Getting Battery up to full charge at home before a holiday

Apr 30, 2022
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Good Morning,

Yesterday we finally became owners of a Caravan. This question may seem overly basic (think my mind is a bit fried) and I have tried the search function but I am currently in a google fuelled spiral to nowhere which is leaving me more confused so I thought I would try here and get some plain speaking.

Simply put, we would like the facility at home to fully charge our leisure battery before leaving. What is the most cost effective way in doing this in terms of adaptors/devices.

Many thanks from an overly scratched brow!
 
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Reactions: Jonny
Nov 11, 2009
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Depending on the year of your caravan you may have a suitable battery charger installed. Using your home 240 v electric hook up will be fine. But fir normal battery maintenance when not touring I used a CTEK multi stage smart charger. There are lots on the market and even Aldi do a well recognised one. tHeres Ring and NOCO too. Big range of prices and option for ostensibly what seems the same product.

You don’t need a large capacity one fir caravans unless you want a quick recharge to your cars battery in a cold day. Mines only 5 amp and does everything I require. It has recharged a car battery but having two cars and retired time to do so isn’t important to me. 😂
 
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Reactions: RogerL
Mar 14, 2005
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As has been said, largely depending on how old your caravan is, it might have staged power supply/charger already fitted, and all you would need to do is use the caravan's electrical hook up (EHU) to the mains.

But if you intend to remove the battery and bring it home from the storage location, then there are a number of "multi stage" chargers available. CTek is a well known brand with a good reputation, And Otherclive has mentioned an Aldi model (usually sold 2 or three times a year) there is a similar offering from Lidl both for under about £15 which do a great job

The only small irritation with the Aldi/Lidl units is if there is a power cut, the chargers turn off and need to be manually restarted. Of three CTek models I have used, they all remember their last setting and automatically restart after a powercut.

There are lots out there, but I have only experienced the CTek Aldi and Lidl models.
 
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Reactions: otherclive
Jan 19, 2002
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If you are able to have the van at home you can buy a ‘caravan to 13 pin adaptor’ (seems Halfords are a good price at £7.50) so you can easily connect the caravan mains lead to run the fridge and charge the battery for a couple of days before setting out. I have one on hand in my garage socket for this purpose connected when required by running the cable under the up and over door.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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If you are able to have the van at home you can buy a ‘caravan to 13 pin adaptor’ (seems Halfords are a good price at £7.50) so you can easily connect the caravan mains lead to run the fridge and charge the battery for a couple of days before setting out. I have one on hand in my garage socket for this purpose connected when required by running the cable under the up and over door.
This https://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/orel-1040.html
 
May 15, 2023
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I’m surprised that these adapters are sold commercially, there is a risk ( albeit a small risk) of electric shock:
Most homes in the UK have a common Earth / Neutral supply up to the property, the earth is separated after the supply enters the property and any metalwork will be bonded to the earth. A not that uncommon fault is to loose the earth neutral bonding in the supply cabling underground outside the property, unfortunately the house owner may not experience any problems, as everything metal in the house is / should be bonded , and anyone in the house won’t be connected to earth the risk of getting a shock in the house is reduced.
However outside with a caravan connected to the house mains is a different matter, the metal parts of the caravan, can be at 240V and some one walking on damp ground can provide a nice path to earth for the current (ouch!) Non of the caravan rcb’s are gong to protect you.

This is the reason that caravan site electric hook ups ( certainly in the UK) have to have legally a different provision for earth.
I stress it’s a low risk, but significant enough for the UK wiring regs call for a different installation, this is why I was surprised that these adapters are sold commercially.

A better and illustrated explanation of the fault can be found here:
View: https://youtu.be/JRHyqouJPzE
 
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Reactions: Dustydog
May 15, 2023
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I was in Halfords today and spotted the "adaptors" that allow you to plug a caravan into any UK 13A socket, no warning on the device at all!!

Now as my kids will testify I am the last person in the world to comply with Health & Safety, however I want to be able to asses a risk and manage it my self. Prior to discovering on this thread that the adaptors could be purchased over the counter, I actually made one up myself, in order that I could do stuff on the van at home, however I do as a minimum use a neon screwdriver to look for any van to earth issues, now I hear you screaming that a neon screwdriver won't fail safe, I get that so my next test is a quick touch of the van

Earthing & bonding is something that challenges electricians, let alone the average caravaner, I suppose that most if not all UK sites comply with BS EN 60309-2 all French campsites will have a TT earth supply, so with both of these the described fault wont be a problem in a caravan.

Like me, most caravan owners at some point will want to plug in to the house mains, so at least be aware of the (small) potential dangers.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I’m surprised that these adapters are sold commercially, there is a risk ( albeit a small risk) of electric shock:
....

I stress it’s a low risk, but significant enough for the UK wiring regs call for a different installation, this is why I was surprised that these adapters are sold commercially.
Unfortunately It's not illegal to sell electrical products that do not meet BS or even UKCA as its up to the installer or subsequently the user to ensure the supply is not compromised by substandard equipment or installation.

And the problem is further compromised by the fact that in many cases its the manufacturer that is allowed to mark items with CE or UKCA marks without having the product verified by an external standards laboritory. provided they self certificate that the goods are compliant.

But its further compromised by the fact there are numerous low cost producers who manufacture products and add fake compliance marks to deliberately dupe customers.

The situations with Gas appliance's and fittings is different In the UK. Any gas product for sale in the UK must have an independently verified CE or UKCA mark by an approved test house.

But even with this requirement there are still cowboy outfits who either ignore the law, or illegally apply false CE or UKCA marks to mislead buyers.

For assurance it is best to purchase from reputable suppliers.
 
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Reactions: Ukdave2002
May 15, 2023
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....

And the problem is further compromised by the fact that in many cases its the manufacturer that is allowed to mark items with CE or UKCA marks without having the product verified by an external standards laboritory. provided they self certificate that the goods are compliant.
Halfords actually advertise 3 BS standards, one for the 13A plug, one for the cable and one for the 16A socket.... Genius!! they also throw in IP44 , this can only apply to the 16A socket! Makes it sound like a very well tested & protected product.
 

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