Battery maintenance over winter

[PG’s trips]

Any of the battery experts know what a reasonable length of time is to plug in for a top up of leisure and starter battery is? For example is 2hrs 6hrs 24hrs each week , once a week , enough? My MH batteries are fairly new (unlike my body batteries) but the storage facility is a few miles away and I can’t leave the MH plugged in all the time. Also it’s indoor so solar top up not an option.

 

[ManTheVan]

Covered storage. Wow!

I’d imagine that once a week for sufficient hours to allow for a full charging cycle on a smart charger would be fine. That said, there are certain smart chargers (eg CTEK) that you can safely leave plugged in 24/7. They don’t use much electricity and keep your batteries well conditioned.

 

[PG’s trips]

Thanks man the van (take it your a Van (the man) Morrison fan) but I’m just charging it through the EHU plug in is that no good??! Like me it’s not very smart on such things!

 

[PP Bear]

if I understand this right, you have access to plug in the EHU?

When I stored mine undercover, I used a simple timer and left it plugged in permanently and then let the timer turn the power and charger on for a few hours a day.

 

[Conrad J]

How easy would it be to remove it and take it home to keep it charged up? If not, I bought a trickle charger from Halfords for about £30, turns itself on when charge is needed, then off again, so if you can, leave it connected all the time.

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[JockandRita]

if I understand this right, you have access to plug in the EHU?

When I stored mine undercover, I used a simple timer and left it plugged in permanently and then let the timer turn the power and charger on for a few hours a day.

That's the route I'd be going down myself, with the timer to come on during the coldest hours, ie, early morning. I'd be happy for 4 x hours twice a week, pending the timer settings.

We don't have access to EHU in storage, so are going to collect the MH in a few minutes to plonk on the driveway, having been in there for a couple of weeks. I'm not expecting a starter battery problem, despite the alarm having been live all the time.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[autorouter]

Some chargers can be left on permanently. When the battery is fully charged, it will switch to float charge mode, which keeps the battery topped up, providing a tiny current to compensate for the battery self-discharge. The float voltage is about 13.5V, and the main charging voltage is about 14.5V. The exact voltages depend on the battery type.

If you aren't sure about this, and want to use a timer, it's best to charge once a week, for maybe 6 hours, rather than every day. It doesn't make a great deal of difference, but it avoids going through the full charging cycle every day.

 

[kez]

My MH is normally in store during winter but has no mains electricity supply. Probably a silly question but Is there a battery smart charger currently on the market that will work remotely without a mains supply? Similarly to my Ctek jump start battery pack that can be used remotely on a number of occasions before needing to be recharged.

Can I also ask, while we are talking about battery charging, how long would I need to drive my MH to recharge my engine battery? Rather simplistic question this but any info would be useful please.

 

[Richard n Ann]

All depends on the quiescent current drain. Ours is 2ma so could be left off charge for weeks.
Lead acid batteries like being full though so get a small maintenance charger and leave it on 24/7

This is our optimate 3 switching on and off every 30 minutes to give the perfect charge.

It's only capable of 0.8 amps too so can't get the battery hot under fault condition

 

[PeterCarole29]

When i park up my van (i dont have a radio that needs resetting or fancy electronics ) I always disconect the starter battery and isolate the liesure batteries.

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[kez]

I have an alarm on the MH which I need to leave set and which obviously is a drain on the engine battery. A further complication with disconnection of the engine battery is that it has a large electronics pack / teminal block on top of this battery which is not easy to remove / disconnect. There is a separate charging connection under the bonnet.

 

[cmcardle75]

If you're parking up for the winter in remote storage and have lead acid, I'd literally disconnect the batteries and take them home in the warmth. Recharge them every two or three months until spring. If you're needing to run alarms or trackers, you'll need to come up with a solution to power them.

With Lithium, just disconnect (preferably whilst between 40%-80% charged). No need to take away with you or trickle/occasionally charge. They'll stay charged for years.

 

[two]

I try to do a number of things on the first of each month. I say 'try' because I'm not always able to or forget...
Anyways, one of the things I do (beside noting meter readings and other routine chores) is check the van batteries and put it onto EHU for a day. I don't think it should be necessary to do this more frequently, unless your battery is on the way out (and, if it is, I'd change it at the beginning of the next season). Your van should be shut down, so little significant drain on its battery. Topping-up just once a month ought to do the job, I'm sure I've missed/skipped the odd month and not suffered.

 

[mikebeaches]

Could depend whether you have an alarm connected 24/7 which will consume a modest amount of electric.

I normally plug the hook-up lead in every 3 to 4 weeks for circa 24 hours, if the van hasn't been used. And that's without an alarm.

But have the van on the drive at home at the moment, so easy to do.

However, normally try to go for a reasonable drive every 3 to 4 weeks when the weather is OK, so no need to use a hook-up then. Lots of other benefits too.

 

[autorouter]

Is there a battery smart charger currently on the market that will work remotely without a mains supply? Similarly to my Ctek jump start battery pack that can be used remotely on a number of occasions before needing to be recharged.

It's a very common question, but I don't know of one. It's a pity no-one seems to sell a power pack that has a battery charger incorporated into it. One possibility is using a power pack that has built-in inverter, and connect a small smart mains battery charger like a CTEK or an Optimate. An inverter of 150W would be quite sufficient for this.

Alternatively a B2B could be used. Some B2B chargers can be triggered by a voltage of around 12V, from the alternator D+ for example, rather than a high voltage threshold like 13.3V. In that case it can charge a target battery from a source battery. It will continue until it is fully charged or the source battery voltage drops below the cutoff voltage.

The source battery can be a spare lead-acid battery, or a 12V power pack. Recharge at home from 240V, then bring to the storage site and connect up.

For example a Victron Orion 12-12/9 DC-DC Converter could be used. It has a fixed output voltage that is adjustable, so you could set it to say 13.6 or 13.8V, it would top up the battery and keep it charged.

Victron also do multi-stage smart DC-DC chargers, but they are higher power and therefore more expensive.