Charging Main Starter Battery - Plugged in at home (1 Viewer)

Dec 3, 2020
3
0
Funster No
78,297
MH
Eldiss CV20
Exp
2-3 years
With the current restrictions I am not able to drive my nearly new CV20 Campervan, I have plugged it in at home in order to keep the leisure batter charged and also so I can work in it from time to time with some heating on.

Now that I am not driving it at all I want to keep the starter battery charged, can I plug my 5 amp trickle charger into a 240v socket inside the van and charge the starter battery from that?

I think this should be ok and it will not be pulling much power but are there any potential problems I should be aware of?

Thanks
 

cmcardle75

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 8, 2012
2,666
3,446
Reading
Funster No
21,386
MH
Riot Van Conversion
Exp
Since 2012
With the current restrictions I am not able to drive my nearly new CV20 Campervan, I have plugged it in at home in order to keep the leisure batter charged and also so I can work in it from time to time with some heating on.

Now that I am not driving it at all I want to keep the starter battery charged, can I plug my 5 amp trickle charger into a 240v socket inside the van and charge the starter battery from that?

I think this should be ok and it will not be pulling much power but are there any potential problems I should be aware of?

Thanks
Just make sure it a smart charger intended for full time use with a suitably set float voltage. Depending on your setup, you might want to disable any split charge relay/B2B charger so each battery gets a proper charge profile from its own mains charger.
 
Apr 22, 2018
6,823
12,578
Herts.
Funster No
53,503
MH
Adria Coral lowline
I would test your current setup and check if the starter battery is already getting recharged from the inbuilt charger.

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Oct 10, 2018
1,989
1,123
Bracklesham Bay, West Sussex
Funster No
56,646
MH
PVC
Exp
Since 2005
If you find that the existing fitted charger does not also keep the starter battery topped up, it would be worth looking at the Vanbitz battery master item that is designed for this purpose and easy to fit.
 

Sapper520

Free Member
Jan 22, 2020
2,879
4,506
North Somerset
Funster No
68,245
MH
No longer own one
Exp
September 2020
When my van is plugged into the mains, it charges the Leisure Batteries and Float charges the Vehicle Battery.

I do have Solar, but that only charges the Leisure Batteries.

Probably be paying Vanbitz another visit to get a Battery Master, so the Solar also charges the van battery, when things ease up. (y)

What does your user manual say?

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Last edited:
OP
OP
W
Dec 3, 2020
3
0
Funster No
78,297
MH
Eldiss CV20
Exp
2-3 years
What does your user manual say?

It says it charges the Leisure battery and from a number of posts on the CV FB forum it seems that a lot of people are finding that their Main battery is going flat. At the moment mine is OK but I dont want its to go flat if I cant access it for a few weeks.
 

Sapper520

Free Member
Jan 22, 2020
2,879
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North Somerset
Funster No
68,245
MH
No longer own one
Exp
September 2020
Not sure if it’s your year / model, but found this........... Think you’ll definitely need to charge it. (y)
A16DD3ED-6A60-454E-B72F-142AFFFECB3A.png
 
Apr 27, 2018
137
214
Derbyshire
Funster No
53,611
MH
WildAx Solaris XL
Exp
Since 2019
I plan to fit a battery master as soon as I can, but in the meantime I have fitted a CTEK comfort connector to the underfloor van battery. The end of this comes up just below the passenger seat to provide an easy connection point for connecting the CTEK charger when needed.

Ctek Comfort Connect point under passenger seat.jpeg
Starter battery showing Ctek Comfort Connector.jpeg

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Sapper520

Free Member
Jan 22, 2020
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No longer own one
Exp
September 2020
Think it says in my Fiat Manual, that I should disconnect and remove the vehicle battery to charge it. Why?

I connect my CTEK direct to my Peugeot car battery, and both our motorcycles have leads connected to them like above. No problems charging the vehicle batteries being charged in situ.
 
Nov 23, 2011
479
405
durham
Funster No
18,991
MH
Lowline
Exp
since 2006
Not sure about the cv20 charging system but on most newish motorhomes if you select the cab battery on the control panel it may charge it.
 

Sapper520

Free Member
Jan 22, 2020
2,879
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North Somerset
Funster No
68,245
MH
No longer own one
Exp
September 2020
Not sure about the cv20 charging system but on most newish motorhomes if you select the cab battery on the control panel it may charge it.

Haven’t got a control panel on ours where you can switch between cab and leisure batteries. (y)

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May 20, 2015
97
26
Cheltenham
Funster No
36,459
MH
Burstner Lyseo TD728
Exp
Since 2015
Anybody got any idea whether the Battery Master sold by MFUN shop is the same as the one sold by Vanbitz themselves?
 
Oct 8, 2014
1,637
3,024
Wiltshire
Funster No
33,737
MH
Autotrail Excel 600B
Exp
Previous VW Camper + Caravan
Anybody got any idea whether the Battery Master sold by MFUN shop is the same as the one sold by Vanbitz themselves?
Yes it is! I think it's cheaper from MH Fun too. I ordered one just before Christmas, and when it looked as if it was going to be late, Jim contacted Eddie, and he sent me another directly, saying I could return the first one when it eventually turned up. It did arrive, but I decided to pay for it, and gave it to my daughter.

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Jan 19, 2014
9,387
24,757
Derbyshire
Funster No
29,757
MH
Elddis Accordo 105
Exp
since 2014
It says it charges the Leisure battery and from a number of posts on the CV FB forum it seems that a lot of people are finding that their Main battery is going flat. At the moment mine is OK but I dont want its to go flat if I cant access it for a few weeks.
Our van is an Elddis and there was no starter battery charging provision from the main charger. I do exactly what you are proposing, an optimate charger plugged in inside the van for the starter battery.

When out on site the solar Votronic duo looks after the starter battery.
 

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