Battery trickle charge

paul2hand
paul2hand Forum Participant Posts: 12
edited January 2016 in Caravans #1

Can any one tell me with a straight forward yes or no if it ok to charge a leisure battery with a car battery charger on trickle charge and if not what charger do I need?

I have a 2008 Bailey ranger 5 460/2 with a motor mover that is in storage at the moment so I want to charge the battery at home before taking it out.


The battery is one year old.

Thanks Paul

Comments

  • HelenandTrevor
    HelenandTrevor Forum Participant Posts: 3,221
    1000 Comments
    edited January 2016 #2

     OH has had our battery on trickle charge, ready for collecting our van from storage this week, he uses his old car battery charger and it's always been ok, so I suppose "yes" in answer to your question.  Others on here may disagree though.Undecided

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
    1000 Comments
    edited January 2016 #3

    There is never a straight answer! As your battery is new and if it is a leisure battery then it will probably be "sealed". Any charger that you use should have a "Sealed" position switch. A trickle charger is not the correct one to use on a discharged battery
    but will keep a charged batty topped up. A 5 amp CTek is he best charger you can buy but a bit expensive.

  • TheAdmiral
    TheAdmiral Forum Participant Posts: 506
    edited January 2016 #4

    Yes or on the other hand, seriously, I had never had a problem over a period of many years prior to buying a smart charger

    Admiral

  • JohnDH
    JohnDH Forum Participant Posts: 183
    100 Comments
    edited January 2016 #5

    Paul, just get a ctek charger, or if Lidle have any left, get one of their chargers for £13.99 I think. Keep the battery topped up. That's all I do. My batteries last 5 years +

  • MrRoute
    MrRoute Forum Participant Posts: 141
    edited January 2016 #6

    Yes :)

  • rogher
    rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
    500 Comments
    edited January 2016 #7

    I don’t think it’s an easy answer. There are chargers and then there are other chargers. The more expensive ones will do more and, if you believe all the ‘bumpf’, they will look after a battery better. There are different stages for charging but, if your
    battery is never flattened, a trickle charger could keep it ‘happy’. You are likely to have difficulty recovering a battery if it gets seriously discharged and some trickle chargers have shown themselves to be rather over-zealous with their ‘trickle’, drying
    a battery out.

    If looking for a new one, make sure that it has a charging profile to suit your battery type: Wet/AGM/Gel. There aren’t many that respect the needs of AGM, yet, but that market is expanding. If using a motor mover, I’d be keen to recharge the battery as
    soon as possible after every use and I’m not convinced that a simple trickle would be enough to do that properly.

  • intransient1
    intransient1 Forum Participant Posts: 15
    edited January 2016 #8

    Yes it will work as the power being put into the battery is small there is nothing to go wrong.

  • Lyke Wake Man
    Lyke Wake Man Forum Participant Posts: 238
    edited January 2016 #9

    the caravan shops will tell you that you will need a special expencive charger, a trickle charger will keep it topped up, but if it is flat you will need a bigger charger, I have a starter/charger, this put out more than a trickle charger, you will get one
    on ebay

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