Vehicle battery charger advice

[otherclive]

I bought the CTEK MXS 5.0 in April 2020 as my car (no start/stop) was throwing low-battery warnings. This has kept the battery in use for another 12 months, but I am still getting low battery warnings as the last long trip (and last caravan trip) was September and I still do zero commuting.

I actually got a warning that my caravan battery was low this morning; a powercut must have tripped the RCD I use for the EHU cable. This made me realise my remote connection subscription (and warranty!) had expired. Now need to check I've not let the battery die.

What’s a “ remote connection subscription “?

 

[Buckman]

What’s a “ remote connection subscription “?

Probably a Tracker or alarm subscription.

 

[CustardAvenger]

What’s a “ remote connection subscription “?

It's the Swift Command remote access function; you can connect to the caravan via the internet to check Battery and temperature levels etc. You can also turn lights on and off remotely. I think the tracker is part of that system, but mine is not monitored.

Edit: Its not asking me to renew my subscription now... weird.

 

[ProfJohnL]

When you say you've "seen too many batteries fried" just exactly what do you mean by that? How many have you seen and why would they be "fried" by a caravan charger?

You may (or may not) have gathered that for a significant portion of my working life I have been involved with caravans (both as a user and working for an appliance manufacture) I have seen probably ten or more batteries that have died as a direct result of being left on charge in a caravan whilst in storage. I should make it clear the chargers were not the "smart" power supplies we see today - they were the very basic old school transformer and rectifier units which were common up to the 1990's where the unload outputs could rise to over 21V - yes I am that old.

 

[Dustydog]

Actually Prof not as old as you think!
I know first hand the BCA units fitted to most Bailey caravans prior to the last five or so years ago were rubbish . Replacements designed by the guys at Apuljack take a charger to a new dimension that you advocate. An intelligent charger light years ahead of the OEM rubbish supplied.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Actually Prof not as old as you think!
I know first hand the BCA units fitted to most Bailey caravans prior to the last five or so years ago were rubbish . Replacements designed by the guys at Apuljack take a charger to a new dimension that you advocate. An intelligent charger light years ahead of the OEM rubbish supplied.

The units I refer to predate BCA and most of the other makes you see to day. They were basically the oldest type of car battery chargers, often half wave selenium rectifiers using plates rectifiers.



These could easily peak to 27V dc if the battery was on its last legs

I have even seen the next generation of chargers which used full wave bridge rectifier and a thyristor circuit which was supposed to prevent over charging one of which still took a battery to 21V.

Basically any charger that presented an unsmoothed and unregulated wave form to a battery was capable of damaging a battery if left on charge for long periods.

 

[Dustydog]

Thanks Prof, I wasn’t thinking that old😉
Here’s my old 1969 faithful charger! As the battery reaches fully charged the ammeter drops to virtually zero. Not used much these days. Prefer my C tek smart charger.

 

[Johnb]

You may (or may not) have gathered that for a significant portion of my working life I have been involved with caravans (both as a user and working for an appliance manufacture) I have seen probably ten or more batteries that have died as a direct result of being left on charge in a caravan whilst in storage. I should make it clear the chargers were not the "smart" power supplies we see today - they were the very basic old school transformer and rectifier units which were common up to the 1990's where the unload outputs could rise to over 21V - yes I am that old.

As a matter of fact I had no idea where you had worked for at least part of your life. That's great to know.

Working for an appliance manufacturer, and by implication with caravans "back in the day", would explain your comment. Ten or more "cooked" batteries whilst in storage is obviously significant.

I am relieved to hear that these "cookings" were historical and not as a result of "smart" chargers installed in more recent years. The situation 30 years ago regarding chargers is not comparable to today as you correctly point out.

I'll continue with my current regime safe in the knowledge that the "menu" does not include any "cooking".

Perhaps it would have been worth saying that the "cook whilst in storage" was not targeting the "smart" chargers installed in modern caravans but chargers in use 30 years ago.

Well - that saves me even considering messing with the CTEK and battery removal between outings.

 

[Dustydog]

Out of bone idle interest I googled and discovered selenium rectifiers were invented in 1933. They were used in power supplies for electronic equipment and in high-current battery-charger applications until they were superseded by silicon diode rectifiers in the late 1960s. Armed with this knowledge I cannot understand why caravan manufacturers continued to use ancient technology. We all know the issues with Nordelectronica and BCA units. So my state of the art Apuljack charger cost me £10 more than a BCA unit which is identical to the oem of 12 years ago.
Just another negative about caravans😁😁😁