Elddis/Peugeot vehicle battery charging when laid up

[DaMoe]

Hi to all the Elddis owners out there. I'm looking at a 2021 Elddis Autoquest 150, on a 2.2 Peugeot. I downloaded the Elddis manual and it says that being on hookup powers the 12v appliances and only charges the leisure battery, but not the vehicle battery. Having had a Swift and then 3 Auto-Trails I'm used to the Sargent electrics on these that will charge both batteries intelligently. whether on hookup or via the solar panel.
My query is what do folks do to keep the vehicle battery topped up if they do the same as me and SORN the van for the WInter, or any other lay up ?
With the Auto-Trail Sargent system I can display the voltage of both batteries and just plug in the hook up at home if needed.
The obvious Elddis thing seems to be to run the engine occasionally, but with any potential EGR/DPF issues of not actually driving I'm a bit dubious.
Otherwise possibly using a battery charger inside the van connected to the vehicle battery while hooked up to the mains ?
I asked the dealer selling the Elddis about the fitted Truma dual battery solar charger which he says it could be additionally wired to charge the vehicle battery, split between the leaisure battery. But, of course, there are a lot less daylight hours in the Winter, plus last year the snow froze on top of mine meaning no charge from that.
I noticed there's a vehicle battery isolator feature, but even using that surely won't prevent battery discharge through the WInter.
Any input on this appreciated, or just any Autoquest 150/ Peugeot/AdBlue comments to look for.
(what make are the Elddis electric controllers anyway ?)

Thanks

 

[GeoffnDee]

Fit a vanbitz battery master , designed to keep your starter battery topped up from the leisure battery when it is being charged either from EHU or solar, easy to fit and not expensive. I expect the PSU is a BCA unit (www.bcagroup.co.uk)

 

[Two on Tour]

As there is solar on the van you are looking at then the best option is to fit a Battery Master that will keep your starter battery topped up from your leisure battery either from your solar or EHU.
I fitted a Battery master to our Elddis to overcome the same problem.

The Van Bitz Battery Master - VanBitz

Flat batteries are everyone’s worst nightmare, but with the Van Bitz Battery Master – Advanced Battery Balancer – they should be a thing of the past. You can

www.vanbitz.com

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

I would wire up the 2nd battery outlet on your trauma controller to the starter battery and reset the charging status to 50- 50. As soon as one is charged up the whole charge goes into the other battery anyway.
Dependant on your usage you could always add another panel or even a second leisure battery and as advised a battery master .
If your concerned about snow then just go and clean it off if it does snow.but a charged up battery ,leisure or starter should keep charged for a couple of weeks even in cold weather.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Some of those Elddis BCA units are gharrrstly as ours was, they are just 13.8v power supplies. First job is make sure it's a proper multi stage charger.

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[The Artilleryman]

I wouldn't rely on the second output from a Truma pwm solar controller, you would be putting a reduced charge into both batteries.

Much better to fit Vanbitz Battery Master and regularly use EHU - ours is connected once a month for 24hrs (or so) during SORN period, summer solar keeps both topped up, with 24 hour EHU before trip, mainly to for 3 way fridge temp. Cab battery can be isolated via ignition key - but you will need to reset date, time, etc if you do - just remember that alarm is also off.

This has done us well for 3 years with no problems (2017 Pug cab), but with a dual output charger in the BCA PDU.

As we are going to fit a LiFePO4 leisure battery this will all change.

 

[DaMoe]

Thanks to everyone who has replied, much appreciated . I've phoned Van Bitz and it sounds like I'll need to be making a booking at their campsite for a fitting if I buy the Elddis - decide after Thursday's budget. I'd had it in mind that the split solar dual charge solution alone would be variable and probably inadequate in the WInter, when it snows it's grim up North (of Watford ). Also, thanks for the enligthenment about BCA, there didn't seem to be any company logo on the PDU when I looked. It's just a pity that Elddis can't be bothered to fit these extra controllers in the first place (or maybe a decent Sargent system)

 

[The Artilleryman]

Later (2022) Bailey MH have Truma mppt solar controller and a B2B fitted, due to the cabs being ALL smart alternator - prior to this most weren't - and I don't think BCA have changed the design to incorporate this, which will make upgrading to LiFePO4 much simpler.