240v to 12v power supply (1 Viewer)

[IanReeves]

Hello,

I hope someone can help me.
We have an old 1991 Autosleeper Transit conversion, all is fine except although fitted with an additional leisure battery split charge system it has no mains hookup charger.

So..... I just want to sanity check to see if my 'plan' is acceptable.
I have purchased a 3 stage 20 amp charger system from Amperor. For ease of fitting is it acceptable to leave all the existing wires in position and just run two cables direct from the charger to the leisure battery (with correct fuses)

I'm guessing the power supply will then charge the battery on hookup and also the existing 12v systems via the original cable coming from the battery ?

Hope it makes sense

Ian

 

[slobadoberbob]

it sounds OK to me

Hello,

I hope someone can help me.
We have an old 1991 Autosleeper Transit conversion, all is fine except although fitted with an additional leisure battery split charge system it has no mains hookup charger.

So..... I just want to sanity check to see if my 'plan' is acceptable.
I have purchased a 3 stage 20 amp charger system from Amperor. For ease of fitting is it acceptable to leave all the existing wires in position and just run two cables direct from the charger to the leisure battery (with correct fuses)

I'm guessing the power supply will then charge the battery on hookup and also the existing 12v systems via the original cable coming from the battery ?

Hope it makes sense

Ian

makes sense and Ok to me.. but I am not an electrician.. but I do not see why you cannot use that system.

My own concern is that you can pump in to much power... and cook the batteries..

But someone will advise I am sure

Bob:thumb:

 

[IanReeves]

Thanks, if it helps the powersupply / charger is one of these.

http://www.amperorassociates.co.uk/c-battery_chargers/BatteryC-3_18A.html

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[Gromett]

That's the one I used in my self build (25 amp version). It's been working fine for 2 years now.

I have the incoming power which goes to the RCD box. It has two MCB in it one which powers the 13Amp 240V sockets the other powers the charger.
The charger goes directly to the battery and powers all my 12V stuff that way.

 

[IanReeves]

Thanks all, sounds like i have a plan :thumb:

 

[IanReeves]

As it was such a nice day, iv'e crackd on and it's all done.

Running 27A cable was easy in the end, all the holes are in position for the original ZIG unit.

Nominal voltage of 13.4 with the unit off and 14.5 with it on..

Even had chance to wire the radio to the leasure battery so we an have it on without flattening the main battery

Just one small snag..... Forgot the MOT rus out next week ! oh:

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[pappajohn]

As it was such a nice day, iv'e crackd on and it's all done.

Running 27A cable was easy in the end, all the holes are in position for the original ZIG unit.

Nominal voltage of 13.4 with the unit off and 14.5 with it on..

Even had chance to wire the radio to the leasure battery so we an have it on without flattening the main battery

Just one small snag..... Forgot the MOT rus out next week ! oh:

Same charger/PSU i fitted in my last van, and now resides (hardwired) in the RV as an emergency backup charger incase the standard 45amp charger fails.

it will power all 12v items up to a total of 25amps load then the battery will supply any extra current needed over the 25amps and quickly recharge when the excess load is removed.
No problems with the charger, and as it is a three stage jobbie, it is safe to leave it on indefinitely as it will revert to maintenance mode when the van isnt in use.
good luck with the MOT :thumb:

 

[IanReeves]

It should cope with our massive two 15w lights, and a 5w strip lamp

To be honest for the money it lookalike a great little unit :thumb:

 

[IanReeves]

Well, used te van last weekend. I plugged the power in the night before and the unit was charging like mad. The fan was at full tilt for about 5 hrs.

I checked the leasure battery voltage before and it was13.2v

Once the unit had calmed down all was well. I didn't hear the fan after the initial boost. Rechecking after the unit had entered trickle mode (power off) the battery was at 13.8v

So guess all is good

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[pappajohn]

when you start getting anywhere near the chargers max output the fan will start and run until the current drain is reduced....either battery is charged or the load is low.

pull 20 amps from the battery and the charger will try to put 20 amps back in.

as long as the fan is running you know the charger is doing its job...if the fan stops just hope the load has decreased or you'll burn it out.

