Sterling 'Pro Batt Ultra' Battery-To-Battery Charger - 12V/12V 30A (1 Viewer)

[Chockswahay]

I'm still on my power quest

Does anyone have any experience of these things and if so, has it really made a difference?

I am gradually drowning in a sea of fear and worry when all I really want to do is increase the time off hook from 2 days to 4 or 5.

Some of you will have seen my query elsewhere re solar....... I am now thinking maybe add an extra hab battery for now and maybe a B2B.

 

[Chockswahay]

Also I notice that Sterling say avoid using with AGM batteries and that a few other internet articles suggest that fast charging will deffo destroy batteries sooner than later.....

 

[olley]

As I understand it if you fast change a gel battery, gas bubbles can form in the gel, these do not go away and cause a deteriation in the battery.
In a flooded cell the gas just bubbles to the surface.

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[Chockswahay]

But what about AGM?

 

[olley]

Found this: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm

 

[Speve]

Hymer fitted Varta AGMs on our new B678DL we have two solar panels and two leisure batteries been parked on drive whilst registering so not used very much but have not put on hook up and they are maintaining van and leisure’s to limits on control panel.thats over around 8 weeks now.
Will be out on shake down trip week after next so wil then see how it holds up.

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[DBK]

I'm still on my power quest

Does anyone have any experience of these things and if so, has it really made a difference?

I am gradually drowning in a sea of fear and worry when all I really want to do is increase the time off hook from 2 days to 4 or 5.

Some of you will have seen my query elsewhere re solar....... I am now thinking maybe add an extra hab battery for now and maybe a B2B.

I was going to mention this when I saw your solar thread but got distracted so here's a second opportunity. I think you need to work out how long your current system will support the fridge for. My guess is without it being charged by something the single hab battery will be getting worryingly low after around 24 hours. If you add a second battery you might get 48 hours. This assumes you are also using 12 volt for all the other normal things like water pump and lights etc. Put another way, the second battery only gets you an extra day.
With my amazing analytical skills I can deduce from the above what you need is the ability to charge the battery or batteries. So I would look at power generation first not a second battery. I suggest get as much solar on your roof as possible, 200W or more if there is room.
Then take it for some real world tests and see how long you can survive. In summer I suspect you will be able to last indefinitely with the single hab battery but almost certainly not in winter. A second hab battery will extend things of course so fit one if there is room but to last your target 5 days in the depths of winter even with solar you may struggle.
The B2B can be added later if you find you need it.

Or one of these.

 

[LesW]

My own (limited) experience.. 75ah battery, 100w solar, no telly, but keep mobile phones, laptop and rechargeable batteries all topped up.

Five days without EHU no problems, probably last indefinitely, or until Mrs W needs to wash and dry her (long) hair, then we need mains.. for her hair dryer.

Forgot to add, I have a Battery Master which also keeps the vehicle battery charged too.

 

[Chockswahay]

If my fridge was not pure 12v it would not be an issue.............

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[Chockswahay]

To be more precise we very rarely stay anywhere more than 2 nights max before we drive off to the next place (always touring, us!) so I am wondering if improved charge rate when driving will help for now.

I do fancy Solar but gradually coming to the conclusion that maybe its a case of too much too soon. Also I am not entirely convinced at long term staying power of flexible panels so may think of mounting on roof rack which we are likely to fit later

 

[Geo]

Whilst i cant knockï DBK his priotities are not yours
If you really mean as you say and move a lot then a B2B should be higher on your to do list
But whatever you do decide £500 power system that works is far superior to £300 system that dont conveiance never comes cheap but the cost is soon forgotten when bathing in surplus energy

 

[DBK]

To be more precise we very rarely stay anywhere more than 2 nights max before we drive off to the next place (always touring, us!) so I am wondering if improved charge rate when driving will help for now.

I do fancy Solar but gradually coming to the conclusion that maybe its a case of too much too soon. Also I am not entirely convinced at long term staying power of flexible panels so may think of mounting on roof rack which we are likely to fit later

I think you need to try the van "as is" and see how you get on. You can always start the engine and go for a drive.

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[Chockswahay]

I think you need to try the van "as is" and see how you get on. You can always start the engine and go for a drive.

That's the thing, we have just returned from 8 days on Anglesey. It worked out that with a short (less than 20 miles) drive each day we could make 2 nights 'wild' then 3rd night needed EHU. Mind you, the fridge was working like a crazy beast due to the high temps!

 

[Neckender]

That's the thing, we have just returned from 8 days on Anglesey. It worked out that with a short (less than 20 miles) drive each day we could make 2 nights 'wild' then 3rd night needed EHU. Mind you, the fridge was working like a crazy beast due to the high temps!

Does your compressor fridge have a night setting which uses less power, I found that our Thetford compressor runs ok on number 4 setting night mode which uses less power.

John.

 

[Minxy]

We're going to Norfolk show next week from Thursday to Monday and then planning on spending a few days down there afterwards, so a week or more, we don't intend to use sites or do a massive amount of driving, certainly not during the show days, so it will be interesting to see how our set-up performs. I don't anticipate a problem with us having 2 x 78ah (classed as 80ah!) gel batteries, 200w of solar and a Votronic 250 MPP controller.

