Campervan electrics proposal - looking for feedback

[TonyM]

Or one of these:

12 volt battery maintainer

Provide an auxilliary battery a maintence charge. Perfect for looking after the start battery on a generator.

www.sterling-power-usa.com

Used for the past 4/5 years works great.

The problem/benefit (depending on your point of view) with the Sterling unit is that it only provides starter battery charging while the leisure battery is itself being charged. The Battery Master works on voltage difference, so that while the leisure battery is above a safe cut-off voltage, it will keep topping up the starter battery, even when not being charged itself. This is a significant benefit if your main concern is being able to start the vehicle when needed.

The Ablemail unit has more options, so can be configured to meet your particular requirements.

If your leisure battery always has a charging source, then the Sterling unit is ideal.

 

[ginkster]

This post is probably a bit too late for anyone who has posted to this thread so far, but may be useful for anyone doing new research.

It's perfectly possible to keep the starter battery topped up by using a second mains charger as suggested above, but that does require manual intervention. It is preferable to automate this, especially if you already have some way to keep your leisure battery topped up - whether by solar, a DC-DC charger or EHU.

Two products commonly used to achieve this are the VanBitz Battery Master or the Ablemail trickle charger. Both take a small charge from the leisure battery to the starter battery, with protection not to flatten the leisure battery in the process. If your leisure battery is lithium, this is even less likely to be a problem, even without a charging source. The advantage of these products is that they are designed to be fit & forget.

Yep, the Ablemail is used and recommended by many of us here. Small, inexpensive, simple to fit and effective.

 

[Qnapper]

The problem/benefit (depending on your point of view) with the Sterling unit is that it only provides starter battery charging while the leisure battery is itself being charged. The Battery Master works on voltage difference, so that while the leisure battery is above a safe cut-off voltage, it will keep topping up the starter battery, even when not being charged itself. This is a significant benefit if your main concern is being able to start the vehicle when needed.

The Ablemail unit has more options, so can be configured to meet your particular requirements.

If your leisure battery always has a charging source, then the Sterling unit

The problem/benefit (depending on your point of view) with the Sterling unit is that it only provides starter battery charging while the leisure battery is itself being charged. The Battery Master works on voltage difference, so that while the leisure battery is above a safe cut-off voltage, it will keep topping up the starter battery, even when not being charged itself. This is a significant benefit if your main concern is being able to start the vehicle when needed.

The Ablemail unit has more options, so can be configured to meet your particular requirements.

If your leisure battery always has a charging source, then the Sterling unit is ideal.

No you are not correct. I have been using it now for ages and it provides charging power with or without the leisure battery been charged. I have just confirmed this in the last hour with campervan parked up in garage with no external charger or solar power.

 

[TonyM]

No you are not correct. I have been using it now for ages and it provides charging power with or without the leisure battery been charged. I have just confirmed this in the last hour with campervan parked up in garage with no external charger or solar power.

Oh, well that's good to know, but it contradicts what the product sheet on the web page you linked to appears to say about it.

Do you have a lithium leisure battery? That probably has a high enough resting voltage to make the Sterling Battery Maintainer think it was connected to a battery that was being charged. Sterling quote a switch-on voltage of 'around 13.2v'. It then doesn't turn off until 12.9v, by which time a lithium battery would have a pretty low state of charge.

This is the link to the UK site for the same product. It appears to show the same spec. as the US site you linked to.

 

[Qnapper]

Oh, well that's good to know, but it contradicts what the product sheet on the web page you linked to appears to say about it.

Do you have a lithium leisure battery? That probably has a high enough resting voltage to make the Sterling Battery Maintainer think it was connected to a battery that was being charged. Sterling quote a switch-on voltage of 'around 13.2v'. It then doesn't turn off until 12.9v, by which time a lithium battery would have a pretty low state of charge.

This is the link to the UK site for the same product. It appears to show the same spec. as the US site you linked to.

I stand corrected, I forgot that I have a lithium leisure battery fitted. Never failed me yet, but will check over next few days with only battery running.

 

[TonyM]

I forgot that I have a lithium leisure battery fitted.

That's the great thing about lithium batteries. Once fitted, so long as you avoid charging below freezing, you can pretty much forget all about them. And if you spend your winters in the sunnier parts of Spain.....

 

[Badjamin]

I love this thread. Was considering using Rayn automotive to make my loom but am now looking at pricing up all the wire info etc from the amazing @Raw_Porridge diagram above... presuming his van is still intact

I have a 1200w inverter so can anyone advise if this affects the mega fuse rating please? - diagram shows a 150a megafuse for a 1000w inverter

 

[Qnapper]

Update: been away for a few weeks on battery only supply and solar charging. The Sterling veh battery charger has not failed once. Parked up 3/4 days without great solar and running loads of power out of my 180amp lithium and still the veh battery starts first time (voltage when turning key was 12.7volts. Granted the lithium battery keeps charging voltage of Sterling charger going until it drops below 12.8, but very enough to forget its there. When not in use the camper is parked up in garage and I charge/topup the lithium battery about every 20 days and the veh battery stays around 12.7volts over that period. Hope that helps anyone.

 

[Stay Frosty]

I love this thread. Was considering using Rayn automotive to make my loom but am now looking at pricing up all the wire info etc from the amazing @Raw_Porridge diagram above... presuming his van is still intact

I have a 1200w inverter so can anyone advise if this affects the mega fuse rating please? - diagram shows a 150a megafuse for a 1000w inverter

From memory the most I saw my Renogy 1kw inverter pull on full load was just over 80A, I even ran it from an 80A ALU type glass tube fuse for a while but got fed up of unbolting the drivers seat to replace the fuse each time it blew and swapped to a 2kw inverter and Mega/midi fuse block.