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Author Topic: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II  (Read 13842 times)

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TheBoy

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #30 on: 04 August 2017, 17:11:47 »

Oh, I'm devastated, I can't tow a burger wagon. Oh well ;D

It's not that you can't, just that your burgers will defrost in the 'fridge. ;)
No, I'm pretty sure the man who lives in the glovebox that fixes everything said not to use for towing.

Camping is fine, as the fridge can plug into any of the 12v sockets scattered throughout the car.
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TD

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #31 on: 04 August 2017, 18:27:07 »

Cars that have this variable voltage alternators and risk running the van battery low during towing surely the option would be to leave the 12S socket not connected...  :-\

Ok the fridge wont be working during towing but is that really necessary if you put some ice blocks in there for the journey.  :-\

For vans like AA's with a power mover, surely if the van battery is fully charged at the beginning of each trip, then the battery must have enough juice to move the van at each end of the trip I would have thought....if you have a high enough power rated one  :y

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Andy B

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #32 on: 04 August 2017, 18:47:48 »

Cars that have this variable voltage alternators and risk running the van battery low during towing surely the option would be to leave the 12S socket not connected...  :-\
Chances are if a car is new enough to have a 'smart' alternator, then it'll have a 13 pin socket

Ok the fridge wont be working during towing but is that really necessary if you put some ice blocks in there for the journey.  :-\
Depends how long the journey is  ::)

For vans like AA's with a power mover, surely if the van battery is fully charged at the beginning of each trip, then the battery must have enough juice to move the van at each end of the trip I would have thought....if you have a high enough power rated one  :y
that's part of the problem .... a 'flatter' battery won't move the caravan as far  ;)
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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #33 on: 05 August 2017, 07:48:45 »

The solution, I suppose, would be to isolate the caravan battery, from the cars 12v system.

That way it would be fully charged when I left home, get charged up again on site, and would still be fully charged when I got home.

This would allow me to use the mover to put it onto my drive.

The fridge could possibly be able to look after itself, I always get it cold before the star of a journey by running it on mains for 24 hrs plus.

Probably have to forget about taking frozen stuff with us.

Any ideas on a suitable relay to stop the feed going back to the car?
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Bigron

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #34 on: 05 August 2017, 14:25:49 »

Would a suitable (20 amp?) diode upset your car's charging system?

Ron.
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steve6367

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #35 on: 05 August 2017, 14:56:14 »

yes but you could still keep the battery at full charge and use the surplus amps to power everything else .

That's exactly what a conventional alternator does. Floating the battery at 13.8-14.4 V = keeping it fully charged and powering everything else from the alternator - all of the time the engine is running.

What a "smart" alternator does is to allow the engine ECU to reduce this voltage to perhaps 12.5V during cruising and acceleration conditions. Not low enough to seriously deplete the battery, but low enough that the battery will take no charge whatsoever unless it's pretty flat and, if it's fully charged, it will supply the car electrical loads. When braking, the voltage can be raised higher than the normal alternator output, to perhaps 15 volts or so, rapidly charging the battery and taking over all electrical load.

Don't forget that such a vehicle will probably be cursed with "stop-start" technology, so the loads on the battery are going to be quite high during normal driving as the battery repeatedly starts the engine and runs the accessories while the engine is stopped. By only replenishing such loads when the car is braking or when the battery does get low enough to cause concern, you save a little fuel.

Granted, the battery is going to keep getting cycled between partially discharged and fully charged, which will shorten its life, but since when have environmentalists been able to see the big picture? ;)
I would love to know how much, but I suspect very very very little...
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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #36 on: 05 August 2017, 15:00:33 »

Is there any room to fit a second, conventional, alternator to power the trailer?
:-\
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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #37 on: 06 August 2017, 08:51:08 »

You cant be the first to be trying to fix this?  Have the caravan club or similar got any advice?

Andy B

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #38 on: 06 August 2017, 08:57:55 »

.......  Have the caravan club or similar got any advice?

You must be joking ..... they cant manage a decent web site
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TheBoy

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #39 on: 06 August 2017, 11:18:11 »

Does the fridge really need to be cold upon arrival?

Get the fridge powered up on arrival, nip to supermarket for supplies, it should be cool by the time you're back.

This caravanning malarkey seems a hell of a lot more effort than camping, for the gain of being more cramped, restricted on travel speed/distance, drink huge amounts of fuel, and storaing the bloody thing ::)
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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #40 on: 06 August 2017, 11:24:28 »

Does the fridge really need to be cold upon arrival?

Get the fridge powered up on arrival, nip to supermarket for supplies, it should be cool by the time you're back.
This caravanning malarkey seems a hell of a lot more effort than camping, for the gain of being more cramped, restricted on travel speed/distance, drink huge amounts of fuel, and storaing the bloody thing ::)

Fridge is not really a problem, we get it cold before we set off, and will probably get the odd current from the alternator on the journey.

The main problem would be the caravan battery draining to the same voltage as the car battery.

I think the simple solution would be to fit a battery isolator switch (caravan battery end) to stop this happening as you don't need the 12v system on the caravan whilst towing.

Err cramped? Don't think so, fixed bed, all mod cons, hot & cold water on tap, waste straight into drain, central heating if it gets cold, own spacious shower, loads of storage space, never gets damp in the pouring rain, I could go on............
« Last Edit: 06 August 2017, 11:31:16 by Auto Addict »
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Andy B

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #41 on: 06 August 2017, 11:34:34 »

   ....
 I could go on............

... and toilet for those night time visits  :y
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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #42 on: 06 August 2017, 11:35:29 »

   ....
 I could go on............

... and toilet for those night time visits  :y

I said I could go on ;)
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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #43 on: 06 August 2017, 11:37:06 »

   ....
 I could go on............

... and toilet for those night time visits  :y

I said I could go on ;)

Don't you just love watching people putting up/taking down large tents in the pouring rain from the comfort of your caravan :D
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TD

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Re: Charging Leisure Batteries on the move II
« Reply #44 on: 06 August 2017, 11:37:50 »

A quick google and I found this article.....tho they aint cheap...

http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/battery-to-battery-chargers.html
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