Which relay? (1 Viewer)

Vlad The Impaler

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I want a relay that will send charge from my leisure batteries when full,to charge my engine batteryI have solar pannels on roof and a solar controller and I think I need a split charge relay,am I right in thinking you just connect to both batteries and earth it.
The batteries are about 5m apart does this matter?



Regards Vlad
 

darklord

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Or one of these Link Removed

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Vlad The Impaler

Vlad The Impaler

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Why is one half the price of the other?
They both seem to do the same job,am I missing something?
 
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Vlad The Impaler

Vlad The Impaler

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Come to think of it is there a chance that there is a spare outlet on my solar controller that could send charge from the solar panels directly?

As you can tell I'm not that technically minded.



Vlad.

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pappajohn

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Come to think of it is there a chance that there is a spare outlet on my solar controller that could send charge from the solar panels directly?

As you can tell I'm not that technically minded.



Vlad.
if its what i'm thinking of it is only for low current loads...mobile phone/rechargeable torch battery or a porch light at night etc usually 2amps max.

works when the solar panel isnt producing power, ie: night time, by acting as a switch allowing 12v battery power back through the controller

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eddie

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The voltage sensing relay (VSR) stops working at 12.8 volts DC so wouldn't work in th esame way as the Battery Master, the same as the Battery Master couldn't be used for the kinds of amperages that the VSR is designed to handle.

I don't know but I would guess that the quiescent draw of the VSR when energised would wipe out the small trickle charge into the engine battery on most except the sunniest of days.

A cheaper option to Battery Master is made by CBE and is the CSB2

Battery Master is expensive by compassion as it was not originally designed to a cost to retail, but for us to fit and forget to resolve battery issues for our customers, so in sense we don't care if we retail them or not, they're what we fit.

It is waterproof, vibration proof, shock proof. You can connect the wires up the wrong way around and leave it for ever and it will not cause damage or be damaged as it has it's own internal resetting fuses. This also means that when connecting into a circuit that you would normally expect to be fused (a split charge circuit for example) no additional fusing in necessary

It has a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser (so long as you keep the Van Bitz invoice lol)

Jim has two on auction for his Comic relief thread, one which we (Van Bitz) have offered free installation on! have a punt at that and save some money?:thumb:

Eddie
 
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Who would want a sensitive relay anyway?

I want a relay that works - not one that needs me to ask it nicely or gets grumpy because its that time of the (battery) cycle. :ROFLMAO:
 
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Similar to the Battery Master is the BCM 12 just under £30 from CAK Tanks.

Andy

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Jaws

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I have fitted several of the CAK tank units over the past few years.. for the lolly I reckon they are great !
 

Techno

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Forget CAK tanks
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BTW I have both a CBE CSB2 AND a battery master working on my Rapido ;-)
 
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Jaws

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Excellent !!!! They do look identical ..

BUT... A word of caution

I am often on the other end of parts bought from fleabay cheaper than other retail outlets..

Its scary the amount of crap that comes off there.. and even put side by side agin an original the stuff looks spot on..]
Examples range from DID gold motorcycle chains ( REALLY look good but last about as long as knicker elastic ) to to HID kits to certain electronic kit

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Techno

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It is the same item I've been using one 18 months and fitted 4 so far, just less mark up. Good seller! they have 2 negatives from 20640 sales
On my new van. As soon as the solar hits 13.6 volts it starts sharing charge and will continue until the voltage drops to 12.5
CA_02141316322536-L.jpg
 
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darklord

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Most VSR's have a "kick in " and "Kick out"voltage , many are sold via boat chandlers where charging battery banks is a little more serious than for motorhomes::bigsmile:
One particular VSR i use, for charging a battery used for high draw winching, and is rated at 120 amps, is £28 !!!...also fit and foget, its been in use 5yrs without a problem.:thumb:
 

eddie

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Most VSR's have a "kick in " and "Kick out"voltage , many are sold via boat chandlers where charging battery banks is a little more serious than for motorhomes::bigsmile:
One particular VSR i use, for charging a battery used for high draw winching, and is rated at 120 amps, is £28 !!!...also fit and foget, its been in use 5yrs without a problem.:thumb:

I agree that a VSR works fine in that application. But for trickle charging a engine battery over a long period just replacing the quiescent draw from clock memory, radio memory and security systems there are better products.

I would hazard a guess that the load of the relay is greater than the trickle charge supplied from the solar panel, especially in winter.

The cheapest way is to connect the two battery banks pos to pos with a switch. Fuse both ends with a 1amp fuse.

That way you can flick the switch, closing the circuit putting the batteries in parallel. Should you forget and draw too much power the 1amp fuse will blow

The reason I quoted the "kick out voltage of 12.8VAC is that it would need to be lower than that to maintain a trickle charge over a longer period of time.

Having said all that you can buy VSR's with adjustable voltage thresholds, but it starts to over complicate matters when there are several products on the market to do the job automatically

Eddie

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