On board caravan battery system

[CaptLimey]

Hi to all

Having just bought a Hobby 560 I'm thinking of fitting an on board battery to power the heater blower system, water pump and lighting whilst en route. I'm wondering what amp/hour would be necessary/practical for short stops between hooking up to campsite power points.

The van is 13 core cabled but currently has a 7 pin plug fitted, as does my T2 tug. I'd like to have the opportunity to charge the on board battery whilst towing and also when connected to camp site power. What sort of charger/control system would provide this function? Will I need to upgrade to a 13 pin system or fit a second 7 pin to provide services to the 'van?

Anyone been down this road and can advise?

Regards and happy Hogmanay to all. CL

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

your best bet is to check somewhwer like towsure online and go for the best leisure battery you can afford, also a simple charging solution can be provided by a good battery charger with a facility to drop down to a trickle charge to keep the battery maintained when it has become fully charged.

I know a lot of people will probably disagree, but i have found keeping the battery charged from you vahicle when it is moving is overrated as caravans to stand much longer than they are towed and batteris dischareg realatively quickly in use,

so if it were me I would go this route (or a similar one):

http://www.towsure.com/product/13450-Automatic_Battery_Charger_12V_1.2-120Ah

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Leisure-carav...14&_trkparms=72:1301|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

you can spend a lot more and probably get a lot better stuff, but this would suit your needs I beleive.

Happy new year

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

yep im with plank on 12s for charging and running fridge on move
basically waste of time unless very long journey. tbh 12s is just
something else to go wrong or get damaged off road, and with the
live feed to pin 4 and others with ignition prone to fusing when
damaged.

chill van fridge at home, along with charging battery then plug into
mains on arrival.

does the hobby not have a battery as standard or a box for one or
a charger then. if not these must be classed as uk features.

typical uk van would have a 90 or maybe 110 amp hour battery, ours
can certainly supply all 12v needs on weekend rallies with no hook up.

think have read though that the euro connector is better design for
the lights and aux circuits. maybe worth changing over if van already
wired. if not towsure do 2x7 to 13 adapters.

 

[tezzer]

captlimey, i've been looking for a leisure battery for my van, this guy may be able to help with a battery and charger---WWW.ELECTROQUESTUK.COM

im getting my battery from him the 120 amp. :thumb2







tezzer

 

[CaptLimey]

My thanks yet again to Plank and rbrt for good sound common sense advice. I'll probably go for their simple no nonsense recommended option.

Thanks also to Tezzer - what's the asking price for the 120 amp?

100 amp/hr sealed batteries are around 160 quid/Euros (they're now the same!!) over here in the French hypermarket auto stores. (And by the way I can read your French!!)

Regards CL

 

[tezzer]

hello CaptLimey, 120 amp £79.99 +9.50 carriage, leisure battery charger £39.95 + £8.50 carriage:thumb2





i was waiting for someone to comment on my french










tezzer

 

[tezzer]

CaptLimey, heres the item numbers battery-- 130268838417 charger---140281737256 battery has duel posts. :thumb2










tezzer

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

intriged by delivery as towsure alway say cant ship due to acid contents, unless
you're looking a gell type?

 

[tezzer]

intriged by delivery as towsure alway say cant ship due to acid contents, unless
you're looking a gell type?

hi rbrt, i'ev heard that before come to think of it, just read listing and all i can see is that there completely sealed and spill proof, perhaps thats the difference? :nenau







tezzer

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

the sellers on e bay offer postage? so maybe certain courriers will take them?

The only thing i was going to add, and it may have been covered is think carefully about battery location, it neeeds to be in a ventilated space, idealy insulated from very cold weather. Maybe in the gas bottle locker?

alternatively towsure also sell battery boxes to keep them in, as you dont want the gas from charging building up inside the caravan! so it really must be vented to outside!

 

[Terranosaurus]

CaptLimey, heres the item numbers battery-- 130268838417 charger---140281737256 battery has duel posts. :thumb2

I've got a pretty similar spec battery under the bonnet of my Terrano cost me £70 (inc VAT) collect but I'm local - now that caravan batteries are having to run motor movers all the time a lot of them are marine batteries rather than true leisure and so are suitable for starter/winch use on 4x4s too.

