Battery Master alternatives

[Talljohn]

Just been recommended this alternative and cheaper charge controller.
<Broken link removed>
Anyone tried it? It also appears to trickle charge by up to 3 amps which would be handy as my radio is wired to the vehicle battery.

 

[andy63]

Not that one..but there are many..subtle differences in the way some work in terms of actuation and current capability..
CBE do one..

CSB2 - CBE

Electronics for Caravanning and Boating

www.cbe.it

I've got the sterling one fitted in my van

Battery Maintainer

Instruction Manual PDF Product Information PDF Battery maintainer / charger includes 1m of cable.Save money on batteries and stop them from being destroyed by discharging. A flat battery means you need an expensive replacement.The auxiliary battery charger maintainer is simple to install and is...

sterling-power.com

And there are many others.. all vastly overpriced fir what they are..
Andy

 

[Driventemple]

I bought the Votronic version to couple with a Victron MPPT when I installed my panels. I was too tight to spend money on Eddie's superior version as I was unlikely to use LifePo batteries in the future! Works fine.

 

[Jake Royd]

I bought a solar charger with two outputs , works for me.

 

[Nasher]

One of the reasons I chose the Vanbitz Battery Master was that it will charge the van battery from the leisure battery if the leisure battery is at a higher voltage (subject to limits!)

The Victron one relies on solar, ehu or gennie to charge the cab battery (on my set up the hook up cable plugs into the gennie instead of a ehu post - so no difference )

In my case, parked up & covered in snow for 4 weeks of snowboarding with no solar or hookup, I am happy that any cab battery drain is supplemented from the hab battery - well it's worked so far

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[cbrookson]

There is also the Victron Cyrix ... doesn't use diodes and relays so has a very low voltage drop across it. Nice piece of kit ...
Cheers

 

[funflair]

As others have said we are comparing completely different beast, understand what you want the box of tricks to do and then choose the correct tool for the job.

 

[XxAnthxX]

I’ve used the CBE csb2 and the Vanbits battery master, both well made great bits of kit......but work differently.

As already mentioned you need to decide what you need and how you want it to operate, then decide on which unit suits.

 

[two]

If you have something installed with a high parasitic draw, why not save pennies and connect it directly to the leisure battery? If you avoid such unexpected drains on the starter battery, the vehicle will look after it on its own.
Adding an extra gizmo will just add an additional drain (it must take some power) on the leisure battery as well as your pocket.

 

[Talljohn]

Certainly lots to chose from. I see the benefit of a simple product that just ensures the main battery is kept charged during periods when the van is parked up unused for a while, for which the solar panel will provide the charge. I am going for a Panasonic hit panel that is higher voltage combined with a victon controller, so I can use their Bluetooth app and I think i will select the votronic charge master to keep the main battery charged over periods on non use.

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[funflair]

Certainly lots to chose from. I see the benefit of a simple product that just ensures the main battery is kept charged during periods when the van is parked up unused for a while, for which the solar panel will provide the charge. I am going for a Panasonic hit panel that is higher voltage combined with a victon controller, so I can use their Bluetooth app and I think i will select the votronic charge master to keep the main battery charged over periods on non use.

I am assuming that you mean Votronic StandBy charger, you just have to hope that the solar takes the habitation batteries high enough to trigger the StandBy charger in the winter.

 

[Talljohn]

Fine point!

 

[autorouter]

There is also the Victron Cyrix ... doesn't use diodes and relays so has a very low voltage drop across it. Nice piece of kit ...

The reason there's not much voltage drop is that it uses a heavy-duty relay. This is switched by a smart circuit that monitors the source battery voltage, and only connects the relay when the source battery is being charged. There are several Cyrix models (Cyrices?), depending on the amps and the battery type.