G'day again. Was told on the weekend when we went for our shakedown overnight to leave our van plugged in to the 240 volt power with our 15 amp extension lead to trickle charge our 12 volt system when at home. Does everyone leave the their battery charging until there next trip, supposing you use the van on a regular basis?
Cheers.
Bent Axle Bob said
12:58 AM Aug 28, 2013
Will help preserve the battery/s, A small solar trickle charger can be bought from places like repco. Do the same job and is free power. Do not cost a lot and small and lightweight as well, would be my first choice
allinone said
01:01 AM Aug 28, 2013
I charge mine up and then on standby so as when I go in and turn on the lights etc the battery charger does not detect a sudden drop and recharges again and again. Would switch to charge day or two before going. Not sure if this is recommended best practice but works for me.
peter45 said
01:59 AM Aug 28, 2013
Thank you.
Dougwe said
02:09 AM Aug 28, 2013
I only charge mine every 2 weeks for 24 hours and for safety and insurance reasons use a 'Ampfibian' 10amp - 15amp power supply.
Also comes in handy if staying at friends in your van hooked into their 240v.
hanoman said
02:38 AM Aug 28, 2013
We use a 10 Watt Solar Panel and leave it permanently connected to the battery when not in use. Never had a problem.
peter45 said
06:23 PM Aug 28, 2013
I thought I had posted this, apparently not. Thanks for the answers, and I will take your advice Doug.
aussietraveller said
08:49 PM Aug 28, 2013
When I purchased my Full river Gell battery I was told that the best way to maintain it was to switch off everything in van including Circuit breaker when van is being stored and to give it a 24 hour charge every 2 months this should extend the life of the Battery to its maximum potential.
Duh said
08:57 PM Aug 28, 2013
aussietraveller wrote:
When I purchased my Full river Gell battery I was told that the best way to maintain it was to switch off everything in van including Circuit breaker when van is being stored and to give it a 24 hour charge every 2 months this should extend the life of the Battery to its maximum potential.
That's about the same as I used to do with my caravans, also plug it into 240V at home for a couple of days before taking off and put the fridge on. I believe the fridge should also be run now and then when van not in use also.
marto1944 said
10:37 PM Aug 28, 2013
I purchased a smart charger for my battery and leave it on mostly all the time keeps battery fully charged and within the floating limits according to my battery info its self adjusting and tops up when necessary
G'day again. Was told on the weekend when we went for our shakedown overnight to leave our van plugged in to the 240 volt power with our 15 amp extension lead to trickle charge our 12 volt system when at home. Does everyone leave the their battery charging until there next trip, supposing you use the van on a regular basis?
Cheers.
Also comes in handy if staying at friends in your van hooked into their 240v.
That's about the same as I used to do with my caravans, also plug it into 240V at home for a couple of days before taking off and put the fridge on. I believe the fridge should also be run now and then when van not in use also.
I purchased a smart charger for my battery and leave it on mostly all the time keeps battery fully charged and within the floating limits according to my battery info its self adjusting and tops up when necessary
peter m