Is this an OK Leisure Battery charger?
Me again! My caravan is up in storage still and will be for a couple more weeks. I'm worried about the battery going flat.
I've found this one online at Halfords - can I take my battery out and use this to charge it at home?
BTW - how do you take a battery out of a carvan?
Lxx
Comments
-
No idea about the charger, but to take the battery out of the van you will need to remove the cables from the terminals. This usually means using a spanner (adjustable) to loosen the connectors. Not too disimilar from removing a car battery. It will make sense once you see the battery in situ.
2 -
If you have a normal lead acid battery, it looks as though it would charge it, although if your battery is 100Ah and reasonably flat it will take a while. Ideally you should use a smart charger, this will charge at the optimum level, preserving its life. It can be left connected to the battery for long periods, such as a winter lay up of several months, when you may wish to take your battery home.
0 -
How long your battery lasts in storage will depend on what is connected to it. Ours has an alarm and tracker and will run these for about 6 weeks. I make sure the master switch in the van is off as this isolates the radio, which even without its front consumes some power. It also isolates the Aerial booster, which again consumes power. Also make sure the fridge is switched off, otherwise if left open the light is likely to be on, again consuming power.
I need to power move the van from its storage position, so make sure it is fully charged before we go out. However, if you can tow out, a full charge is not required and your battery should charge on route.
To remove it you may need a spanner, however our first van had hand operated clamps. Oh they are rather heavy. I think ours is about 22kg.
1 -
oh, and remove the negative (earth) wire first, otherwise you might cause a short circuit...
as Steve says, batteries can be pretty heavy.
do you have any grounds for suspecting the battery might go flat?
do you have an alarm/tracker that draws a constant discharge?
whats your insurers position re the disarming of these security devices?
is your storage indoors, if so, the suggestion of a solar panel might not help you, however if outside, a fit once and forget panel would save you this bother and also enable you to better explore off-grid camping, of this was something you were interested in...so, potential win-win.
0 -
I've just realised that the charger I posted the link to is not right for my battery. It says unsuitable for AGM batteries which is what I have. I'm going up to the unit today and I'll take a pic of the battery. I know it has a light on it which glows at different positions ie fully charged/needs charging.
Yes I'm definitely thinking of getting one of those fold up solar panels - the caravan dealer says they are just easy to set up, just plug and play!
0 -
youre right, Rosie, different batteries require slightly different charging regimes to get the most out of each type...
Aldi and Lidl both sell intelligent chargers where the battery type can be selected with a switch.
one other option might be for you to plug in your ehu cable temporarily at the storage site and use your installed charger?
however, even fitted caravan/MH chargers may not have the correct setting for your AGM batteries.
my MH charger has Gel or Lead Acid options, whereas my twin leisure batteries are AGM....and the vehicle starter battery is Lead Acid...
however, the best compromise for me is to have the charger set to Gel as this gives the 'better' charge profile for the more sensitive AGM batteries.
despite the fact that AGM batteries are the 'latest thing' in leisure vehicles, many of the fitted chargers dont match them, which in itself can cause problems....so, im not sure you will find an 'AGM' charger.
a Gel setting will do the job, but its not perfect....but better than the 'default' Lead Acid profile.
1 -
Right then - back with photos! I think I am OK at the moment.
So may proceed with solar! This is all so complicated - am thinking of signing up to study engineering or something
0 -
@ BoleroBoy oh, and remove the negative (earth) wire first, otherwise you might cause a short circuit...
While it's good practice to remove the negative first & reconnect it last, (because you do on a car) IMHO it's impossible to cause a short circuit as the body isn't conductive like a metal car is
0
