OK I have just been away for the first time and had to use my leisure battery which did not last 3 hours. I am now thinking I have not charged it correctly. It looks very new. Can anyone help first of all by telling me how youu charge it to see if I have done that right please?
Leisure Battery
- Thread starter hutchy444
- Start date
If you are charging it off the caravan the charger should indicate that it is fully charged.
If you have a voltmeter (very useful for other testing as well) is should read above 12.6 volts after leaving it off charge for 24 hours to settle.
If you are charging it with the caravan charger you must make sure that everything else is off and that the charger is on. Check the battery voltage before the terminals are connected if you put a meter across the terminals after you have connected and put the charger on you should get a reading above the reading without the terminals connected. ie more volts with the charger than without.
Leave the battery charging and check the voltage after a couple of days. Don't forget to let the battery "rest" 24 hours before checking.
If you have a voltmeter (very useful for other testing as well) is should read above 12.6 volts after leaving it off charge for 24 hours to settle.
If you are charging it with the caravan charger you must make sure that everything else is off and that the charger is on. Check the battery voltage before the terminals are connected if you put a meter across the terminals after you have connected and put the charger on you should get a reading above the reading without the terminals connected. ie more volts with the charger than without.
Leave the battery charging and check the voltage after a couple of days. Don't forget to let the battery "rest" 24 hours before checking.
This is my issue though. To charge I am plugging into the mains. There is a main on/off switch next to where we plug the hook up cable, do we have that turned on or off. I am sorry if it sounds like a dumb question but we are total amateurs and are learning as we go along and this is as I say the first time we have used the leisure battery 
I would think that you need the mains switch on but you could always check.
Disconnect your battery terminals. Plug your hook up cable in and turn the mains power (house socket) on. switch something on in the caravan that uses the 12v system, a strip light or radio is usually a good guide. You can then see if the caravan main switch needs to be on or off for this to work,
On my caravan I need the switch on for anything to work even on the 12v side so my charger would not work without the switch being on.
Disconnect your battery terminals. Plug your hook up cable in and turn the mains power (house socket) on. switch something on in the caravan that uses the 12v system, a strip light or radio is usually a good guide. You can then see if the caravan main switch needs to be on or off for this to work,
On my caravan I need the switch on for anything to work even on the 12v side so my charger would not work without the switch being on.
The connection to the battery terminals is the only connection to the caravan so if I disconnect them then how will any power get the the battery, sorry again for my naiveness :huh:
Disconnecting the battery will tel you that the power you are using is coming via the charger unit which will work to power anything 12v in the van. Strictly speaking you do not need a battery if you are always going to be hooked up. Just make sure that the battery terminal leads do not touch together.
Not strictly true,some chargers such as the cheaper ones that Bailey use require the battery to be connected at all times.
This is because the dc output of these chargers is as rough as a badgers bottom.
The battery acts as a capacitor to smooth the output to acceptable levels that equipment can operate at.
This is because the dc output of these chargers is as rough as a badgers bottom.
The battery acts as a capacitor to smooth the output to acceptable levels that equipment can operate at.
Also dont forget most van chargers dont charge the battery to full capacity, it is recommended that you charge the battery off the van occasionally.
bertieboy1 said:
Since the mid 1990's all UK supplied caravans must use a 230ac to 12Vdc power supply that smooths and regulates its output. The battery is not essential unless particularly heavy current demand is made or the caravan is being used away from a mains hook up.
Damian
Moderator
Quote " The battery is not essential unless particularly heavy current demand is made or the caravan is being used away from a mains hook up. "
Sorry to disagree, but even with such charger/psu's on most vans it is still a requirement to have a battery in the circuit.
Sorry to disagree, but even with such charger/psu's on most vans it is still a requirement to have a battery in the circuit.
Damian-Moderator said:
If a battery is really required why don't caravan come with one? You don't buy a car, then have to go out a buy a battery.
Damian
Moderator
Quote " If a battery is really required why don't caravan come with one?"
Same reason they don't come with water containers, jacks, levelling blocks, gas cylinders, etc etc etc,
More money for the dealer,more cost to the owner,,,,,,,,,,easy
Same reason they don't come with water containers, jacks, levelling blocks, gas cylinders, etc etc etc,
More money for the dealer,more cost to the owner,,,,,,,,,,easy
Damian-Moderator said:
None of the above mentioned items are absolutely necessary, they can all be substituted with something else, electricity can replace the gas, but nothing can replace a battery, if as you say it is essential equipment.
