Battery Question........how to charge

[whitetop]

My battery is done so I will have to get a new one.

Q...while connected to the mains, I switch on the charger button on the switch panel. If while on site, can I switch off the charger on the switch panel and connect a normal battery charger to the battery by plugging it into the mains socket in the van.....sort of replacing the van charger with a normal mains charger.....

Hope I have explained this correctly.

I have just fitted a motor mover and don't want to get home, disconnect van from car and get stuck in the middle of the street.....because of a low charge.....

Thanks....

----- David -----

 

[James_374408700]

David,

why not leave the van charger on and see if you are getting 13.8v plus across the battery terminals?

It may just have been the old battery knackered.

 

[Gafferbill]

The best battery charger you will ever own is fitted to the engine of your towing vehicle.

If your car and caravan have been correctly electrically wired together .................

You should arrive home with a charged caravan battery.

 

[waffler]

You can't connect a car battery charger to your leisure battery in situ. The caravan charger only gives out 13.8 volts, the car charger gives 14.4. The latter will blow all of the bulbs in your van.

 

[JohnE1]

You can't connect a car battery charger to your leisure battery in situ. The caravan charger only gives out 13.8 volts, the car charger gives 14.4. The latter will blow all of the bulbs in your van.

14.4v will not blow 12v car / caravan bulbs. 3 years ago I changed my OE power supplier / battery charger for a Nordelettronica NE143 which charges at up to 14.4v, it has never blown a bulb.

 

[James_374408700]

14.4v will not blow 12v car / caravan bulbs. 3 years ago I changed my OE power supplier / battery charger for a Nordelettronica NE143 which charges at up to 14.4v, it has never blown a bulb.

Waffler,

I am afraid you have got it wrong. My van charges between 13.8 and 14.5v. My solar panel does the same. Bulbs do not blow.

Jim

 

[whitetop]

Turns out my battery was knackered....

Replaced with a new 110 amp version.

Also bought a Halfords mains charger.....

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_210939_langId_-1_categoryId_165629
Charges and maintains the battery......but can I connect to the mains while on-site.....switch off van charger...and still maintain a full charge....and have 12v use.

 

[Jennifer_374461363]

we have done that on 2 occasions when our caravan charger failed. We now carry a charger as a back up, which can power the van and charge the battery as it has a 20amp output.

It would depend on the output of the one you bought, but I think you may well have to severely limit your use of 12v if you wanted to charge the battery.

We use a 100AH battery on our mover, the van weighs in at 1900kg, we find the battery has plenty power just using the fitted charger.

 

[TD42]

Hi David,if you wish to charge your van battery when on site,assuming you are on mains, disconnct the van batery & connect your halfords charger. You should still have 12v as the van has a seperate 12v power supply unit.

but I do not see why you need to substitute your Halfords charger with the van charger?

I normaly give my battery a boost charge with my Halfords charger after each trip away, it helps to keep the van battery in good condition as the van charger will only charge to about 80% due to its lower charge rate

 

[wombat1]

I didn't want to bother to raise a new post for this question, as this thread contains both items my query relates to- batteries and motor movers.

I have a motor mover fitted to my van, and an 85amp-hour battery. When using the mover the speed of travel is quite slow. If I change the battery to a 110 amp-hour battery should I expect the van to move quicker?

To avoid any replies of how well was the battery charged, the speed is slow when having just disconnected from the mains afetr several days on charge.

When manouvering the van onto the drive, I usually create a traffic jam in the road where I live for some tens of seconds while I spin the van round into the street and then manouver into position.

 

[laurieW]

Hi Wombat. I have used both sizes of battery with my mover...makes no difference to move speed. The 110amp/hr lasts longer before discharge.