Battery charge on or off? (1 Viewer)

[Mitchyd]

Afternoon hope your all keeping safe and well. I have just been talking to a friend of mine who is a long time motorhomer and he happened to mention that I should switch off my battery charger whilst I have the van on my drive and the solar panel fitted to roof but I've checked what literature came with the van and can't see anything?? Our van is a 2008 burstner Solano T725 can anyone help me please

 

[David and Sally]

Assuming the batteries are OK and the charger/solar set up is working properly then it will self-monitor and should be ok.

But, if you have solar why have the EHU on unless using something else in the van?

 

[Mitchyd]

We have got the van before lockdown and have been using it and trying things out whilst on our drive we have spent a couple of nights in it so have been using tv,heater fridge and microwave just to try out and spoke to my mate when he said about the charger switch off button? But I'm not sure if he is talking new motorhomes ? But ours is older??

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[DavidG58]

we keep ours on permanently on the drive , partly down to laziness, plus if we went away for an extended trip we would not be turning It on and off while away and probably mostly on hook up

Assuming the batteries are OK and the charger/solar set up is working properly then it will self-monitor and should be ok.

But, if you have solar why have the EHU on unless using something else in the van?

We leave our heating on a low thermostat running on electric if needed, still getting frost here?

plus we leave the fridge running, right now it has been giving us useful extra storage ?

 

[Reallyretired]

I have had problems in the past with having ehu on long term. Chargers were just float not multistage and would dry out batteries over a long period. Probably not a problem with an 'intelligent' charger.

 

[Mitchyd]

How do you know if you have a intelligent charger? As I definitely dont have an intelligent user?

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[Lenny HB]

I rarely ever plug my van into EHU I just let the solar take care of it.
If relying on solar you do need to check it is configured to charge the starter battery as well.

 

[Off da Grid]

I put the battery charger back on when we were in the Forest of Dean in October as the weather was so lousy.
I don’t even put it on if we’re on ehu and that’s only to run the fridge to save on gas If there’s enough sun. Since having the solar it looks after the batteries even in the winter.

 

[bigwood]

It means a bit of shuffling to put the van on hook up because the socket is against the hedge so we let the solar keep the batteries topped up. A battery master takes care of the vehicle battery.
For the odd occasion like hoovering the carpets we use an ex stent ion lead from the socket on the drive.

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[Graham of Madrid]

I'v been meaning to ask about vehicle battery charging, I know mine is not getting any charge from the solar, as it's seemingly configured to charge the habitation battery exclusively.

My vehicle battery is down to 12.4 v and I'm thinking about how I'm going to keep it charged as I'm not parked outside the house, can't use EHU. Can I run a battery charger off my inverter to charge the vehicle battery ?

 

[BishBosh]

I'v been meaning to ask about vehicle battery charging, I know mine is not getting any charge from the solar, as it's seemingly configured to charge the habitation battery exclusively.

My vehicle battery is down to 12.4 v and I'm thinking about how I'm going to keep it charged as I'm not parked outside the house, can't use EHU. Can I run a battery charger off my inverter to charge the vehicle battery ?

Hi Graham.
Like you I had the same where my 100w solar panel is only topping up my leisure batteries. If I hook up to power the starter battery also gets topped up.
So, after much thought and reading on these pages, I have changed the solar power controller to one that can also supply a trickle charge to my starter battery instead of a Battery to Battery charger. It cost about £100 for the unit as per attached picture. There is a single wire I had to run to the starter battery but apart from that it was just a matter of swapping wires into the new unit.

Picture - TELECO = Old unit. New one is Votronic.

 

[addoaddo]

Although that is not very efficient you can use the inverter to charge the vehicle battery but I would not leave it on for long, just enough to top up the vehicle battery

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[peterc10]

My motorhome has two solar panels and I always plug it in as well when not in use. Same with the previous one. So far it has not done any harm in the 7 years I have had them.

 

[TheBig1]

I'v been meaning to ask about vehicle battery charging, I know mine is not getting any charge from the solar, as it's seemingly configured to charge the habitation battery exclusively.

My vehicle battery is down to 12.4 v and I'm thinking about how I'm going to keep it charged as I'm not parked outside the house, can't use EHU. Can I run a battery charger off my inverter to charge the vehicle battery ?

if you install a battery master or the cheaper cbe2 relay, once the leisure battery is near full, excess charge is diverted to the starter battery. simple 3 wire install too so easy diy. positive and negative to the leisure battery and a separate positive to the starter battery. this can often be achieved using existing wiring at the 12v fusebox in the habitation area

 

[TheBig1]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=332143919519

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[Richard n Ann]

+1 for Votronic Duo. Very good units with a very low self power consumption. Puts up to 1 amp out to the starter battery ?

