Leisure Batteries

*Kol*

Can anybody explain to me how the leisure battery gets charged? How long will it last when it's fully charged? (in use and unused)

The battery in the motorhome I am looking at is "only 6 months old". However it appears to go from a state of fully charged (4 green lights on the battery meter) to nothing overnight (without using the motorhome).

Malta1

Battery is charged when you drive from the alternator or when you are plugged into the mains (240V)....or indeed solar power

How long will it last when using it......depends on the size of the battery and what appliances you using to draw power from it....but certainly should get 2 or 3 days min without any problem

How long will it last when not in use.........dont know but definately should not drain over night......I wonder is the meter faulty or is the fridge incorreclty wired and it is drawing from leasure battery instead of alternator (when you are on battery mode)......if this is the case, you probably would drain a battery over night

*Kol*

I haven't had the fridge on at all with the battery. Then again it has not been hooked up to the 220v or been driven any substantial distance for the alternator to recharge it. Maybe it needs to be removed and fully charged with a battery charger to see what condition it is in??

chrisblack

Malta1 wrote: »

or indeed solar power

How does solar power work and is it easy to install?? I saw mention somewhere else of some solar trickle chargers that Lidl were selling and that they were suitable for use in a MH????

Thanks

Chris

peasant

*Kol* wrote: »

I haven't had the fridge on at all with the battery. Then again it has not been hooked up to the 220v or been driven any substantial distance for the alternator to recharge it. Maybe it needs to be removed and fully charged with a battery charger to see what condition it is in??

These charge controls with three or four little lights (got them too) are not very accurate. Directly after charging the battery (even if it is only for a few minutes) they will show a "full charge" only to go down after a while to show the real charge.

You don't have to take your battery out to charge it, your motorhome should have biult in charger...just hook it up to 230v for 24 hours.

*Kol*

Would that built in battery charger be a little black box with a red switch on it under the drivers seat by any chance??

PS You are exactly right about the green lights. They will all be on even after running the engine for only ten mins.

peasant

*Kol* wrote: »

Would that built in battery charger be a little black box with a red switch on it under the drivers seat by any chance??

could be ...there are many variants around.
In my yoke I can't access the charger at all without some major disassembly of furniture , but the controls and switches for it sit in the panel over the door (where the little green lights live:D)

*Kol*

chrisblack wrote: »

How does solar power work and is it easy to install?? I saw mention somewhere else of some solar trickle chargers that Lidl were selling and that they were suitable for use in a MH????

Thanks

Chris

I was looking at the solar panels advertised on the Charles camping website (some quite expensive large ones) They had a note that their effectivity would decrease by up to 50% on a cloudy day. Given the number of cloudy days in Ireland I wouldn't depend too much on solar panels.

If the same applies to a trickle charger then you will get 50% of a trickle!!!:D

fitzyking

I bought a 1yr.old motorhome in April and had a similar battery problem. Turned out to be a faulty battery which was replaced by dealer.

*Kol*

fitzyking wrote: »

I bought a 1yr.old motorhome in April and had a similar battery problem. Turned out to be a faulty battery which was replaced by dealer.

Good to know. Thx

JamesM

*Kol* wrote: »

I was looking at the solar panels advertised on the Charles camping website (some quite expensive large ones) They had a note that their effectivity would decrease by up to 50% on a cloudy day. Given the number of cloudy days in Ireland I wouldn't depend too much on solar panels.

If the same applies to a trickle charger then you will get 50% of a trickle!!!:D

I have 2 PWX 500 panels from http://www.photowatt.com/shop/shop_uk.htm
They are Euro 307 each to your door and Euro 40 for the regulator. They are on a caravan which does not move off site for the Summer. They might be a bit big and awkward for a motorhome. They charge 2 110ah batteries and cover all my electrical needs. - lights, waterpump, as much TV & music as we want, charge phone and laptop to check email etc.
Even toast in the morning courtesy of an inverter.
Jim.

*Kol*

JamesM wrote: »

I have 2 PWX 500 panels from http://www.photowatt.com/shop/shop_uk.htm
They are Euro 307 each to your door and Euro 40 for the regulator. They are on a caravan which does not move off site for the Summer. They might be a bit big and awkward for a motorhome. They charge 2 110ah batteries and cover all my electrical needs. - lights, waterpump, as much TV & music as we want, charge phone and laptop to check email etc.
Even toast in the morning courtesy of an inverter.
Jim.

So you never hook up to the 220v??:eek:
Very cool. 2 of them would fit on top of a motorhome no probs.

JamesM

*Kol* wrote: »

So you never hook up to the 220v??:eek:
Very cool. 2 of them would fit on top of a motorhome no probs.

We are lucky enough to have the caravan very close to a beach, so there is no mains power. Remember I am talking about the Summer, where we have light from 4 0r 5 am to 10 or 11 pm.
The TV is a 10" colour panasonic, which runs on 12V, and "as much as we want" might only be an hour or 2 a day. We also use a 12V Lidl (or Aldi) camping satelite dish, and get all the BBC & ITV stations.
Jim.