Which battery should I charge?

[Trav88]

Hi,

Just got the T6 Beach, and today I've had the front seat out and connected up a Ctek comfort charger indicator.

Q. Which battery should charge? The leisure battery? Or the one under the hood?

Or perhaps the question is, if I charged the one under the hood, whilst the motor was switched off would I also charge the one under the seat?

Bit lost!

 

[soulstyledevon]

Connect to the battery under the seat as this is the leisure battery for running lights, fridge and diesel heater etc

 

[Jaydub]

We have the ctek charger connected to the main battery and charge the leisure battery via the hookup connection.

 

[soulstyledevon]

We have the ctek charger connected to the main battery and charge the leisure battery via the hookup connection.

I understood the way it works is, the alternator will fully charge the vehicle battery, then will proceed to charge the leisure battery once the vehicle battery reaches a certain level.
Connecting the Ctek conditioner/charger will charge the main battery and may well charge the leisure battery, but will not condition or optimise the leisure battery...???

 

[Trav88]

I'm going to use the leisure battery to run a Waeco CFX40, or something similar, so I suppose the only battery I will need to charge is the leisure battery...

 

[Jaydub]

I just charge the leisure battery once a month for 24 hours. One fully charged the hookup then starts charging the main battery.when the hook up is plugged in the traffic light connector our ctek has goes to green showing the main battery charging.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I'm going to use the leisure battery to run a Waeco CFX40, or something similar, so I suppose the only battery I will need to charge is the leisure battery...

Can the Waeco run off 230v and or 12v.
It would be best to run it off 230v when camping and hooked up, then run off 12v when not. This will save the leisure battery being discharged to often. From my camping experience it's the fridge more than anything that eats power .

 

[Trav88]

I just charge the leisure battery once a month for 24 hours. One fully charged the hookup then starts charging the main battery.when the hook up is plugged in the traffic light connector our ctek has goes to green showing the main battery charging.

Trouble is I don't have the hook up, I was planning on charging the battery as and when it goes flat with a smart charger and buy an inverter to plug the fridge in etc

 

[Trav88]

Can the Waeco run off 230v and or 12v.
It would be best to run it off 230v when camping and hooked up, then run off 12v when not. This will save the leisure battery being discharged to often. From my camping experience it's the fridge more than anything that eats power .

I think the fridge can run off 12v, but I'm not 100% sure! Need to buy it first!

 

[WelshGas]

I think the fridge can run off 12v, but I'm not 100% sure! Need to buy it first!

You will use more power running the fridge via an inverter than running it on 12v constantly. The inverter uses power as it is inefficient at its job, so the leisure battery will run down quicker than just running the fridge on 12v all the time.
Also allowing a Leisure battery to drop below 50% capacity on a regular basis will significantly shorten its lifespan.
If you plan on staying at campsites I would suggest getting an Electrical Hookup System fitted. If mainly wild camping then a Solar Panel might be a good idea.
If the cTek is wired to the engine battery it will NOT charge the Leisure Battery. Likewise if connected to the Leisure Battery it will not charge the Engine Battery.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Thats what I always thought Welshgas. But then again Volkswagen added 230v hook-up to the Beach from 2013 and I don't know how they have wired their system not having experience of it.

 

[Trav88]

You will use more power running the fridge via an inverter than running it on 12v constantly. The inverter uses power as it is inefficient at its job, so the leisure battery will run down quicker than just running the fridge on 12v all the time.
Also allowing a Leisure battery to drop below 50% capacity on a regular basis will significantly shorten its lifespan.
If you plan on staying at campsites I would suggest getting an Electrical Hookup System fitted. If mainly wild camping then a Solar Panel might be a good idea.
If the cTek is wired to the engine battery it will NOT charge the Leisure Battery. Likewise if connected to the Leisure Battery it will not charge the Engine Battery.

We usually stay at campsites (much easier with the kids) so my initial plan was to hook the leisure battery up with the CTEK MXS 7.0 and just leave it plugged in? Would this work? Thanks!

 

[WelshGas]

It would work but how will you get the mains supply safely to the CTEK charger.
There are regulations regarding the provision of mains power to a vehicle/caravan?
A properly fitted EMU circuit involves a little more than a plug, lead and socket unless you intend to ignore the Safety Regulations.
http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022895/mains-electrical-installations-mo.pdf

 

[Trav88]

It would work but how will you get the mains supply safely to the CTEK charger.
There are regulations regarding the provision of mains power to a vehicle/caravan?
A properly fitted EMU circuit involves a little more than a plug, lead and socket unless you intend to ignore the Safety Regulations.
http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022895/mains-electrical-installations-mo.pdf

I was planning on just plugging in the Ctek directly. Like one would do whilst at home. (All campsites in Spain use a standard plug socket) The CTek comfort indicator that the charger plugs into is fused

 

[WelshGas]

I was planning on just plugging in the Ctek directly. Like one would do whilst at home. (All campsites in Spain use a standard plug socket) The CTek comfort indicator that the charger plugs into is fused

Ok fine. I thought, mistakenly obviously, that things like Electrical Safety Regulations were harmonised across the EU.
Your idea will work, but beware of short circuits to a vehicle insulated from the ground by rubber tyres. Earth will be made through any passenger getting in or out of the vehicle in those circumstances.

 

[Trav88]

Ok fine. I thought, mistakenly obviously, that things like Electrical Safety Regulations were harmonised across the EU.
Your idea will work, but beware of short circuits to a vehicle insulated from the ground by rubber tyres. Earth will be made through any passenger getting in or out of the vehicle in those circumstances.

At the end of the day I want things in my van to be as safe as possible, I didn't realise that there would be any danger doing it this way. As I understand it, your suggestion would be to fit a plug socket in the van with an RCD unit that is fed by the campsite hook up. Then I can safely use that socket to plug the C Tek into?

 

[WelshGas]

At the end of the day I want things in my van to be as safe as possible, I didn't realise that there would be any danger doing it this way. As I understand it, your suggestion would be to fit a plug socket in the van with an RCD unit that is fed by the campsite hook up. Then I can safely use that socket to plug the C Tek into?

That would be the safest way. Any competent auto electrician or Caravan/Motorhome dealer should be able to accommodate you I would have thought. Well that is so in the UK.