 

[Brella]

we keep ours on permanently on the drive , partly down to laziness, plus if we went away for an extended trip we would not be turning It on and off while away and probably mostly on hook up



We leave our heating on a low thermostat running on electric if needed, still getting frost here?

plus we leave the fridge running, right now it has been giving us useful extra storage ?

We have kept electric on while we are have cold nights. When nights warm up we will turn electric off and just have it running off solar. We haven't got the fridge on as emptied and cleaned it out until lockdown over.

 

[denisejoe]

Never plug in whilst on drive Only just before we go away together the fridge cold the solar keeps the batteries fully charged and what’s the point of having the hook up when you turn of the charger off the only thing that would be working is the charger

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[Graham of Madrid]

So the cbe2 relay, is this what's called a split charge relay ? This is a much cheaper option than the solar controller with trickle facility for vehicle battery. Are they not doing just the same thing, so what's the difference between both options ?

Basically only looking for a solution for the lockdown as normally the vehicle is used regularly all year round mainly at campsites with EHU.

Thanks for the info so far !

 

[Lenny HB]

The CSB2 will work fine for what you want.
I have a dual regulator but I still use the CBS2 as it gives a higher charge rate to the starter battery.

 

[TheBig1]

So the cbe2 relay, is this what's called a split charge relay ? This is a much cheaper option than the solar controller with trickle facility for vehicle battery. Are they not doing just the same thing, so what's the difference between both options ?

Basically only looking for a solution for the lockdown as normally the vehicle is used regularly all year round mainly at campsites with EHU.

Thanks for the info so far !

the cbe2, csb2 or battery master are not split charge relays or solar controllers. They are a very simple way of sharing the power from your already installed solar controller between the leisure batteries and the vehicle battery, keeping both charged. The relay I linked to is about £25 whereas the battery master is about £50. Both are a simple 3 wire connection and do basically the same thing

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[GlennL]

If I buy the cheaper version do I need to use an inline fuse, or
is it built in like the battery master version?

 

[Lenny HB]

They don't mention fuses in the instructions I didn't bother I've had them in the last two vans.
If you are happier with one fitted it won't do any harm.

 

[Vipar]

Lenny did you use the same thickness wire as the ones coming out of the CBS2? To connect to the batteries?

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[mitzimad]

if its just for when its in store a simple wire from pos to pos with a 3 amp fuse in will keep both batteries charged from the solar small fuse will pop if you forget and try to start the van how easy this is depends on your battery positions and assuming you have sufficient solar

 

[autorouter]

So the cbe2 relay, is this what's called a split charge relay ? This is a much cheaper option than the solar controller with trickle facility for vehicle battery. Are they not doing just the same thing, so what's the difference between both options ?

A split charge relay normally sends power in the opposite direction - from the alternator/starter battery to the leisure battery. It is controlled by either the D+ signal from the alternator, or is voltage sensitive and turns on when the alternator is charging the starter battery. The charging amps through a split charge relay is quite high, perhaps 20 to 40 amps or more.

The BatteryMaster and similar devices will trickle charge the starter battery from the leisure battery, usually 1 or 2 amps max.

 

[autorouter]

How do you know if you have a intelligent charger?

Often they have the symbol 'IUoU' written on them. That means it's a 3-stage intelligent charger. I = constant current, bulk stage. Uo = constant overvoltage, absorption stage. U = constant voltage, float stage.

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[two]

Afternoon hope your all keeping safe and well. I have just been talking to a friend of mine who is a long time motorhomer and he happened to mention that I should switch off my battery charger whilst I have the van on my drive and the solar panel fitted to roof but I've checked what literature came with the van and can't see anything?? Our van is a 2008 burstner Solano T725 can anyone help me please

Your friend is not wrong. EHU is unnecessary (and might even be harmful).
But, in winter, solar may not be enough.
Just keep an eye on the battery voltage and charge it up if it drops towards 12.5V.
Never leave your battery in a discharged state.

 

[GlennL]

If I was to connect the cbs2 relay to the leisure and vehicle battery
when in storage would I need to disconnect it when starting the
Van?

 

[Lenny HB]

No works fine left connected.