Schaudt LRM 1218 (1 Viewer)

[Rosie and David]

Any advice? My Hymer is fitted with a Schaudt LR 1218. Is there any benefit upgrading to the MPPT version. I know the latter is £175 and is the preferred option with AGM batteries, which mine has. The swap is straightforward so not worried about that. Comments appreciated.
David

 

[funflair]

You will get more amps for a given amount of sunshine with the MPPT controller, do you need more amps?

Martin

 

[Steve and Denise]

We fitted a LRM 1218 to our Hymer just as it was a straight fit and also has a trickle charge to the engine battery.

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[Tanya_and_Mick]

Ditto, I have also have the LR1218 and have thought about changing; however, at this moment in time it seems to be OK with my off-grid req's.

Plus, from a Google the MPPT does offer pro's, unless you'r in a hot climates.

Happy to be educated by the Great and the Good....

 

[Rosie and David]

Not necessarily, we tend to wild camp/aires etc and have the usual MH needs for charing laptops, phones, tv use etc. Also I charge my electric bike via inverter once every 10 days. I am thinking about the batteries and float charge being lower for mppt and therefore better for AGM batteries. Been looking at aandn's comments re LR and wet batteries.

 

[scotjimland]

I am thinking about the batteries and float charge being lower for mppt and therefore better for AGM batteries.

What model of EBL.. does it have an AGM setting ?

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[SandraL]

You might consider a Votronic mppt duo. Comes in various sizes, has output for starter and leisure battery. Designed to output signal to ebl for solar charge current, but NOT starter batt charge current. Very pleased with mine, I swopped from lr1218. Search on here for previous threads. Cost about £130 ish or less for 250 watt, no idea how good this supplier is.....





?edit, . You can also get temp sensor to fit on battery to suit charge voltage to temp.

 

[Lenny HB]

The LR1218 is a single stage charger once it gets the batteries up to 14.2v it holds that voltage constantly, OK for Gels that can handle it any other type of battery will not survive.
The LRM1218 is a bit overpriced and limited to 270 watts of solar. The Votroinic MPP range is a better bet the MPP 250 (250 watt) is around £120 and the MPP 350 (350 watts) around £160. I have a MPP350 it works brilliantly very impressed with it.
If your AGM's are over a year old I would replace them as well as they are unlikely to last much longer particularly if your EBL does not have a Gel setting or most of the charging has been via the LR1218.

 

[Lenny HB]

but NOT starter batt charge current.

It has a 1 amp output for starter battery, that's why it's called a Duo.
However I didn't use that output as it's only 1 amp I already had a CB2 relay wired in so I left that in place.

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[SandraL]

When I said but not starter batt current I was meaning the data signal to the ebl, ie the ebl could not display number of amps from solar panel going to starter batt.
Apologies for creating some confusion.

 

[Boringfrog]

@Rosie and David What size solar do you have on the roof

 

[Manic]

You might consider a Votronic mppt duo. Comes in various sizes, has output for starter and leisure battery. Designed to output signal to ebl for solar charge current, but NOT starter batt charge current. Very pleased with mine, I swopped from lr1218. Search on here for previous threads. Cost about £130 ish or less for 250 watt, no idea how good this supplier is.....





?edit, . You can also get temp sensor to fit on battery to suit charge voltage to temp.

I’m about to change mine from LR1218 to a Votronic 250, got mine for £109 from Amazon seller.

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[peterc10]

The last van we had we had an LR1218 and it worked fine. The one we have now has an LRM1218 with two AGM batteries and all is still going well after almost 3 years use. Our EBL does not have a dedicated AGM setting, but the LRM does and as the solar charge goes straight through the EBL that means that the batteries should be benefiting from that charge regime.

 

[Rosie and David]

It is an EBL 29 and does not have an AGM setting. At present it is set to Blei/Gel. However the LRM 1218 has an AGM setting so my presumption is that it will deal with the hab batteries better than the present one. We have 160w of solar. Batteries are 2x Varta GH AGM 95 ah. Also has an AD 01 under passenger seat

 

[Boringfrog]

It is an EBL 29 and does not have an AGM setting. At present it is set to Blei/Gel. However the LRM 1218 has an AGM setting so my presumption is that it will deal with the hab batteries better than the present one. We have 160w of solar. Batteries are 2x Varta GH AGM 95 ah. Also has an AD 01 under passenger seat

Are you having problems with your current setup/charging regime?

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[Rosie and David]

No, just want to get the best arrangement for existing batteries and be as efficient as possible

 

[Boringfrog]

No, just want to get the best arrangement for existing batteries and be as efficient as possible

I recently queried about converting my 2 × 100watt panels to run in series and connect a MPPT controller, whilst it would give my more Amps I never run out of 12V power until maybe November/December, and by then it is so cold I have plugged into EHU.