If you can hang on for a couple of weeks I'll report back.

Oh, forgot to say, I wouldn't bother with the B2B for now as it will only provide power when you drive, if you are static it won't do owt!

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[two]

I have used B2B and found it very good at recharging the batteries, even on short runs or simply idling.
If you routinely move-on within the capacity off your battery bank (unless on EHU) I think B2B will be your solution.

 

[p-c]

Hi
I can easily be out of my depth on this.
A couple of things have crossed my mind when reading this thread so I'll raise them as questions.
Is B2B only for charging the vehicle battery from the leisure battery, particularly when on solar?
I seem to remember people fitting "larger" alternators to the engine to gain more charge to the hab battery when on the move, is this a good option for the op?
Regards
p-c

 

[two]

B2B charges the hob bank from the alternator. It tricks the alternator into issuing full power.
In a boat, you'd add a second (high Amp) alternator, because you have the space.

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[PeterCarole29]

Hi we have always seemed to had had a problem with leisure batteries .The main problem being damaging them below there recommended level.So now have gone for trogan 4x 6v 225 but if you have solar and move on regular would not 2 x 6v 225 trogans be the answer giving you 200ah usable amp without damaging the bayteries

 

[Chockswahay]

Does your compressor fridge have a night setting which uses less power, I found that our Thetford compressor runs ok on number 4 setting night mode which uses less power.

John.

Don't think ours does

 

[Nasher]

Just buy a Generator - you know you want to. Mine's great

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[maxi77]

There is little point in buying anything before you work out what you really need. The first step is a power budget where you work out just how many AHs you need for every day. You mention wanting to do 5 days of grid at a time.This means that over that period you will need to get from somewhere 5 time that figure. On the basis that you will move on with a reasonable drive or onto an EHU you can take 50% of your battery capacity of that 5 day value. What you are left with is the number of AHs you will need to acquire over the days. From that it will be clear that extra battery power is a cheap way of lasting your 5 days if you have the space. Solar is good but in the UK you can get 5 days with little output. Wind can be good too but not always reliable. A B to B can be good and remeber the more batteries you have the less power you pump into each battery so 100 amps over 5 batteries means 20 per battery. You must always consider that if you go over 200 AH installed battery many inbuilt chargers are not rated for more and you will need additional charging capacity on the mains. Of course a portable generator means you can take your EHU with you.

Finally if you big drain is the fridge you can cut the power needs but increasing the insulation and not setting the thermostat too low.

I suspect your best bang for bucks is more battery and solar but it will always deepend on what you already have and really need

 

[Minxy]

Does your compressor fridge have a night setting which uses less power, I found that our Thetford compressor runs ok on number 4 setting night mode which uses less power.

John.

Don't think ours does

I think you've got one of these:

 

[Pausim]

I agree that a power budget is a good starting point.

When off grid I find I use 30 to 40 ah each day, in my case medical equipment overnight rather than a fridge. I get by very comfortably with a 100ah leisure battery but it is LiFePO4 so it can be dicharged further and recharged quicker than most leisure batteries. In the sunny weather we are currently enjoying (UK) I can recover all this with 2 portable solar panels by early afternoon.

However I also have a Votronic battery to battery charger that I limit to 38 amps to keep within the wiring/ebl limits of my motorhome. This means I can fully recharge my leisure battery useage with a short drive. Without the b to b I found that driving alone did little leisure battery charging, I understand that this was because the smart alternator cut back to a low maintenance voltage as soon as the engine battery was charged.

If you are moving on regularly you may find a b to b is part of the answer but you might want to limit the charge limit to 25% of your battery capacity if using a lead acid one. I don’t think there is one easy answer because we all use our motorhomes differently but if you sort through all the advice and do a bit of research you should find one that suits you.

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[Minxy]

This makes interesting reading ...

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-to-battery-chargers.php

 

[Chockswahay]

@Minxy Girl Hi Mel, I did post elsewhere on that ........ they can be a little confusing but I think they mean a B2B will do the job.

 

[Chockswahay]

This makes interesting reading ...

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-to-battery-chargers.php

Well I posted about the Schauldt battery booster too ............. I quite fancy one! just where to buy??

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...y-booster-b2b-on-the-way.146243/#post-2923613

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[Chockswahay]

@Minxy Girl

Mel, with your experience and knowledge, do you think this booster can be connected easily to the EBL 30? I assume the wiring that comes out the back of the EBL is already compliant re fuses and connections......

 

[Minxy]

@Minxy Girl

Mel, with your experience and knowledge, do you think this booster can be connected easily to the EBL 30? I assume the wiring that comes out the back of the EBL is already compliant re fuses and connections......

I assume this is the one you're interested in?



I'm no expert and don't have a massive amount of experience, only what I've researched for my own vehicles, so no knowledge of EBL 30 or installing a B2B etc, however I've just had a shuftie at the installation instructions and whilst on first glance it looks a bit 'horrifying' it's not as bad as it seems on closer inspection! I'd first read up as much as possible about it all and confirm that you know what you're doing first though.

 

[Chockswahay]

@Minxy Girl yes that's the one. I'm wondering if it would be better suited than maybe a Sterling Pro?

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