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Charging Unit on Caravan

M

machighlander

me being a newbie to this game and going through a steep learning curve on the do's and dont's, i have another for you.

when the caravan is on hook up electric ( or run off the mains at home in the driveway), are you meant to put the charger switch on ?, or is it for running the 12 volt supplyuse when you are using caravan and dont have a hook up
 
hi highlander

I'm going to be corrected but when van is plugged in the charger is always on but when using battery i turn it off
 
It depends on what sort of charger you have fitted.

What sort of charger is in your van... mine is on all the time & never had a problem.
 
hi raymond, cheers, what i mean is when using the hook up do you switch on the charger, i am looking at it that this would be the facility to charge the battery and maintain it.

what do you mean by switching it off when using battery, thought you would need it switched on to receive the 12 volts ?.
 
sorry sproket, posting at same time. my charger is a switch in the wardrobe of the caravan, has an on off switch.

when i put it to on the red light comes on so im assuming thats it ready for using the 12 volt system, and for keeping it charged i would have thought you switched it on when on mains power.
 
All my lighting is 12v the only thing 240v is the sockets & fridge, oh & the charger, with having a mover fitted & requiring it to move the van, the battery is always kept topped up.
 
sorry sproket, posting at same time. my charger is a switch in the wardrobe of the caravan, has an on off switch.

when i put it to on the red light comes on so im assuming thats it ready for using the 12 volt system, and for keeping it charged i would have thought you switched it on when on mains power.
Click to expand...
check with a multimeter ( on the battery )to see what position the switch is in when its charging your battery.
 
ok then, so if i switch on the charger when hooked up does this charge the battery ?.

i know what systems work on 12volt and mains, only trying to suss out if i need the charger switch on when using the mains, and if this is the way to keep the battery up.
 
I would have it turned on & charging the battery, what happens if there is a power cut to the site, the fire & fridge will still work ok on gas, but how long before the lights go out ?
 
thank you sproket, maybe i didn't word my post in the best way.

i was only wondering if it was ok to keep the charger switch on at all times when on mains power, this is how i have been doing it, assuming ( maybe wrongly) that this would keep the battery charged up.

when i switch on the charger while hooked up, the control panel next to the door shows the needle going right to the end of the green area, if i put it off it falls back slightly.
 
Hi MacHighlander,

I keep my 12volt charger on all the time I am on site, as this should keep the battery topped up without overcharging it. Should there be a power cut to the 240v supply, then the battery will be able to maintain the 12v lighting and water pump
 
Hi MacHighlander

When the red light is on the charging circuit is working so to clear up any confusion yes, when you are on ehu the battery is charging but it will not overcharge.

If your battery uses de ionised water check the levels regularly, keep the terminals clean and everything should be tickety boo as the Big Yin once said.
 
MacHighlander, we keep out van pluggged in all the time at home and the battery charger on to trickle feed the battery.

According to those in the know on this site the van charger does not fully charge the battery just to about 90% if my memory serves me.

We have a mover so keeping the battery charged up allows us to move the van at any time without thinking about charging before hand. Ive asked the question if this practice would harm the battery keeping it on all the time and the answer I got was no.

So the choice is yours

Kevin
 
some vans now have 3 stage chargers, so charge fully at 14.7 approx, others like mine only charge at 13.7v approx, at this voltage little if any battery electrolyte is boiled off.

Even so at the start of the season i always check the electrolyte levels. While on the electric hook up i always on the charger on 24/7.
 
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