How often to charge the leisure battery??

susan1952
susan1952 Forum Participant Posts: 23
edited May 2016 in Caravans #1

Hi, Weve only had our van since may last year and was told by the dealer that our 110 leisure battery should have a good charge at home during the winter months only. We were then told that if we installed a 800w solar panel we would not need to take it
out of the van over winter, so this is what we did ( we live in an upper floor flat and thought this solar panel would solve the problem over charging over winter.)  We also have a MM

This spring we found the battery was as flat as *** and complained to the dealer who changed it free of charge after saying it was defective.  However, the lady who served us to the battery said the battery people recommend that we charge it every six weeks
at home and over the winter as the solar panel is only a trickle charge and is not enough to sustain a decent charge.  Help! We have done everything that the dealer has told us and now dont know what to do. Please give us a clue... Thanks

Comments

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited May 2016 #2

    I had my battery on solar through the winter months and even with an intermittent fault, it maintained a good charge. I give it a boost with the onboard charger after a trip just to be on the safe side but I'm not sure I really need to. You say you live
    in a flat. Are the surrounding buildings preventing the panel from getting a decent bit of sunlight?

  • Kennine
    Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
    1000 Comments
    edited May 2016 #3

    Our caravan is on our drive and every few months we plug the caravan into the power socket in the garage.

    The battery never seems to drop below 12.5 volts.

    Advice , if the battery is going flat after a few weeks either it is faulty or there is a continuous drain from the caravan.

    Once a battery becomes totally flat with no power output it is ruined.

    K

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,436 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #4

    Our battery is three years old and is only charged either on site or towing. It went from early November last year to middle February this year without a charge and it still had enough charge left to power the motor mover while hitching up. In our privious
    van the battery must have been 7 years old but still did its job of powering the mover.

     Come to think of it, I only use the battery for the mover.

  • holmesonwheels24
    holmesonwheels24 Forum Participant Posts: 148
    edited May 2016 #5

    Hello Susan, are you sure that everything is turned off in the caravan ? . Some vans have a master switch that turns all items off. The radio can take power and also the tv aerial booster. Hope this helps.

  • susan1952
    susan1952 Forum Participant Posts: 23
    edited May 2016 #6

    Thanks everyone for the info, Ill keep an eye on it and make sure everythings turned off. In view of what you have said it sounds like it was a faulty battery. I feel a bit more confident now. Thanks again

  • susan1952
    susan1952 Forum Participant Posts: 23
    edited May 2016 #7

    to cyberyacht - we keep the van on yorkshire caravan site and its in a sunny position so it should charge. Ill keep my fingers crossed . Thanks

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,436 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #8

    one more point, do you have a tracker device fitted? 

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
    1000 Comments
    edited May 2016 #9

    Some alarms also seem to drain the battery....

  • ABIPete
    ABIPete Forum Participant Posts: 88
    edited May 2016 #10

    Our Lunar has an alarm and tracker. Even when switched off they will still drain an 80ah battery in a few weeks. Having installed a 100watt solar panel on the roof last autumn the battery has stayed topped up with no problem. The caravan is on a storage
    site in the open.

  • Nuggy
    Nuggy Forum Participant Posts: 512
    edited May 2016 #11

    Out of curiosity, is your solar panel really 800 watts? That sounds massive to me.

  • brenpet
    brenpet Forum Participant Posts: 8
    edited May 2016 #12

    I have a similar problem with my Lunar which has an alarm but no tracker. It has been in storage for a week after our last  trip went down today to hitch up and the mover operated for about 10 feet and gave up due to low battery. The master switch was off.
    The battery is a 75 AH and was fitted to the van 18 months ago when we bought it new, do you think the battery is us or simply not man enough. I considered getting a 110 AH battery or a Milenco portable solar charger ( anyone used one)I
    can't get a roof mounted panel because I have to use a roof cover to stop the bird crap. When it went in for it's first service in September I mentioned that the battery didn't seem to last long when not on e h u but apparently it tested out ok.

