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Charging leisure battery...Can anyone help please
WE are in the middle of a conversion. For the electrics, we have a 110ah gel leisure battery.. A PMS3 power unit.. Wanting to run the basics like lights, 12 volt dual cool box , occasionally laptops from the 12 volt system. Have installed mains inlet ready for hookup. Potentially in the near future hoping to get solar panel fitted aswell. Now I'm having real confusions about the charging aspect of the battery. Wandering what is the best most reliable way of doing this. Have been told about the dual ctek but not sure if the amp is enough (it says 20) or the split-relay system ?if so what amp power to get ..ahhh can anyone help please???
Looking quickly at the specs for those coolboxes and your possible choice of using a split charge relay type system to charge your lesuire battery you will get about 20 hours of life from your battery just running the coolbox off it.
Any dual/triple way type cool boxers or fridges are always high on current draw when on 12volts. So you would be wise to only use it whilst the engine is running.
When deciding on what choice of charging system to use you need to first work out your expected power requiremnts (P=IV) then you need to think about how long you are likely to be stationary for with no charge going into your batteries. Decide on a battery capacity and then decide which charging system best suits your needs and budgets.
There are many different types out these some are cheap and cheerful and some are expensive. You get what you pay for usually but not everyone needs an expensive system.
KS
Thanks for the reply guys.. Its not looking like we will be running huge power in the van .....So looking around it looks like getting a VSR (voltage sensitive relay).. I think like you said, don't want to get a cheap one..Is there a particular make that anyone can recommend..? Would like to have a good safe reliable one if possible..Thanks
saw this one on the website you gave above
If i was you i would get the cheapest one you can find with the highest current rating. It will eventually burn out so you don't want to spending much.
At the end of the day a VSR is no more than just a relay in a fancy box with the connections marked up to make installation easier there is nothing "smart" or "intelligent about them. All relays sense voltage and engage.
KS
Cheeres again.. Right next , the interior units! Its one big learning curve...
Hi there,
I recently did a conversion myself and found this site very useful.
Hope this helps :-) http://www.split-charge-relays.co.uk/charging-systems/split-charging-rel...