Idiots Guide to Leisure Batteries

[JezD]

Hi all, I’m now going to betray my complete and utter ignorance when it comes to all things technical.

I’ve recently bought a new Beach and so far, so excellent. We’ve been away for a few weekends to sites where they’ve had ehu and all has been good.

We’ve decided at the last minute to go away next week but as it’s half term nearly everywhere is full. We’ve found one place though but they have no hook up. So I need some advice on how my leisure battery works from all you experts.

So, I’m going to be using electric to run my Dometic 12v camping fridge, charge a couple of phones and an iPad and charge a few camp lights every couple of days.

Roughly how long will the leisure battery last?
Will it recharge if I just turn on the engine?
How long will it take to recharge?

Thanks very much and sorry for the ignorance.

Jez

 

[Emil Silenhag]

It is possible to calculate these things. You need to know what type of battery you have, and how many watt-hour (Wh) or ampere-hour (Ah) your electronic devises consume.
You can convert Wh to Ah by devide the Wh by the voltage (12) to get the Ah.
I assuming you have ha T6 Beach 2017, and one (not two) leisure battery of 80Ah (?).

Not all of those 80 Ah are available in the battery, approximately 60-80% (?).
“Dometic 12v camping fridge” comes in many sizes. I’m not familiar with this fridge but It seems to be a small portable compressor fridge, which is good because compressor fridges are very power efficient. So, say that the fridge consume 35 Wh / 3 Ah (?), that is when the compressor runs...How often and how long depends on the ambient temperature, sun exposer, wind and so on. But let’s say 20/80 on/off (?). Then the battery will last for almost 4 days. Then subtract the other electronic devices and you end up with...something.

To recharge, it depends on what alternator you have and how much you drained your batteries. But from almost totally drained battery, I would say that you have to drive (or have engine running) for 5-6 hours to gain up to 80-90 % of full battery capacity (?).

 

[Max-Felix]

I think you will get two days comfortably, maybe three or more at a push - depends on the temperature and many other variables but you'll probably get the fridge cutting out due to dropped voltage towards the end, depends on how you have it wired too. If driving a couple of hours or more each day then you will have a lot more freedom. Best not to drain the battery whatever.

Or get solar for a few hundred quid and be really free and easy and happy!

 

[Borris]

These Dometic/Waeco fridges are very efficient, don't operate all of the time so don't actually use much power. Pack it and bring it down to temperature for a while in your house before loading into your cali. Don't forget to strap it down as it would make a lethal missile in a crash. We try to include a couple of frozen freezer blocks (if there's enough spare space), to help it save even more power at least initially. Your leisure battery should be good for three or four days at least. As for all the other stuff I'm afraid I really don't know what that would do to the battery.
It's a good idea to buy a voltage tester that plugs into the cigarette sockets. We have one for our Beach. Ours has a digital read out that states the current voltage on the battery concerned and three traffic light LEDs to indicate the state of charge, green for good etc etc. By using such a device both before and after you plug into the EHU you will discover which sockets are powered by the leisure battery and which one comes from the engine Battery. The latter on ours is the one next to the gear stick in the dash. The others all appear to be run from the leisure battery. Read the instructions for the fridge carefully as these units have settings to prevent draining the battery too much. If you are staying on a campsite then re-freezing the freezer blocks may result in the fridge having to do less work and therefore allow a longer battery life. We've had our Beach for two years to date and haven't had any issues with battery power so far.

Be sure to put the leisure battery on charge for 12-24 hours every two weeks to maintain it in peak condition. Best to also do it just before you go away and when you return.

Solar panels would provide total peace of mind but so far we haven't found the need.

 

[JezD]

Thanks for all the advice, that’s really useful. Now for an even another stupid question. What is the best method of securing the fridge?

 

[soulstyledevon]

I have a Ctek MXS 10 battery charger/conditioner permanently connected to the leisure battery. When im on hook-up it takes care of the battery. I am still on my original leisure battery from 2012 and it still holds charge.

 

[Max-Felix]

Thanks for all the advice, that’s really useful. Now for an even another stupid question. What is the best method of securing the fridge?

Two seat or three seat? We had ours at the side of the seat here:

Building a kitchen pod for the Beach

If a two seat then in not under the bed then I'd secure it down with a decent luggage strap or similar.

 

[JezD]

We have a three seat. I was going to pack it under the lovely multiflex board thing with the intention that all my other stuff round it would keep it secure.

 

[Max-Felix]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[JezD]

Sounds like a plan.

Cheers. Your setup looks great btw

 

[Max-Felix]

Ahh, Roobarb is long gone now - that pod was a real labour of love, never again! If you plan on keeping the Beach though I'd definitely consider solar, especially if doing long trips in the EU etc.

