Im not convinced my leisure battery charges up as much as it could whilst driving. Ive just done a meter test over the positive and negative clamps that go to my leisure battery and they are showing the same voltage as my starter battery but when I depleted the leisure battery the other week, i checked the voltage on it before I set off home and when I arrived home, rechecked the leisure battery voltage and it hadnt really gone up at all and that was after a 2 hour drive. Surely that would have put something back into my leisure battery? Is there a simple way I can check its charging?
it probably won't charge from flat by the alternator as youre still charging/using your main one, best trickle charge it seperately and see how it goes
If I have hook up then I dont bother using the battery at all but its times when I havent got hook up available that I need to know going to charge up a bit whilst driving
I would fully charge the leisure battery using a mains charger and then start the engine, you a should see the voltage increase if not check your split charge relay to ensure it is working correctly.
as i said earlier, your alt will not charge the leisure while you use and run the main, you could fit a switch or some sort of relay to divert all the charge to the leisure i guess? dunno, that's why i do what i do, my leisure is always charged, the split relay tops it up while driving as i have my radio running off it
What sort of split charger do you have is it a self switching one With the engine running test the voltage n each battery it should be the same
Its not a self switching one. Would a self switching one give me an advantage over mine? Im pretty sure the voltage going to each battery is the same when running, I just couldn't work out why it wouldnt charge the leisure battery on the way home after a weekend away with no hook up. It didn't show any sign of taking in a charge. Maybe as ricky said, the battery was too flat to take a charge seeing as its a 110 ah but that can't be right can it?
Remember that unless the battery is really flat when you get 55 amps the alternator will only be pushing maybe 20 amps into it (actually thats what the AA man measured when the alternator was charging the flat battery on my bus almost immediately after a jump start ) and less as it charges up A 110AH battery will need charging for about 2.5 hours to come back from half discharged, and more than 5 hours if you tried to kill it by running more than 50% flat. So your leisure battery wont charge up properly on the way home, and if you let it go completely flat and leave it for more than a few hours it will be well on the way to dead any way. A car charging system is there to top up the small amount of charge lost when starting and then keep the lights on when you need them. So the battery gets slightly flattened and then tops up from 90% to 100% quite quickly. The battery capacity is large enough to give the low resistance needed for the one or two HP starter motor. Look at Red Flash batteries to see how small a proper engine starter battery can be (13AH instead of 60AH) if it is built with higher technology. On boats they have auxiliary charge regulators which boost the alternator output by pushing more current than the normal regulator and turn it into a proper battery charger - I have a Sterling Digital alternator controller on my boat - it measures the time taken, battery temperature and voltage and boosts the alternator to provide high output until the battery is properly charged. It cost about £100. It wires in parallel with the existing regulator so if it blows up you still get a normal working alternator. Basically the alternator controller gives the same charge profile as a proper four stage mains battery charger which are cheaper and will also get the battery back to 100%. But the nearest mains socket is about 200m away from my boat across the river.
What he said^. A boat that has a bank of batteries wil typically have 170A+ of alternators and run for 2 hours per day to top them up + 8 hours once a week. If you let battery below 80% S.O.C. you'll knacker it in no time. That said I run mine flat often and have to put it on a mains charger every time, the alternator's just not up to it unless I daily drive it and camp once a year. Even then the stereo memory keeps draining it.
Can I summarise this then and please correct me if I'm wrong. If I fully charge my leisure battery before setting out, then plug in my fridge as I'm travelling, the split charge relay will only put in a small amount of charge, keeping it topped up.Once I get to my destination and rely soley on my battery with no help from my relay/ charge system then basically I'm on a downward spiral from there. Even if I go out and about in the van, the leisure battery isn't going to get any charge. What's the point in having a relay to charge up the battery if it isn't going to do it. I thought the whole point is to try and be self sufficient, living off grid for awhile charging up my battery as I go along
Yes, your correct. The problem you have is the draw from a fridge is much more than what can be put back in by your alternator. You'll probably get a max of 2-3 days on your leisure battery.
It's a waeco compressor so it draws very little compared to cool box types so I guess the split charger is only really good for small items then
Does a battery to battery charger like the ctek 250s system work better? Obviously there's a considerable price tag in comparison to a split charge relay, but I'm guessing if it offers far superior charging than the standard relay, could it be worth it to keep those all important cool beers cool?! https://www.roadpro.co.uk/retail/12...rs/ctek-d250s-dual-dc-dc-charger-12v-1321.htm
It will charge it just not fully same as the main battery to get them up to full you need a good muiti stage charger As long as you have split charger it will charge a leisure battery in a hour but if you run it right down below 50% it will take a lot longer and may not recover. Try not to let it go below 12v Make sure you have good voltage at both battery's with the engine running 14.5v Make sure you have good size cables and the terminals are good and clean It is a good idea to get a good charger and put it on the night before to insure it is charged to the max and again when you get back battery's get a memory and sometimes don't fully charge this where a good charger with a recon setting will help To test the battery charge it up fully disconnect it you should get 13v now leave it overnight if it has dropped more than 0.2v its probably had it
^^^ I think a full battery should be 12.6v once the surface charge has dissipated, so to say losing 0.2v might be a bit extreme.
It's become common practice to permanently install a Ctek type charger. You connect it to the leisure battery and power it from your 240V hook-up so it charges the battery whenever you plug the hook-up in. I plug it in at home every now and then to keep it topped up. Though it's usually because I want to use the van sockets for power tools. It's also useful to help cool the fridge down for an hour or so before you set off for the weekend.
I have a ctek charger which I fully charge the battery up with before I go away then I use the hook up to power the fridge when Im on site.I can understand having it wired up to keep the battery topped up when on site but that doesnt help me if i've no 240 available. I guess maybe a solar powered charger may provide a bit of a trickle charge when no hook up is available, it's just another expense tho. I'm just dissapointed to learn the leisure battery doesn't charge enough on the go to top up my battery. Just thought it was a given to do that. I guess these fancy set ups must cost quite a bit then to enable people to go off grid for awhile.
exactly what i do, if i didn't have hook up i doubt my leisure would last a couple of nights, the fridge would flatten it in a day, when i get a new leisure i'll get a bigger one, i only got 85a one 2 years ago
