Trickle charge
I would like to trickle charge my van battery while it is in situ in the external van battery box. Can this be done by plugging a trickle charger into the onboard cigar lighter socket ? Can anyone please suggest a method if this wont work.
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no...the charger (like a C-Tek) is a mains device and can't run from a 12v socket.
Is the van in storage or at home? Does either location have mains? If so, just plug in your normal EHU cable (via a 13a adaptor) and let the caravan charger do the work.
alternatively, if the caravan has a solar panel, this should charge the battery.
if neither of these options is available, bring the battery home and charge it with a mains charger (say) on a bench.
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Sorry to clarify I should have said plug the output from a trickle charger into the cigar lighter
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If you don’t have a solar panel (I’m assuming not from your post) you can buy a portable one that’ll sit on your dashboard, plug into your cigar lighter and trickle charge the battery. Get the best position you can e.g. facing south and 30 - 45 degree angle. You can buy kits specifically for this purpose with everything you need.
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Cannot think why this would not work but I think I would like to know how the 12v socket was wired first. Often it is recommended the battery is disconnected to charge it and you would not be doing this by using the 12v socket. My choice would to be to connect direct to the battery. Why risk any other way without a full understanding of the wiring and the other electronics in circuit.
peedee
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Firstly you need to find out if the 12v cigar socket is permanently live. If it is then I cannot see it being bad practice to charge via this socket using an intelligent charger such as the C-Tek. This monitors the battery via the charge it is requesting and will switch on/off/trickle as required.
If you are not happy to go via the socket then C-Tek do a kit of two fly leads that are permanently attached to the battery with push fit plug on the end. You simply push fit the lead from the charger onto this when needed in a matter of seconds.
The likes of Aldi and Lidl do a smart charger, but when you consider the price of your van I would go with the best. C-Tek are used by many premium makes of cars in the showrooms to keep the batteries in top condition.
Plymouth Batteries used to do a very good price on the range and offer excellent service.
Colin
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There’s no doubt that a mains powered charger with ‘intelligent’ trickle charge function, wired directly to the battery is the ideal option.
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I would be wary of recommending anything without understanding more about your system. For example, you clearly have power so why not just plug in and let the caravan system charge the battery? With the chargers fitted to many caravans it is not ideal to leave the van permanently on mains and it is better to plug in periodically, say once a month, to give a top-up. Also, cheap trickle chargers are not recommended to be permanently connected as they don’t measure the battery status.
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On board charging systems are generally not very sophisticated and are not best suited to long-term trickle charging. I’m not sure what fits the description of a ‘cheap trickle charger’ as the posts above describe ‘intelligent’ or ‘smart’ battery chargers aka ‘battery conditioners’. Theses are specifically designed to be connected to a battery on a long-term or indefinite basis without overcharging it. They employ a number of variable functions to charge and maintain the battery in optimum condition. I’ve used them on classic cars in the past while in long-term storage. My record is a Halfords battery that was 14 years old and still going strong when I sold the car.
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This may be of some interest to you.
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Good video, covers the 8 stages employed by smart charger and direct connection to battery so it can be isolated during charging.
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A “cheap” trickle charger is one like I saw at Halfords a while back which in the small print stated that it was not suitable for permanent connection over prolonged periods. You get what you pay for I guess.
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Thank you all for your replies
My 12v socket is only live with the caravan master switch on
ideally I would like to be able to connect a trickle charger without disconnecting the battery from the caravan , so that I can use internal lights . I would switch off the onboard charger at the 240v isolator when using the trickle charger and disconnect power to the trickle charger before using on board services. I dont want to take the battery out of its locker to charge it and then put it back due to a wacky Knee.
I did try using the onboard charger but I think over time it could fry the battery I have recently changed the battery so dont want to damage it or the onboard systems.
I asked Ctek for their views but did not get a reply.
any experts out there who can tell me if I will damage the onboard charger ??
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Easiest, I would have thought, is a small solar panel ( 60w) in the caravan window and some crocodile clips.
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For several years I have given my battery two hours charge each day using a timer on my hook-up cable and using the built in charger. This maintains the battery state as 'Good' on the panel in the caravan. So far (tempting fate) this has worked fine with a good battery report also from my service engineer each year. The battery is approaching 7 years old. I realise this is only any good for people with continual access to power.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3EKM9Jaav0
