How are folk living in flats charging their leisure batteries?

[Fost@T5]

Had the same problem. So i was charging a 120Ah (20 Kg) battery in the flat and bringing it down to the Cali , connect an inverter to it, and plug the van into the inverter connected to the battery. Usually the inverter would cut off after 3-4 hrs therefore I had to repeat the process for three to four times, until the display would show 13.1 V with 0.1 A coming in.
It works, but you need invest 400 quid for the extra battery, inverter and charger.
After 8 months I got fed up of bringing up and down the flat the 20 kg Battery and the inverter, although i developed strong biceps in the process.
Now I have a portable, foldable 120w solar panel with the mppt victron 75/15 charger connectet via Anderson plug to the front L battery. the panel is layed on the dash against the windscreen. Now the leisure batteries are topped up once a day with no effort.

Hi...
I would also like to use a portable Solar Panel, but why do you need a charger?
I thought the Solar panel was charging the battery?
Excuse my ignorance wrt electrics!!

 

[Calimili]

Hi...
I would also like to use a portable Solar Panel, but why do you need a charger?
I thought the Solar panel was charging the battery?
Excuse my ignorance wrt electrics!!

the solar panel produces electricity, according to how much sun light it gets. This raw power may come up to 20V or more, depending on the size of the panel. You cannot feed 20V to the battery. The MPPT charger takes in whatever power it gets from the panel and deliver to the battery exactly what it is needed depending on its state of charge. i.e. the charger may receive 19V 2A, but delivers to the battery 14V and 3A.
It is absolutely necessary to have a charger.

 

[Fost@T5]

the solar panel produces electricity, according to how much sun light it gets. This raw power may come up to 20V or more, depending on the size of the panel. You cannot feed 20V to the battery. The MPPT charger takes in whatever power it gets from the panel and deliver to the battery exactly what it is needed depending on its state of charge. i.e. the charger may receive 19V 2A, but delivers to the battery 14V and 3A.
It is absolutely necessary to have a charger.

Brilliant!!
Thank you, I'll definitely be using your idea, design, for charging my Leisure Battery.
Thanks again.

 

[T6 CFO]

Sounds like we need a kit with some instructions. I’m hopeless on electrics and risk adverse with messing with my Cali, for which it’s grateful.


Mike

 

[Calimili]

Sounds like we need a kit with some instructions. I’m hopeless on electrics and risk adverse with messing with my Cali, for which it’s grateful.


Mike

well the kit has instructions, on how to connect mppt charger to solar and to battery. The only bit that you need to do is connecting the wires from the charger to one of the batteries. you have two so pick one. I chose the front one because it is much simpler to connect/disconnect the hole thing just staying on the driving seat. I didn't fancy having a cable through the habitation to connect to the battery at the rear.
Accessing the front battery under the front left seat seems nerve wracking and difficult especially if like me you have a new van under warranty. But it isn't difficult.
1) unbolt the 4 bolt that fix the seat on the bottom
2) tilt the seat to the front, making sure you don't pull the cable underneath. it has enough slack, so no problems.
3) remove the rubber cover to expose the battery and it's terminal.
4) attach positive and negative wires accordingly. Check 3 times that you got the polarity right before reinserting the rubber cover and lower the seat again and screwing the 4 bolts back in

 

[Amarillo]

well the kit has instructions, on how to connect mppt charger to solar and to battery. The only bit that you need to do is connecting the wires from the charger to one of the batteries. you have two so pick one. I chose the front one because it is much simpler to connect/disconnect the hole thing just staying on the driving seat. I didn't fancy having a cable through the habitation to connect to the battery at the rear.
Accessing the front battery under the front left seat seems nerve wracking and difficult especially if like me you have a new van under warranty. But it isn't difficult.
1) unbolt the 4 bolt that fix the seat on the bottom
2) tilt the seat to the front, making sure you don't pull the cable underneath. it has enough slack, so no problems.
3) remove the rubber cover to expose the battery and it's terminal.
4) attach positive and negative wires accordingly. Check 3 times that you got the polarity right before reinserting the rubber cover and lower the seat again and screwing the 4 bolts back in

That what I did when connecting solar to the leisure battery.

Second time, when I hard wired my fridge I managed to get the rubber cover off without unbolting the seat. It’s a bugger of a job to remove the rubber cover with the seat in-situ but counter intuitively it’s easer to replace than remove.

Unbolting and moving the seat always runs a risk of damaging air bag or other cables.

 

[Calimili]

That what I did when connecting solar to the leisure battery.

Second time, when I hard wired my fridge I managed to get the rubber cover off without unbolting the seat. It’s a bugger of a job to remove the rubber cover with the seat in-situ but counter intuitively it’s easer to replace than remove.

Unbolting and moving the seat always runs a risk of damaging air bag or other cables.

I tried a lot moving the rubber cover, but I didn't know how much I could stretch it before it would break. I also wanted to be 100% sure it would cover all the cables at the front of the battery after.
The airbag and electric seating cables have some slack, mechanics may need to remove the seats as well, so for that porpoise there is some slack. The seat doesn't need moving, just tilting.
Also I wanted the cable to exit to the front of the seat, I supposed you needed the cable towards the rear for your fridge.

 

[ejmoore]

We live in a flat. We've never charged the van up at home. We drive it occasionally, & go away camping whenever we can. We seldom have a hookup unless it's on offer.
Despite this seeming negligence, we've not had any problem with the leisure battery in eight years of ownership.
So I'd say don't bother about it.

 

[Vwcaliforniajapan]

Hi there,
Just wondering how folk living in flats charging their leisure batteries? I’m finding it tricky to be honest and I’m told the batteries need a 230v mains hook up at least monthly.

Dave


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Solar !

 

[orbital]

Hi there,
Just wondering how folk living in flats charging their leisure batteries? I’m finding it tricky to be honest and I’m told the batteries need a 230v mains hook up at least monthly.

Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got a solar panel fitted to get around this problem (and one or two others). Check out solarcampersolutions.co.uk You can get kits from about £400 but I got mine fitted to avoid an unending fiasco... So far, I‘m very impressed.

 

[hirsty]

This issue gets overblown - I live in a terraced house & have only charged my leisure battery occasionally on domestic mains / site hookup & it's still fine after 4.5 years.

It's eventual replacement will not break the bank, esp. relative to (for example) the scored brake discs I had to replace due to not driving it enough.

A much greater 'danger' to me is flattening the battery completely, I think that knackers it quite quickly.