am permanently on EHU on the drive and have the Truma heater set at 12deg so its at a reasonable temperature all the time but not stressing the heater.
Its our first Motorhome and first winter so will see how it goes.

 

[ludo]

I will repeat myself , I have had no issues with condensation in my autocruise stargazer in the 9 years I have had it. Other foreign built vehicles may suffer from it in certain circumstances..i wouldn't know about that ... My batteries don't seem to have suffered from being on charge foe extended periods. . Others may have had issues but I haven't. Roy

It's not just the batteries that may suffer. More importantly, the charging unit may be at risk!

See No8 below:

http://www.atlanticmotorhomeservices.co.uk/schaudt-elektroblock.php

How to look after your EBL:-

1. Don't continue to use a battery that is past it's best. See our separate page, 'Battery Technology' on how to save money on batteries. When a new battery can cost just £50 it isn't cost effective to damage the EBL by continuing to use a battery that is not at it's peak.
2. Don't cover an Elektroblock with a Duvet, keep the EBL cool.
3. Do disconnect it from the mains/battery before switching the device from Gell to Wet battery type: See the separate Battery Technology page for information on the suitability of Gel batteries in Motorhomes/Caravans.
4. Don't connect the Car to Caravan tow hitch while the Car engine Ignition is 'on' making the 12n/12s charging circuits live and prone to reverse polarity issues.
5. Don't run the 'Mains' supply from an unsmoothed generator supply: The output on these can vary by as much as 100 volts.
6. NEVER run without a battery connected, some Caravan chargers can work in this way, but the strain is significant.
7. Do make sure the mains hook-up is unplugged when you attach/detach the battery cables.
8. Do not leave the Motorhome connected to the mains 240V for long periods when not in use. The units are designed to be connected to the mains for just a couple of months a year. Hooking the MH up to mains for long periods of time will shorten their life.
9. Do play safe during electrical storms. If you are in the vicinity of an electric storm, particularly abroad, cut the mains supply to the Motorhome either by using the RCD or pulling the Mains hook-up lead until the storm passes. Lightning can hit overhead power cables which may lead to higher than normal voltages in the immediate vicinity.

 

[Just smiffy]

Oh I do understand those that may have to work but why have thousands of pounds sitting on the drive and worrying about it.... get out and use it...

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}