Battery Upgrade on Auto Trail V Line?

[Stevewheel]

Hello Folks,
I'm finding the little 75 amp hour hab battery on our van a bit, well...weedy when we are off hookup and I'd like to upgrade to something with bigger capacity assuming the dimensions aren't too big as space in the V Line (540) is pretty limited. The current Hab battery is the factory fit Auto Trail lead acid offering. My question is, assuming I can get something to physically fit in the space can I use a gel or AGM battery...maybe even Lithium if I come up on the Lotto or does the battery choice impact other things on the system? The elctrics are run by the usual Auto Trail fit Sargeant System incase that is relevant. Apologies in advance if this question is dumb....I'm still learning! Many thanks

 

[Kannon Fodda]

I've investigated exactly the same scenario for the same PVC. You can only use lead acid unless you can rewire half of the van.

Advice from Sargent's techy peeps
"The charger built in the EC176 is a fixed voltage charger capable of delivering : DC Output 13.8 Volts nominal, Current 12 Amps max (155 Watts). Please see the attached manual for further details. This charger is capable of charging up only lead acid batteries I am afraid which preferably do not exceed 110 A as the charger is fairly low end and it can only push out about 12 AMPS per hour."

On the basis of the above, I'm dubious that the PSU would have coped with the Autotrail optional upgrade of a 2nd leisure battery.

I really like the V-line 540 it suits my needs great. If only Autotrail had given it some decent electrics.

 

[Stevewheel]

Kannon Fodda Extremely helpful if slightly disappointing to read. We love the van too its just these "weedy" electrics which experience has shown us are really a bit lacking at times. Not sure upgrading from 75 to 110 Amp hours is really worth it. Thanks anyway.

 

[autorouter]

How about using another charger? You could switch off the charger (green button), maybe pull the 'charger' fuse to be sure. Then connect a bigger charger direct to the batteries.

I have this charger. It is a multi-stage smart charger, 20 amps. It's not very expensive. It has a cooling fan which switches on quite often, so best not to locate it where you can hear it at night.

12v 20A 7 Stage Connect & Forget Automatic Smart Battery Charger with UK Plug - Alpha Batteries

Suitable for all 12v Car, Leisure and Commercial Batteries

www.alpha-batteries.co.uk