Leisure Battery charging question

[interbear]

Naive question incoming.

Our T6.1 campervan conversion has a leisure battery serving the fridge, lights, water pump etc. When we want to use those appliances we have a switch panel that has a master switch to put everything on/off and individual switches to switch individual appliances on/off. So far so good. We also have a solar panel on the roof which trickle charges the leisure battery when that strange yellow thing in the sky makes a rare appearance.

My question is about charging the leisure battery when driving. Does it still charge when the master switch is off? Or do I need to switch it on? I've always assumed that driving with it off is fine, and I switch it on when I reach our destination so that I can use the fridge etc. Am I right or woefully wrong?

Thanks.

 

[DXX]

You don’t need to isolate unless you have an emergency such as a fire that the fuse hasn’t prevented.
No idea how it’s wired but it’s good practice to operate the camper fridge like this:
1. If possible put pre-chilled food in the van fridge from home.
2. Drive with the fridge on, set cooler than you would normally have it while the engine running.
3. When at the camping area with the engine off set the thermostat to the normal refrigeration setting.
4. Most importantly don’t open the fridge door every 5 minutes to check the stock - like many do at home!

 

[Salty Spuds]

Naive question incoming.

Our T6.1 campervan conversion has a leisure battery serving the fridge, lights, water pump etc. When we want to use those appliances we have a switch panel that has a master switch to put everything on/off and individual switches to switch individual appliances on/off. So far so good. We also have a solar panel on the roof which trickle charges the leisure battery when that strange yellow thing in the sky makes a rare appearance.

My question is about charging the leisure battery when driving. Does it still charge when the master switch is off? Or do I need to switch it on? I've always assumed that driving with it off is fine, and I switch it on when I reach our destination so that I can use the fridge etc. Am I right or woefully wrong?

Thanks.

“Normally” the LB is charged from the van (ideally via a DC-DC charger) independently of the (Sargeant?) switch panel. But it all depends on how the van is wired & what the LB charging arrangements are. It’s a Doris Stokes job without more info tbh.

 

[interbear]

You don’t need to isolate unless you have an emergency such as a fire that the fuse hasn’t prevented.
No idea how it’s wired but it’s good practice to operate the camper fridge like this:
1. If possible put pre-chilled food in the van fridge from home.
2. Drive with the fridge on, set cooler than you would normally have it while the engine running.
3. When at the camping area with the engine off set the thermostat to the normal refrigeration setting.
4. Most importantly don’t open the fridge door every 5 minutes to check the stock - like many do at home!

Thanks. Noted re fridge.

I'm still unsure about the leisure battery charging query though.

 

[interbear]

“Normally” the LB is charged from the van (ideally via a DC-DC charger) independently of the (Sargeant?) switch panel. But it all depends on how the van is wired & what the LB charging arrangements are. It’s a Doris Stokes job without more info tbh.

Ah OK, thanks - I will reconsult the owner manual that came with the van to see if that gives me any more useful clues.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Ah OK, thanks - I will reconsult the owner manual that came with the van to see if that gives me any more useful clues.

If you can send pics of the LB and any kit that’s attached to it locally, it may help.

 

[T6ChrisO]

You don’t need to isolate unless you have an emergency such as a fire that the fuse hasn’t prevented.
No idea how it’s wired but it’s good practice to operate the camper fridge like this:
1. If possible put pre-chilled food in the van fridge from home.
2. Drive with the fridge on, set cooler than you would normally have it while the engine running.
3. When at the camping area with the engine off set the thermostat to the normal refrigeration setting.
4. Most importantly don’t open the fridge door every 5 minutes to check the stock - like many do at home!

Why have I never thought of doing point number 2!! (setting it to coldest whilst driving and then turning low). I love this forum

 

[interbear]

I checked the manual, the following snippets may help:

- It’s a split charge system that charges a 110ah AGM leisure battery when the engine is running.
- The 100w solar panel also charges the battery.
- This is described as automatic, I apparently don’t need to do anything.
- The switch panel diverts power to the appliances.

So I’m pretty sure that the battery charges while driving irrespective of whether the appliance switch is on or off.

 

[CAB]

Get yourself a pair of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Battery-Monitor-Wireless-Voltage/dp/B07838F17C

And read:

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It -- Part #1 Battery monitoring is a very important part of your 12v system . . . . whether its just the vans starter battery or your leisure setup keeping an eye on the power in your battery bank will keep you from breaking down and make sure your weekends...

www.t6forum.com

 

[jimc91]

If your converter has put a cigarette lighter type socket in the back buy one of these, with the engine off it will read around 12 volts, with the engine running it will read 14 volts if the leisure battery is being charged from the engine

 

[interbear]

So I had a play with the control panel with the master switch in our van and found that I could check the leisure battery status on it, which is useful. I hadn't seen this before. I'm assuming from this that it does charge when driving with the master switch either on or off and also via the solar panel.

 

[Mike23864]

I’ve a similar one and mine does. If you get someone to rev the engine to 2000 revs it allows the smart alternator to kick in and you should see the figures on the display rise ((assuming you’ve got a smart alternator of course)