Battery Charging
My caravan is kept in storage and I remove the battery and take it home so that it can receive a top up charge. My question is how long a period is it safe to leave the battery on the caravan without recharging?
Comments
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One simply can't answer that question. It depends on the drains on and within the battery, its size, the technology of its construction and how effectively charged it starts. As it ages or is abused things just get worse.
Unconnected, fully charged and in good health it could be several months before it starts getting to charge levels where it begins being abused.
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The time your battery will last will depend on many factors, rather like the length of string. Don’t let it drop below 50% charge (or 12.2V) before recharging. If you need to keep an alarm operative while you recharge, find a slave battery to use in the
meantime.0 -
I think I should have been a little more specific. If I have been away and plan to go away say 4/5 weeks later woukd it be OK to leave it on under those circumstances.
Unconnected, fully charged and in good health it could be several months before it starts getting to charge levels where it begins being abused.
That was and remains my view. In many cases even connected 5 weeks will not be a challenge but not knowing all the details the advice already given is IMO the safest option.
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I think I should have been a little more specific. If I have been away and plan to go away say 4/5 weeks later woukd it be OK to leave it on under those circumstances.
It really does come down to two things:
When you leave the 'van, is the battery really fully charged?
AND Are you certain that there is no load on the battery?Unfortunately caravans do not generally have a simple mechanical master switch which definitely isolates the battery. On my Elddis, even with the master switch on, with nothing at all in the 'van switched on, the relay draws 25mA. This may not sound much,
but it equates to 18Ah over a month!0 -
I am about to buy a new leisure battery to replace my original one so have been reading up about such things. The advice I have read is that when not in use, which I assume means during the storage periods, then it is advised to charge it every month
and as stated above not let it go below 50% of charge capacity. My MH has a draw on it when stored of -0.2 amps according to the PSU readings. It also seems to be that you get what you pay for and the NCC have a verified batteries list on their web site which
I found very helpful. Regards, Roy0 -
Our caravan had a Tracker and alarm and the battery would last 2-3 months before needing recharging. I had an old spare battery to use whilst I charged the newer one but it was a nuisance as the round trip to the storage place was about 50 minutes. One situation
where a solar panel would have helped.0 -
Another reason I'm glad I fitted a Solar Panel. Haven't had to worry about the leisure batteries for nearly 3 years now. I've also saved a packet running backwards and forwards to the storage compound with recharged batteries. Alarm and tracker alive all the time. Really worth considering!!
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