Its a Numax CXV31MF that I got theres one HERE but got mine elsewhere in Leeds.

Have a look at this guy on ebay too, Mav sorted out a discount with him a few months back

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/THE-BATTER...0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ373176010QQftidZ2QQtZkm

 

[CaptLimey]

Thanks to all for the good advice. I've ordered the same Numax leisure battery as rbrt recommended and the charger recommended by Tezzer.

Thanks again to Plank for prudent battery mounting advice. I think my Hobby has a good mounting option in the cupboard beneath the wardrobe which is close to the axle for good weight distribution and externally vented.

Re the query about Hobbys having a factory mounted battery - that may well be correct but mine doesn't, nor does it have an obvious terminal connection point for the 12 volt feed from the battery. I'm thinking of connecting it to the 12 volt feed from the inverter to supply current when not connected to mains power and the inverter is therefore not working. Anyone forsee a problem with that?

Regards CL.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

out of interest I have approx 15 'leisure' batteries in my shed at any given time being charged as we use them to run electric fences (up to 10000 volts!) all different makes and capacities, most of them say marine and leisure on the side or have a picture of both caravans and boats, and to be fair, regardles of the capacity the 85 amp ones seem in practice to run a fance as long as any other, bear in mind the fences run 24/7 and so are a fairly constant drain. It is pulsed DC yes but the capacitors are charging between the pulses (I would assume so anyway).

The only ones i haven't realy tried are gel batteries, largeley because i am too tight to pay for them but other than that they all seem pretty much the same, but they do last very well, and I do abuse them, they get run flat and left out in the cold for days etc and still seem to keep going!

A small tip though, wrap the receipt in a lunch bag and tape it to the side of the battery, and write the purchase date and guarantee length on the top with a marker pen, then you will be sure to get your money's worth!

 

[CaptLimey]

Hi Plank. I lived on a boat for a number of years and batteries were a major consideration to all live-aboards. Yes gel and AGM batteries are longer lasting and hardier when deep cycled but unless you're mounting them horizontally, which you can with a gel, my view is that ordinary sealed lead acid are the best value for money. If you got three years out of a deep cycled battery before holding a charge became a problem then live-aboards regarded that as a reasonable life span. Regards CL.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Cheers CL, I will stick to cheap lead acid type leisure batteries from now on then! as i transport them around daily i am often paranoind about the wet acid content, but £ for £ I dont think they are bad value! Are gel batteries much lighter?

 

[CaptLimey]

Hi Plank. I'm not sure whether there is any weight difference as I doubt whether gel is any heavier/lighter than liquid acid. What is probably more relevant to weight is the amp/hr capacity. I used only lead acid, both sealed and unsealed, on my boat and, as they did have a hard life, I expected to renew the battery bank after roughly three years. Fellow live aboards generally claimed their gel cells gave longer and more reliable service but, like you, I didn't consider that twice the cost justified the claimed benefits. Regards CL.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

So Captain, am i right in assuming you use a bank of batteries to provide 240v power? if so how many do you use to make it feasible for normal daily use? How do you charge them, just from the engine or solar/wind power? last question, should this be in a different thread?

 

[Paul]

Bit of topic here, but whats the differance in a leisure battery charger & a car battery charger?? :nenau

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Generaly leisure batteries need a longer slower charge, I have a good car battery charger with a charge amps meter and an led to indicate when the battery is fully charged. When trickle charging from flat, a leisure battery will carry on drawing a couple of amps for a day or so after the charge complete light is on!

I am not sure of the difference other than this, but i beleive some leisure battery chargers have a variabel charge rate that lowers the current available over the length of charge, and some swithc to a very low trickle 'maintanence' charge wehn done and then cut in and out to keep the battery topped up so you can leave them connected.

Having said all that i am sure someone has a much better answer and probably more concise with it

 

[Paul]

Thanks, was looking at leisure battery chargers yesterday, not cheap to buy are they..