Battery charger
Comments
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Leave your battery on charge (4 amp) for as long as it takes- the charger will tell you when fully charged any 12v charger will do to top up but a deep cycle charger is required to keep a leisure battery in good condition
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Your charger is for a battery of max amp of 50
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sakura-SS3629-4A-Battery-Charger/dp/B004A9165K
more than 50 requires another charger :-
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Lead acid batteries do not need a deep discharge, unlike NiCad which have a "memory". Your charger is inadequate although it might work. You should use a 5 amp minimum charger; your leisure battery will be between 85 and 110 ampere-hours. Most caravans have
inadequate chargers (which includes all Baileys) so it is good to remove the battery and recharge it with a proper charger. I would recommend a Ctek if you can afford it. In fact, whenever it is discharged you need to recharge it off the van; EHU is only good
for maintaining the charge.0 -
As a general rule of thumb the charger the charger used should have an amperage rating of at least 10% of the battery's rated amperage; e.g. a 100 amp per hour battery should be charged with a unit capable of delivering at least 10 amps. It is also advisable to use a smart charger which will deliver the correct charge profile and can be left connected and on continuously. For off unit charging I use a Ring Smart Charger 12v 16 amp RSC16.
I think it depends on the charger DD. The CTek 5 amp smart charger is good for 110 A-hr whereas the CTek 3 amp (which the Club were offering a while back) is only good for 85 A-hr. They are current limited anyway so should work but just take longer.
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You could be right DD. I cannot claim to be an expert on the construction of smart chargers so I would always accept the manufacturers' statements on suitability against the A-hr rating of the battery. The CTek chargers certainly raise the voltage as claimed
on the box because I have measured it but in the absence of information I am sure the 10% rule is helpful.0 -
I was also informed by a very well qualified person that you should charge at sufficient strength to " soak" the charge into the battery.
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Lead acid batteries do not need a deep discharge, unlike NiCad which have a "memory". Your charger is inadequate although it might work. You should use a 5 amp minimum charger; your leisure battery will be between 85 and 110 ampere-hours. Most caravans have
inadequate chargers (which includes all Baileys) so it is good to remove the battery and recharge it with a proper charger. I would recommend a Ctek if you can afford it. In fact, whenever it is discharged you need to recharge it off the van; EHU is only good
for maintaining the charge.Write your comments here...
Here is the transcript of an Email which I sent to my caravan charger's manufacturer - Sargent, who disagree with you in their case;
Dear Sir,
We have frequently read on Caravan support forums, that the charger/ supply unit, fitted to caravans is just a trickle charger and won't recharge a substantially flattened battery. Please will you confirm either way.
Our charger unit is an EC500, is your response the same for that?
With thanks
Hi Jenny,
The Px300 charger which is normally fitted with the PSU EC500 is a multistage 300 Watt charger. It is quite capable of charging most batteries in any condition.
I hope this helps.
Kind Regards
Tim Sanderson
Technical Specialisthttps://sargentltd.co.uk/tech-support/article/Power-Supply-Unit-Manuals/22
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I know that HG is right in some cases, particularly older vans. But it's not a universal truth that van chargers are inadequate and only suitable for floating across the battery when on EHU. Which is why I said "in their (Sargent's) case". Ours van is a 3 year old Swift, so it's hardly an uncommon marque. A friend also has a Sargent in her 5 year old Autotrail campervan.
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My single stage charger has never failed to charge my battery, my last one was 9 years old before i forgot to turn the rear view camera off, that finished it off.
The only advantage a multistage charger has is to charge the battery quicker.
My present charger is at least 20 amp, and the Swift i'm getting is a multi stage 25 amp version.
Either one is sufficient, my battery never leaves the caravan, all i do is just charge it now around once a month.
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In most cases "intelligent" equates to multi stage. They are more useful than just quick because they will overcome sulphation problems, aiding the recovery of potentially damaged batteries. It's what Ctek is claimed to do, and doubtless does, and I fully realise that, judging by the amount of advice to abandon your van's charger and buy Ctek, that CT has an allocation of shares in the company. Personally we've always found our on board chargers adequate on EHU, providing a well charged battery off EHU, and ticking over at home.
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