Leisure battery woes.

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Betty the Bay, Jun 8, 2022.

  1. Or just stick a cheapo solar panel on the roof - they work

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  2. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    The problem is that a 5 amp compressor fridge keeps pulling the same current than that weedy charger, causing it to take fright as the battery voltage drops while its working hard. So it goes off and sulks refusing to try hard any more.
    And your battery just goes flat.

    Buy a battery maintainer style mobile home charger like the Nordelettronica ones.
    I have the 12 amp one it is fanless and keeps up easily with the fridge. And when the mains is off it disconnects with an internal relay so it doesnt discharge the battery..

    Its actually quite hard to charge a battery properly when it has any load on it. The only way is to use a charger with software that assumes when the voltage drops as load is taken its going to maintainer mode, then it returns to charger mode after, and without any timeouts.
    Even the charger I have has to be switched over into a battery recovery mode with a requirement to manually disconnect all loads to return a battery to 100% charge.
    I think the small Ctek is more a good quality trickle charger, the bigger Ctek ones with fans can deliver power as a maintainer, but they cost more per amp than the Nordelettronica chargers .
     
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  3. I may have a used Exide 063 you can chuck on to give it a try depending what way round your terminals are, I am in Sandown.
     
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  4. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Cheers, off the Island on Sunday...will just buy fresh each day .... Morrisons is only 2 miles away.
    But thanks for the offer.
     
  5. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Think I may look at that system....my present one works fine for about 4-5 weeks actual camping before I have issues.
    I wondered if it was a simple as split relay charger not functioning correctly, or is that part more relevant when on the move.
     
  6. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Yeah, back to basics.

    A split relay in very basic terms just splits the alternator output to charge both batteries when you're running the engine.

    For static camping you need a battery capable of powering what you need and a way of putting that consumption back in to the battery before you've, say, depleted the rating of the battery by about 50%.

    Whether that be a solar charging system or a higher capacity charger its hard to say but will be relative to how you want to use the bus and if you're happy to pay for electrical hookup or whether you want a degree of independence.

    Rough rule of thumb without getting too techy.
     
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  7. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    You are probably suffering from under charging every time. Most smart chargers go to float far too soon at which point no charging takes place. If you rely on a smart charger to fully charge your battery at home, when it thinks it's done, switch it off, wait a few minutes then switch it back on, then repeat a couple of times. So say the eggspurts.
     
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  8. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    This makes it restart the charging cycle.. sort of like what happens on a solar panel when the sun comes out. Then even if the fridge makes it bail out early the battery will charge gradually.

    Of course the ancient heavy buzzing tin cased Halfords transformer'n' a diode trickle charger with a clunky meter on the front, doesnt have the intelligence to be bamboozled by the fridge. And generally they dont go bang suddenly either..
     
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  9. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Quick update, I turned off the fridge and left the cetk charging the leisure battery overcast.... work up to a fully charged battery.
    So battery appears to have survived, but underpowered charger appears to be the issue.... since back on mainland, doing longer runs to places of interest, the charger appears to be coping...but I'm going to upgrade van charger and relegate Ctek to garage use.
     
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  10. Which is what they're intended for... ??



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  11. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Looking at the more powerful chargers, they all seem to have an internal cooling fan .... has anyone any experience of this type?.... concerned about the potential noise, as the charging will obviously be happening overnight and the charger would be close to our heads when in bed, separated from us by only a piece of furniture board.
     
  12. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    The Nordelettronica 12 amp charger/maintainer is fanless, so apart from a relay click when mains power is connected and a slight fizzing switchmode power supply noise, its pretty well silent. Ours lives screwed to the outside of a Devon sink unit inside the bus.


    https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/nordelettronica-ne287-12v-battery-charger-12a.html


    However just one thought on why your Ctek couldnt cope- you buried it in a cupboard where it will produce heat and potentially also overheat and shut down.
    If something needs air cooling, it needs airflow, not just to be stashed "neatly" in a closed box or cupboard.
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2022
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  13. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    .. as is the Ctek MXS 10 which is also IP65 rated so your mounting options are perhaps increased.
    For example we have ours in the engine bay on the side of the spare wheel well closer to the batteries.
    It's also more expensive and slightly lower in output than the one Mike has commented on above but there's always some form of compromise...
     
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  14. I have a big CTEK under the bed, it has a fan, you have to lift the bed up to hear it at full speed.
     
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  15. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    What size is it out of interest Andrew? Our ctek M25 (15amp) that we've got on the boat has one.
    I've also got a NOKO Genius 10UK for the T3. That's fanless and IP rated but the connections aren't as robust as the ctek...compromises:rolleyes:
     
  16. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Never noticed that it was warm, never mind hot ... but your point is noted.
    Ideally, I want one that I just plug into a 240 socket and run wires directly to the leisure battery ( my electrical skills are basic ) to keep things simple.
    I presume that the one you have provided a link for is that straightforward... I'll research some more.
     
  17. Same size as yours MX25, probably more than needed, but having said that in France on hook-up at 30 degrees C, it was getting warm enough running the fridge and playing tunes.
     
  18. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    15A? Pah! My boat one is 120A and most certainly has a fan!
    The mxs10, if you wired it directly, has a button to use as a 12V PSU though I've never tried it. I suppose you could use it just for the fridge and battery/small solar everything else though you'd be tied to hookup.
     
  19. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Yeah, for us it's a 'compromise' haha on space and need.
    We're hooked up most of the time and when we do cruise we don't need 230 and over the years we've realised we don't actually stay anywhere for longer than 3 days max. Therefore no inverter to run. So batteries are weedy X2 115s. The 15 amp copes with that. We're only running shurflo parmax 3 for water duties, a Johnson Viking for shower water extraction and led lights on an evening.
    We've got a 230 and a 12v TV but to be honest rarely if ever run the 12v TV when we're out.

    Signal is crap and carrying the aerial is a pita.
    Our leccy bills are around 50 quid a 1/4 at the moment so it sort of works for us:thumbsup:
     
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