Motor mover battery.

[paulsy69]

I have just purchased a HANCOOK 130amp battery for caravan , can someone tell me if it is ok to leave electric lead plugged in to caravan all the time ? Caravan is parked at side of my house when not in use , just wondering if battery continuously on charge would damage it ?

 

[otherclive]

I have just purchased a HANCOOK 130amp battery for caravan , can someone tell me if it is ok to leave electric lead plugged in to caravan all the time ? Caravan is parked at side of my house when not in use , just wondering if battery continuously on charge would damage it ?

If the caravan has the newer style smart charger it shouldn’t damage the battery if left on. But I’d question “ why”? I generally left the battery off charge and then periodically put it on charge using my CTEK. But you could just periodically top it up using the caravan charger and your home 240 v supply.

 

[RogerL]

If the caravan has the newer style smart charger it shouldn’t damage the battery if left on. But I’d question “ why”? I generally left the battery off charge and then periodically put it on charge using my CTEK. But you could just periodically top it up using the caravan charger and your home 240 v supply.

Since energy prices shot up, I've been trying to reduce electric consumption - one of the ways is just to connect the caravan to the house for 24 hours once/month - this is sufficient to keep the battery topped up and has helped reduce our bills.

 

[Raywood]

Leaving the battery permanently on charge just seems a waste of money although I doubt it will damage the battery. I would just keep an eye on the charge level and charge it if needed. Our 110 amp model will normally manage a few months at a time.

 

[ProfJohnL]

As others have suggested, its dependant on the model of charger you have in your caravan. The reason is the types of chargers fitted to caravans have changed over the years, and older ones do not have the multistage charging of more recent versions.

Without detailed knowledge of the type of charger in your caravan, it might be unwise to fit the new battery and leave it charging 24/7.

Also it is potentially a waste of power, when if its simply to maintain the charge in the battery, just a few hours each month should be more than sufficient. Perhaps consider getting a 7 day time switch, and set it run for an hour every week , you could do it in the Economy seven period to keep costs down.

If 24/7 charging is essential for you, then I suggest consider getting a separate dedicated multistage charger to do it for you. There are some premium (comparatively expensive) brands (e.g. Ctek or Noco) which are excellent and not only look after the battery very well, but can also be used to bring an older or over discharged battery back to some life.

However the likes of Aldi and Lidl usually once or twice a year have some lower cost but almost as effective multi- stage battery chargers. One note of caution I know the Ctek models I have used have all resumed the set charging cycle if there has been a power cut, but the supermarket models usually need to manually reset after a power cut.

 

[paulsy69]

Hi All
My caravan is a 2013 Bailey Pegasus Rimini gt 65 , I have purchased a charger from Lidl and it seems very good , it has charged my old battery that I keep spare in garage , I think I will do as others have said on here and just flick charger on once a month or when needed until I actually take caravan away , thanks for all the advice 👍

 

[JTQ]

However the likes of Aldi and Lidl usually once or twice a year have some lower cost but almost as effective multi- stage battery chargers. One note of caution I know the Ctek models I have used have all resumed the set charging cycle if there has been a power cut, but the supermarket models usually need to manually reset after a power cut.

There is another significant difference between say my CTEK MS5 and my Aldi Auto XS series charger, the XS has no AGM mode, nor is AGM mentioned anywhere in my Auto XS's manual. So, I assume it is not optimised for these types of batteries that are increasingly popular in autocars and motorhomes if not many caravans.

Clearly with users that have no AGM batteries, that aspect is not an issue.
Plus, my Auto XS is a few years old and possibly that aspect has been updated in current offerings?