Back to the original question - have a look in the mains fuse box on the caravan - on mine the battery charger has it's own breaker and I sometimes find this has tripped and needs resetting. You may have mains going to everything else in your caravan but not to the battery charger.
As someone has already said, the charger built in to the caravan may well not fully charge the battery, especially if the battery has been allowed to deep-discharge. Try disconnecting the battery from the caravan (not necessarily physically removing it) and charging it with a "proper" charger - one designed for leisure batts is best, but an ordinary car battery charger will do if that's what you have (search threads in the "Technical" forum section for a discussion or two on the different charger types).
It may or may not be true that on your van, you need a battery in normal use to smooth out the supply from the mains charger to the 12v bits of your van - one way or the other, you won't do any damage if you disconnect the battery to do a quick check on whether the battery charger is providing 12v to the caravan circuits, as long as you make sure the two terminals can't touch - I would do it by only removing the battery "-" connector and letting it dangle well clear of any other metal part or the other battery terminal.
As someone has already said, the charger built in to the caravan may well not fully charge the battery, especially if the battery has been allowed to deep-discharge. Try disconnecting the battery from the caravan (not necessarily physically removing it) and charging it with a "proper" charger - one designed for leisure batts is best, but an ordinary car battery charger will do if that's what you have (search threads in the "Technical" forum section for a discussion or two on the different charger types).
It may or may not be true that on your van, you need a battery in normal use to smooth out the supply from the mains charger to the 12v bits of your van - one way or the other, you won't do any damage if you disconnect the battery to do a quick check on whether the battery charger is providing 12v to the caravan circuits, as long as you make sure the two terminals can't touch - I would do it by only removing the battery "-" connector and letting it dangle well clear of any other metal part or the other battery terminal.
Damian-Moderator said:
Well Damion, we'll have to partially disagree on that one, Having had a professional interest in the design specifications of several PSU destined for caravans, most of the modern ones do not require a battery to stabilise or smooth the PSU's within their stated output current limit , However some of the lower powerd PSU's, may not have the current capacity to run some of the items in a caravan such as the shurflo type of pumps, because the inrush current of the motor is much bigger than its running current. Most PSU's will run the caravan internal 12V lights and heater fanmotor without damage.
I do agree that for normal caravan usage, a battery in circuit is sensible approach.
Thank you everyone for all your help (although it got very complicated in places for me) I think I have it sorted. It is so refreshing to know that there are so many people willing to help and advise
No problem Hutchy - remember that we all started from a point of knowing nothing and we were all beginners once - even Prof John, unlikely as that seems now ;-) . We all learned the same way you are now - by asking questions and thinking about the answers. Stick with it and this time next year you'll be answering newbie questions and being one of the people willing to help and advise.
Well if we dont need a Battery in the van, Can someone please tell me how to get the Motor Mover running on gas please :lol:
johnandrew70 said:
You take a large hot air balloon, tether it to the caravan, Wait for the wind to be blowing in the right direction and then inflate it using gas.
Simples :lol:
ProfJohnL said:You take a large hot air balloon, tether it to the caravan, Wait for the wind to be blowing in the right direction and then inflate it using gas.
Some questions Prof........
A hot air balloon is not a sealed container as it has a gaping hole at the bottom of the envelope for the flame to enter and provide hot air for the lift.
Do you think Propane or Butane which as you know are heavier than air would provide any lift for the hot air balloon?
How would you get the Propane or Butane to stay in a deflated hot air balloon?
Do you not think that the process of trying to achieve this would be highly dangerous even for a LPG qualified engineer bearing in mind that both Propane and Butane are highly inflammable?
Simples.....I think not
PS.....I know you did not specify the gas to be used was Propane or Butane but most of us caravanners do not have a supply of Helium!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
.......I have worked it out now.
You use the Propane or Butane gas in the burner of the hot air balloon!
You use the Propane or Butane gas in the burner of the hot air balloon!
Well yes you could burn it but that would be dangerous, someone might burn themselves
I was actually thinking of town gas ( Caol produced gas) which is primarily Hydrogen and is lighter than air But gosh that poisonous, and highly flammable hmy:
Sorry gaffer its back to the drawingboard, Ah Steam power
I was actually thinking of town gas ( Caol produced gas) which is primarily Hydrogen and is lighter than air
But gosh that poisonous, and highly flammable hmy:Sorry gaffer its back to the drawingboard, Ah Steam power
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