 

[Lenny HB]

The last van we had we had an LR1218 and it worked fine. The one we have now has an LRM1218 with two AGM batteries and all is still going well after almost 3 years use. Our EBL does not have a dedicated AGM setting, but the LRM does and as the solar charge goes straight through the EBL that means that the batteries should be benefiting from that charge regime.

The Votronic units have an AGM setting as well they are better & cheaper than the LRM1218.

It is an EBL 29 and does not have an AGM setting. At present it is set to Blei/Gel. However the LRM 1218 has an AGM setting so my presumption is that it will deal with the hab batteries better than the present one. We have 160w of solar. Batteries are 2x Varta GH AGM 95 ah. Also has an AD 01 under passenger seat

Both of you living on borrowed time with your AGM's.

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[peterc10]

Both of you living on borrowed time with your AGM's.

Lenny, for the last 3 years you have been telling me that my AGMs won't last a year.

Reports of their death are exaggerated.

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny, for the last 3 years you have been telling me that my AGMs won't last a year.

Reports of their death are exaggerated.

Ok you got lucky punk.

Would be interesting to run a test on them and see how many amp hours they will support.

 

[Rosie and David]

Thanks for your helpful comments I think my AGM’s are not going to fare well. When they look like they are on their way out I will get Varta lead acid batteries then update the regulator if needs be. I’ll save the money for now and buy some wine in France in a couple of weeks when I head off.

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[Jenben]

Both of you living on borrowed time with your AGM's.

2x Varta AGM here too. 3 years and still working well. We have an Ebl29 set to gel and and LRM1218 set to AGM.

However we don’t use hook up very often so the batteries are maintained on the solar regulator AGM setting and never really see the mains EBL 28 gel charging profile. I suspect this is what’s keeping them in good condition.

 

[BusyBuilder]

Ok you got lucky punk.

Would be interesting to run a test on them and see how many amp hours they will support.

How do you do that ? we have 2 110v Banner AGM's. As van is now 6 years old, how do we tell how old the batteries are ? as they could be original from Hymer ?

 

[peterc10]

How do you do that ? we have 2 110v Banner AGM's. As van is now 6 years old, how do we tell how old the batteries are ? as they could be original from Hymer ?

Oh noooooooooooooooo .................................. Banner batteries are like a red rag to a bull for Lenny ....................

I haven't dared tell him that the batteries in my last motorhome were Banners ........................................

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[funflair]

How do you do that ? we have 2 110v Banner AGM's. As van is now 6 years old, how do we tell how old the batteries are ? as they could be original from Hymer ?

Basically you have 2x110ah batteries which will support a 50% discharge so a useable 110ah, if you fully charge the batteries and then apply a known load of say 10 amps this should last 11 hours before the battery voltage reaches 12.2v which would be your 50% (consider this as flat).

Watts=Volts x Amps so W=12x10 so you want a load of around 120watts if you use a different wattage as the load just do the calc A=W/V and then divide these amps into 110ah to give you your new figure for the hours it should last.

PS if you suspected on battery to be faulty you would split them and do the test individually but on only a theoretical 55ah.

Good luck

Martin

 

[Lenny HB]

How do you do that ? we have 2 110v Banner AGM's. As van is now 6 years old, how do we tell how old the batteries are ? as they could be original from Hymer ?

If they are OEM fit they would normally be 95 a/h Banner AGM's, in my last van mine lasted 18 months, they now fit Vatar AMG' they appear the fair a bit better. I fitted Gels in my current van didn't want the AGM they supplied.

To test the batteries you need to separate them and get each one fully charged then test each one:-
Best way of testing a leisure battery is to fully charge it, let it rest for an hour then & check the voltage:-

1) Place a load on it of say 5 amps (can do this in the van by turning on lights etc.).
2) Leave it with the load for a time that equates to 25% of battery capacity (100A/H battery it would be 5 amps for 5 hours).
3) Turn the load off let the battery settle for ½-1 hour measure the voltage, the battery will now be @ 75% state of charge.
4) Repeat 3, battery will now be @ 50% state of charge.
6) Repeat 3, battery will now be @ 25% state of charge. - not recommended to take a wet cell (standard battery) below 50% too often.

 

[Lenny HB]

How do you do that ? we have 2 110v Banner AGM's

Now there's an idea 220v d.c., I think back in the 50's my Grans house was d.c.

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[Lenny HB]

I haven't dared tell him that the batteries in my last motorhome were Banners ........................................

You have just put yourself on my Hit List.