Battery Chargers

[Paul_5064559]

Hello folks, Can anyone recommend an efficient Battery Charger?

I thought I had one (Challenge Fully Automatic) until I reconnected my battery after winter storage in my garage only to find not enough current was available to run the mover until I had hooked up the van to mains overnight which cured this.

Although I had charged monthly and the day prior to refitting battery to my van it seems that my charger must have been telling porkies about the fully charged condition of my 110ah battery!

So before I throw more money away has anyone recomendations as to what make of stand-alone charger I should go for?

Many thanks for reading this post,

 

[AnnM1]

Why do you need a battery charger if you can hook up the caravan to the mains? I am, of course, assuming that your caravan is continually located close to a mains supply. We just plug our van in at the mains on a regular basis and flick the appropriate switches.

 

[RonD]

I have a small solar panel, a BatterySaver Plus, which sits in a south facing window of the van and trickle charges the battery even on a cloudy day. It prevents a charged battery from self discharging.

 

[Rodger Dodger]

I used to leave my mains lead plugged in to keep the battery topped up through the winter, however as I have a cover over the van, checking the waterlevels over the plates in the battery, became less and less frequent.

The result was a dud battery when I needed to go off first time of the season.

I have now taken the battery off at the end of the season and put it in the garage near a ventilated spot. I bought a CTEK Multi X5 3600 battery charger which gives a monitering charge to keep the battery trickle charging, if the battery is very low for whatever reason, the charger gives a high charge for a short period which will re-condition the plates and proplong the life of the battery.

Been in use all winter, now need to top up the water as it is not on full charge all the time as it would if the battery was still in the van connected to the mains.

Hope this helps.

 

[clivea]

Hi, because of confusion over caravan 12 v power supplies and the protection of connected equipment few vans have a 'battery charger' that will go over 13.8v and so does not give the battery the full charging voltage required to ensure maximum capacity. Charging from the mains via the van's own system will be okay for many users but if you want max battery capacity a charger that gives 14.2-14.6 v wil be required dependant on batery type. I have a carbon fibre battery and use a CTEK XS 3600 muti mode charger. It can be used ootdoors and over winter I take the battery out and leave it connected to the charger which has a charge maintenace setting.

Newr vans are nwo being fitted with proper battery charges but not all manufacturers are fitting them yet.

Other Clive