Halfords Leisure Battery & solar panel topping up

Herb Atious
Herb Atious Forum Participant Posts: 60
edited June 2018 in Parts & Accessories #1

 (start again, text disappeared while loading pictures :-(

We bought a caravan last May 2017 after a gap of 20 years, for various reasons we were unable to use it

Its in storage and went over to check it out, last we did so all was well in Oct last year 

I took the battery off and brought it home to charge, its a Halfords HLB681 115ah

It had not been marked with a date of fitment but has a recharge date of Feb 2017 on it

I put it on trickle change (forgetting to put a meter on it before hand) and left it to charge for some 36 hours, there is a view port on the top which is supposed to go green when fully charged, but its blank after 36 hours

I took it off charge and left it a few hours then put a meter on it, it read 13.3, then the next day it was 12.8

First question, how long should a battery of this type take to fully charge? and should that green have been visible after 36 hours?

Second question, with a view to keeping the battery topped up whilst we are not able to get to it, I saw a small solar panel in Aldi, it says 2.4watt on it

Are they any use? I don't have the money for an expensive solar panel

Any advice gratefully appreciated

 

Comments

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2018 #2

    charging time depend on how flat the battery is at start. a trickle charger is what it says and will not give the battery a boost at first and monitor the progress. as soon as you took charger of voltage will be high and settle after a few hours down to normal volts of approx 12.7. if it keeps dropping with nothing connected then i would get a new one. should keep hold of charge for a month at least

  • Herb Atious
    Herb Atious Forum Participant Posts: 60
    edited June 2018 #3

    Thanks for your input, sorry I only just noticed it, I didn't get a notification for some reason

    Yes my mistake was not putting a meter on it before charging so I don't know how low it was

    Just checked it again and its at 12.89

    So far so good

    Any ideas on the solar panel ?

     

     

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2018 #4

    H.A. my caravan is in storage 1/2 hr from home so I fitted one on the roof 100w. no matter where the sun is it will get some sunlight to give a charge where as one in the front window you have to make sure caravan is facing south most of the time to get enough sun. once on the roof its done and dusted. worth the money I remember I paid £249 for everything. https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/171-100W-12V-Dual-Battery-Solar-Panel-Kit-Back-Contact-Solar-Cells-for-Motorhome-Caravan-Campers-and-RVs.html

     

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2018 #5

    A 2.4 watt panel won’t do much at all. If you want to keep the battery topped up during winter you will need quite a bit more, maybe 20 Watts but much depends on whether you have an alarm/tracker etc.and how much sunlight you can capture. Some people seem to manage with about 10 - 15 Watts.

  • Herb Atious
    Herb Atious Forum Participant Posts: 60
    edited June 2018 #6

    Thanks again

    Again no notification, I have followed the post, am I supposed to do something else?

    Perhaps in time I may go for a bigger and better solar panel, but don't have the funds at present and due to various things haven't been out with this caravan as yet, if it carries on the same way I may have to sell it anyway which would be sad 

     

     

  • Herb Atious
    Herb Atious Forum Participant Posts: 60
    edited June 2018 #7

    I did expect as much but its all I can afford at present

    Its in storage with no alarm or tracker connected while in storage

    I am going to try this small panel and see what happens

    As we are in Cornwall we get more sunlight than most

     

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2018 #8

    good luck and hope you get everything sorted soon so you can join the clan.

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2018 #9

    If you have no alarm or Tracker (or mover?) then you would be better off taking the battery out and keeping it at home. An occasional top up charge, say, every 4 to 6 weeks will keep it in perfect condition.

  • Herb Atious
    Herb Atious Forum Participant Posts: 60
    edited June 2018 #10

    Thanks for that and a very valid point

    My only reservation is the weight of the darn battery :-(

    But certainly worthy of consideration, thank you 

     

     

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