Pros and cons of caravan battery chargers

Cowboy7307 · Senior Member

Pros and cons of caravan battery chargers

erad · Guru

My 1999 build Jayco had some cheap 12V power supply as original. It died on our first trip outback, along with a few other bits. I tried to get someone to fix it but eventually decided to return the van directly to Jayco in Dandenong. They fixed the other bits and replaced the power supply - this one obviously coming from another chassis build because it had a different chassis number on it. That one lasted a bit over a year before it died as well, so I then researched and bought a Baintech switched power supply. Because the fan noise drove me mad with the originals, I mounted the new Baintech in the front boot and it is still working to this day. Locating it away from the van living space has made life a lot quieter too.

I asked at the time why a power supply for a 12V downlight could not be used. I was advised that the voltage may fluctuate too much, depending on the load at the time and the bulbs may blow. With modern LED lights (which I have retrofitted to my van anyway), I cannot see why the little flatpack transformers would not work quite well. Note that my van does not have a battery and all we need is 12V for the lights and some computer fans mounted at the back of the fridge.

-- Edited by erad on Saturday 6th of August 2016 08:07:12 AM

PeterD · Guru

Cowboy7307 wrote:
but i have an old charger in shed i used on farm for tractors top ups and it seems to be doing the job ,is there any reason not to keep using it or will it harm battery or caravan electricals, even if i had to buy a new car charger would be a hell of a lot cheaper than a special one for a van, just asking

The old one in the shed will probably be a simple taper charger and not a multi-stage model. Any of those old taper or trickle chargers will reach voltages in excess of 16 V. If these are left running continuously (as they would be when in a caravan park) they will boil the battery dry (in other words stuff it.) What you need is a multi stage charger (3 .or 4 stage) that you can leave connected to the mains power continuously. Select one that has adjustable charging voltages to suit different batteries or one that is tailored for your battery.

Read this article - HOW DO I CHARGE (OR EQUALIZE) MY BATTERY - then search through the forum for further info on battery chargers. Also read the rest of Bill Dardesns web site, he is probably the most knowledgeable author on batteries on the web.

There will no doubt several members who will come on the thread and tell you of their favourite battery chargers.

PeterD · Guru

erad wrote:
That one lasted a bit over a year before it died as well, so I then researched and bought a Baintech switched power supply.

Yes I got one of those Baintech power supplies. It was advertised as a smart charger but the only smart thing about it was it varies the fan speed with the output current. I sent it back and complained about their false advertising and got my money back. They don't have sufficient output voltage to fully charge a battery.

Ron-D · Guru

The modern 3 stage battery charger in my opinion is the only way to go to have an old style charger driving power into your battery at the same rate of charge is primative these days. Iam no expert so correct me if Iam wrong.

the way I think the modern charger works is bulk charge to get things going, backing off to absorption charge, then back down to a maintenance charge ...

this seems to be better than having a basic charger that fries your battery,as I said I think this is how it works, and it makes a lot of sense....

PeterD · Guru

Ron - if you had have read my link - HOW DO I CHARGE (OR EQUALIZE) MY BATTERY - above you would have seen how they work.

macka17 · Guru

Hey.

I have a 40a 4 way chinese charger in back of ute. for the battery,s.
Plus back up for boat and van
With 85w panel on top, my battery's are always 13.2\13.4 float.

In van I have a 15a smart, with 200w panel on top.
that does the same. Plus topable from ute's system through Anderson.

Point being.
A basic, hopefully a coupla $$;s extra 3 or 4 way charger.
IN van.
with some solar on top. WILL keep system floating at 13+ comfortably.
and not cost a fortune.
some of those smart ones are ridiculous prices.

Ron-D · Guru

Yeah Peter your right I should have read it , but haveing said that I do know exactly how they work it's very simple really..