Some for and against here:

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/leisure-batteries.22408/#post-256915

 

[Borris]

Having wedged under the multiflex is fine as it couldn't go anyehere in a crash. We have our CFX35 behind the passengers seat and I strap it down to the floor using a ratchet strap via the eyelets in the ends of the outer floor rails.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Get it in a sliding rack under the multiflex.
Best place for it. Mine lives there on the rack

 

[California Dreamin]

we have ours mounted on a small piece of plywood which extends beyond its footprint by 3cm through which are two of the OEM rail fittings like the ones used on the multiflex. Works perfectly and easy to (re)move. It sits just behind the passenger seat as this allows for 6 seat use on our Beach and preserved easy movement through the van at night.

 

[Euge]

We have a three seat. I was going to pack it under the lovely multiflex board thing with the intention that all my other stuff round it would keep it secure.

Jez, I’m in exactly the same situation as you.
Assumed all my camping would be on hook up but found quite a few sites only offering pitches without it, due to leaving it late to book.
From reading other posts on here it seems two to three days is fine with a fridge and a few gadgets. Just make sure you charge up before you go, as others have said, for at least 12 hours but more of possible.
Be careful packing stuff around the fridge, as far as I know they have vents and these shouldn’t be covered up.

 

[California Dreamin]

Same situation again here - late booking and no hook up. We are on street parking to home hookup not an option. How many hours driving does it take to charge the battery?

 

[Euge]

Same situation again here - late booking and no hook up. We are on street parking to home hookup not an option. How many hours driving does it take to charge the battery?

Are you worried about running the lead across the pavement and someone tripping up on it ?
I had that concern so parked the van with the socket on the opposite side to the pavement. Then ran the lead up and over the van roof and up to a first floor bedroom window.
A few passers by gave it a second glance but at least it’s out of harms way.

 

[California Dreamin]

genius - thank you.

 

[Volkywagen]

Same situation again here - late booking and no hook up. We are on street parking to home hookup not an option. How many hours driving does it take to charge the battery?

5/6 hours from flat but you will need to connect it to mains every once in a while so they are boosted to max capacity. It will keep them healthy. Any battery’s are near enough the same, they need to be used to stop the cells drying out but also need a good full charge up every now and then to keep them buzzing

 

[hirsty]

Try to keep the fridge shut & don’t set the temp too low, use the Eco button if it has one.

Set all your interior door lights to ‘off’.

Don’t get too hung up about mains-charging it in strict accordance with the manual & best-practice - whilst not cheap, batteries are still a consumable item & it won’t last forever whatever happens.

 

[SteveL]

Get it in a sliding rack under the multiflex.
Best place for it. Mine lives there on the rack

Hey there - what sliding rack system do you use, where did you get it and what size fridge does it carry?? I’ve been looking at trying to do this for a while but no luck.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Hey there - what sliding rack system do you use, where did you get it and what size fridge does it carry?? I’ve been looking at trying to do this for a while but no luck.

It’s homemade, but based on this design:

http://bau-ich-mir-selbst.de/selbstbauanregung-heckauszug-fuer-vw-t5-t6-california-multivan/

Holds a Webasto Tb 41 which is a pretty big compressor fridge.
Easily the best mod for the Beach and something I will take with me if I buy a new Beach.
Have a read through this
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/adding-a-slide-out-drawer-in-the-beach.14501/

 

[SteveL]

Get it in a sliding rack under the multiflex.
Best place for it. Mine lives there on the rack

Thanks for your info on the system you have and the video. I would like to make my own then which will be just the size of the fridge on the rhs. Any chance you can tell me which tray you used so I can size one for the fridge, the drawer and runners etc and where you got them all from? Or did you fabricate it all yourself? Any useful info would be great. Thanks in advance!!

 

[SteveL]

It’s homemade, but based on this design:

http://bau-ich-mir-selbst.de/selbstbauanregung-heckauszug-fuer-vw-t5-t6-california-multivan/

Holds a Webasto Tb 41 which is a pretty big compressor fridge.
Easily the best mod for the Beach and something I will take with me if I buy a new Beach.
Have a read through this
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/adding-a-slide-out-drawer-in-the-beach.14501/


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Thanks for your info on the system you have and the video. I would like to make my own then which will be just the size of the fridge on the rhs. Any chance you can tell me which tray you used so I can size one for the fridge, the drawer and runners etc and where you got them all from? Or did you fabricate it all yourself? Any useful info would be great. Thanks in advance!!

 

[soulstyledevon]

Thanks for your info on the system you have and the video. I would like to make my own then which will be just the size of the fridge on the rhs. Any chance you can tell me which tray you used so I can size one for the fridge, the drawer and runners etc and where you got them all from? Or did you fabricate it all yourself? Any useful info would be great. Thanks in advance!!

Steve
It’s all homemade. Not difficult to do. I have another good link somewhere giving ideas how to do it. Will have a look when I’m next at my PC