    Peter

  • Nuggy
    Nuggy Forum Participant Posts: 512
    edited May 2016 #13

    IMO a 75 Ah battery is not the best if you have a MM fitted. Also, if you are off EHU and don't have a solar panel, how are you keeping your battery charged up. It sounds as if your battery was very low when you put your van back in storage. If you are using an alarm then you are constantly draining the battery so that power needs to be replaced to prevent the battery from going flat and being trashed.

  • brenpet
    brenpet Forum Participant Posts: 8
    edited May 2016 #14

    Thanks Nuggy your probably right I have to use the mover to get it into storage which is a bit tricky, so i'm probably asking a lot to leave it a week with no top up.

  • susan1952
    susan1952 Forum Participant Posts: 23
    edited May 2016 #15

    We have no tracker or alarm. The only thing we have is a motor mover but from now on were going to try to manoeuvre the van ourselves. It has worried us a bit but after all the advice you have given Im hopeful this battery will be ok. Thanks. Our van is
    also in a storage facility in the open so the sun should charge the panel even when were not using it

  • susan1952
    susan1952 Forum Participant Posts: 23
    edited May 2016 #16

    sorry 80 watts

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,585 ✭
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    edited May 2016 #17

    sorry 80 watts

    That should be more than enough to keep the battery topped up and in fact I wonder if it overcharged the battery. Does it have a regulator to shut off the charge when the battery is fully charged?

  • susan1952
    susan1952 Forum Participant Posts: 23
    edited May 2016 #18

    Oh by the way, just one more thing, the women who said we would have to charge the battery every six weeks said we would need a deep cycle charger, whats this? and how does it differ from an ordinary one?

    Weve decided to just charge it ove the winter in view of what evryones said

  • Nuggy
    Nuggy Forum Participant Posts: 512
    edited May 2016 #19

    Brenpet, when you come home from a trip, recharge your battery asap, don't leave it 'low' until you are due to go away, they don't like that.

    Susan, when giving the battery an occassional charge during the winter, make a note on your calendar. It is very easy to lose track and forget when it was last charged.

    I have a 40watt freestanding panel, if we have had a reasonable amount of sun I usually come home with a nearly full battery.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
    1000 Comments
    edited May 2016 #20

    Oh by the way, just one more thing, the women who said we would have to charge the battery every six weeks said we would need a deep cycle charger, whats this? and how does it differ from an ordinary one?

    Weve decided to just charge it ove the winter in view of what evryones said

    Buy a
    Ctek charger    . Even the smaller versions will keep a larger battery topped up. Connect it to your battery, plug it in & then forget about it & leave the charger to it. 

  • ABIPete
    ABIPete Forum Participant Posts: 88
    edited May 2016 #21

    Hi Susan, we also use a mover to put the caravan back into it's storage 'slot' and the 100watt solar panel had restored the 110ah battery to full by the next day. I would think an 80watt panel should recover your battery fairly quickly after using a motor mover, assuming your solar setup is working correctly. We did have a 80ah battery in the van but changed to 110ah because of the mover. We also use a Ctec charger on the old battery that is kept in our garage, as is said you switch it on and let it get on with it by itself.

  • DSB
    DSB Club Member Posts: 5,696 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2016 #22

    Our battery is three years old and is only charged either on site or towing. It went from early November last year to middle February this year without a charge and it still had enough charge left to power the motor mover while hitching up. In our privious
    van the battery must have been 7 years old but still did its job of powering the mover.

     Come to think of it, I only use the battery for the mover.

    The same thing applies to us too.  We never charge the battery at home, and we only change the battery when we change the caravan!  The next van will come with a 100 solar panel, so hopefully that will help keep it in better condition.

    David 

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,585 ✭
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    edited May 2016 #23

    Without an alarm our battery will hold enough charge to get it through winter although if you then want to use the mover it would need a top up charge.

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