Keeping battery topped up during winter
I used a small solar panel last winter and the result was...a flat battery. I have read from MMM that these type of solar panels are only just short of useless. The type I used are sold by Halfords and others to sit on the dashboard, supposedly putting out 6 amps, in reality putting out a half amp.
I have no electricity where the van is stored and a solar panel would be ideal to keep it ticking over, but which one.....any help would be appreciated.
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the folk i know who use a SP to keep their batteries fully charged even during the lower sunshine seasons also make sure its big enough for this job AND should they ever venture off grid at aires, Temp Hol Sites, non ehu CLs etc....
these are pretty well always roof mounted....fit and forget
in this case, 60w is probably a tad small, 80w being about the smallest to 'do the job' and 100/120w being favoured by many.
even 150w or 2x 100w are often used, sometimes the extra kit in the van includes inverters and second leisure batteries...
much to read in the 'thrive on a 240v' thread...
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They fitted the second panel to the MH today taking it to 120watt. Doesn't do anything for the engine battery though. I may fit another solely to keep the engine battery topped up for the alarm and was thinking a 20watt would have been sufficient for this.
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On the boat I use a 15W rigid panel (about 12"x12") permanently mounted on the pushpit rail. It maintains 160AH house batteries easily when not on board. (I deploy 80W of panel at anchor).
On the caravan a 100W panel on the roof is enough to sustain us indefinitely off-grid, but we are negligible users of TV (the big power-drainer!)
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You should be able to fit a controller capable of charging 2 batteries. You normally select them so that they favour one battery over the other copulent of examples.
The photonic one is I believe identical to the Truma branded unit, the Morningstar is the one that I have.
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I use one of these to keep all three batteries (Starter and two Leisure) topped up.
I have an 80W Solar panel which does the job very well of keeping them topped up at all times of year and the CSB-2 diverts the power to the starter battery when the Leisure ones are at peak performance.
Cheap and effective.
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CY, agree with all the recent posts re your starter battery. i would be annoyed if the workshop were happy to take more cash for fitting the extra SP but didnt offer a (simple) solution for charging the vehicle battery...and annoying that Eldiss omitted this in the first place, however its the way of things...especially when caravan makers start venturing into MHs....vehicle batteries, we dont have them on caravans
im sure mine is done via the solar charge controller but Battery Master and their clones are pretty easy to fit, they just take charge from the leisure battery to the vehicle battery (if its low) with the leisure battery being replenished by the SP...
still, getting there....good luck.
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I had a 100W NDS solar panel with a dual output controller fitted to my campervan earlier this year. The work was done by Roadpro in Daventry making use of the CMC discount. This has enabled me to stay at several C&CC Temporary Holiday Sites since. Even in in high season the cost was £8 - £11 per night for two adults, kids usually go free. Also both batteries are kept topped up when the van is parked up on the drive between trips. If you have the skills to fit one yourself you'll save a few hundred pounds.
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It will depend on the individual electrical set up with each van. On mine I can choose between charging the engine battery or leisure battery but not both at the same time. But since having the solar panel fitted I don't have to worry as both are kept charged automatically.
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Hi I just need to charge my caravans batt over winter in storage which also has alarm fitted, will 20 w be any good and does it req being outside or can i just put in front full sun facing window.
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I was thinking about fitting the battery master to split the charge between vehicle and leisure battery.
on checking my Elddis the solar panel fitted has a Truma solar dual battery charger.
i have added a picture and looking at the cable connections it looks like it's just the leisure battery that's connected. So is it just a matter of connecting the vehicle battery to the dual charger so it charges both batteries?
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I know it is remiss of me, but I should have said that my storage is inside a barn, so a large panel on the roof would be no good for me.
I do have a window behind the van facing south and I thought a panel could be fixed facing out and provide a decent charge.
There is a 10/12 watt panel available from Maplins and it seems to get good reviews, I will do some more reading make a decision. Thanks for the replies.
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my Elddis Avanti 866 caravan battery is losing power even with a solar charger and connected to mains with only the frost protection on the intellgent controller being the only draw solar and mains charger are definetly working have tested with volt meter
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if there is more going out than coming in (ie the battery is losing charge despite apparently charging) then perhaps the battery has a bigger drain than you think...?
turn off the battery charger and remove the fuse from the solar panel (ie remove all outside charging) and, after letting the battery rest for a while, test the drain with a multimeter that reads current....
you may find its far more than you think...eg the latest Pioneer DVD type head units can draw 2 amp in standby and 10 when in full chat....
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by recording the discharge and comparing it to the input charge level the OP wont have to 'imagine' anything....he'll have the answer.
this may of course be that the charger (or the SP, or even both) are not charging at the rate thought.
of course, the battery could be knackered and just isnt able to hold the supplied charge....
but, at the end of the day, if the battery isnt defective but is going flat, then the draw ('imagined' or otherwise) must be greater than the supplied charge....ots also possible that there is a 'short' somewhere which is causing the drain...
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We haven't had the Motorhome on hook up since being on an Aire in Ypres back on the 31st of July - and that was the first time since April.
The Solar panel, two leisure batteries and starter battery, with help of the device I mentioned earlier on Page 1, mean I haven't needed hook up and rarely use EHU throughout the year.
Modern vans, and not so modern vans, shouldn't need so much attention to the charging side when fitted with todays inexpensive technology.and a few hundred pounds, after the initial mortgage type purchase price of the van, spent on ensuring you don't have to worry must be a good investment - isn't it?
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...then quote him, Dear Liza, Dear Liza
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I found this with mine, the drive battery was not getting enough. I found a good auto electrician and he swapped it so that the drive battery gets the power first and when that is full it automatically switches over to the leisure.
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