 

[IanReeves]

I've added another vent to give some additional air flow, so hopefully this will improve cooling

 

[Pete D.]

Hello guys, I have a new Moho and the on board BCA PDU has failed on the battery charger side after only 3 months. I have booked in for a warranty repair but this now has me worried for the future (going to France with the G Kids in August). Having sought advise through the forums I am going to invest in an Amperor 18 Amp 3 stage charger/power output as a back up. I see from the posts that these units come with an AC input lead but no output 12 volt leads. Can anyone tell me where I can get these from.

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[Wildman]

from an electrical shop, Maplins maybe though I'm sure cables are supplied would be very unusual if they were not.

 

[Lenny HB]

If you are not using much power it will work fine, but with heaver loads you could overload the charger unit as it is a charger where as the ones fitted to Motorhomes & Caravans are chargers/power supplies designed for the purpose.

I did a similar thing years ago and found when I put the TV on in the evening & all lights on ( before LEDs) it would overload the charger, solution was easy turned the charger off in the evening & run from batteries & turn it back on when going to bed so it only off for a few hours.

 

[gibbon]

Hello,

I hope someone can help me.
We have an old 1991 Autosleeper Transit conversion, all is fine except although fitted with an additional leisure battery split charge system it has no mains hookup charger.

So..... I just want to sanity check to see if my 'plan' is acceptable.
I have purchased a 3 stage 20 amp charger system from Amperor. For ease of fitting is it acceptable to leave all the existing wires in position and just run two cables direct from the charger to the leisure battery (with correct fuses)

I'm guessing the power supply will then charge the battery on hookup and also the existing 12v systems via the original cable coming from the battery ?

I replaced the old zig charger in our 2000 Autotrail Cheyyene with the same amperor 3 stage charger a few weeks ago.
It's a good unit at a reasonable price.

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[pappajohn]

from an electrical shop, Maplins maybe though I'm sure cables are supplied would be very unusual if they were not.

They are unusual Roger.....no 12v leads.
they have pos and neg thumb screw posts to connect to using ring crimps.

 

[pappajohn]

If you are not using much power it will work fine, but with heaver loads you could overload the charger unit as it is a charger where as the ones fitted to Motorhomes & Caravans are chargers/power supplies designed for the purpose.

The Amporor unit is a charger/power supply.
no battery required if you so wish.
it will only output its max current and while it may run hot it cant be overloaded.

BUT....they dont like damp.
mine has been in the car garage over winter and when i plugged it in it failed.
Amporor DO NOT offer a repair service stating its cheaper to replace than repair....which i find a bit hard to believe unless, of course, they dont actually build them and simply buy in from China hense they have no circuit diagrams for diagnostic reference.

 

[Gromett]

I have just taken my 25 amp one out of my van after 5 years of fulltime use. It was a cracking little unit but I wanted a 50 Amp one to half the time I ran my generator or needed EHU for.

I ran it as a PSU/Charger also and never had any problems. It is now sat in the cab waiting for a decision on whether I keep it as a spare or sell it cheap.

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[Pete D.]

Firstly, thanks for all of your responses. I have spoken to Amperor today, lots of good advice from a guy called Alistair. As pappajohn says the unit is a charger and power supply unit and you could use it without a leisure battery if needed - may be useful if the battery pack failed catastrophically! Alistair confirmed that the 18 amp charger is suitable for my set up - 2 x 110 banner lead acid's and that it does not come with output leads, you have to make your own. He advised using yellow 1/4 fully insulated spade connectors for the charger end, 4 mm thin wall flex cable with 20 amp in-line fuse on the positive and suitable ring connectors for the battery end (available from Halfords etc.) I have ordered the charger and initially intend to fit it in the Moho as an emergency back up in case my on board charger fails again. It seems from the various posts the Amperor is seen as an upgrade in quality, so there is also the option to isolate the on board charger on the PDU and use the Amperor as the main charging unit for the leisure batteries. I will explore that avenue.