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Subject Topic: Leisure battery Post Reply Post New Topic
Personjoelewes
via mobile 27/2/2022 at 5:08pm
 Location: East Sussex
 Outfit: Elddis Autoquest 195 SE View joelewes's Profile View Profile   Reply to joelewes Reply   Quote joelewes Quote  
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Sorry - a bit of a motor home electrics novice speaking! My Elddis 195 leisure battery has failed (6 years old). Could be par for the course BUT my question is: over winter I had the main motor battery on trickle charge - via a charger attached via the EHU. Would or should this also charge the leisure battery?. If not then how do I charge both over winter? Told you I was a bit ignorant about electrical matters. Elddis, being entry level make the electrics far too basic I am afraid. Thanks in advance


PersonOswestry Ed
via mobile 27/2/2022 at 6:23pm
 Location: Marches
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You have done well if your leisure battery has lasted 6 years, even with the help of solar my 95ah Banner AGM battery managed 5 years.
I also use my van all year.
Do you run regularly run your van? Or connect EHU at home, If so that is the only way the leisure battery will receive a charge.


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PersonFiona W
via mobile 27/2/2022 at 6:31pm
 Location: Ayrshire
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I’m still a novice after umpteen years.
The leisure battery should charge up when you’re hooked up to an EHU, unless it drained too much at some point as it doesn’t recover then. Maybe you left the light on in the washroom… Six years doesn’t seem that old to me. We have a solar panel which keeps ours generally topped up but obviously there’s less zap in winter.
As far as I know, charging up the vehicle battery won’t do anything to the leisure battery; going for a drive would, though, in a similar way to the fridge chilling when you’re driving.
The vehicle engine battery may not charge up on EHU (ours died a month ago, plugging in the MH made zero difference).
As I said, no expert so I’m happy to be corrected.

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Persontango55
27/2/2022 at 7:16pm
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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To simplify the matter, both vehicle and leisure battery are independent of each other so each needs to be charged in a different way. The vehicle battery is charged via the vehicle alternator when the engine is running which means that if you don't run the vehicle very often then the battery won't get charged which results in the battery slowly sulfating reducing the life of the battery. The leisure battery however is constructed differently and can only be charged via a mains electric supply from the house or a solar panel connected up to the leisure battery. Using a solar panel during the winter is not the ideal way of keeping the leisure battery charged up due to the fact that it only functions during daylight hours which is less hours per day during winter than during the summer months so a mains supply to the leisure battery is the best option. If you can't connect up from the house for any reason then it's wise to remove the leisure battery and charge it up independently via a smart charger which is what I do. Charging the leisure battery from the onboard charger will only produce about 80% of the charge anyway which is why they advise to charge via a smart charger occasionally to extend the life of the battery. 5 years life for a leisure battery is not that long really as my leisure battery is now on it's 10th year and still holding a charge effectively.


PersonDavid Klyne
27/2/2022 at 7:31pm
 Location: Milton Keynes
 Outfit: Bailey Alliance 66-2 Motorhome View David Klyne's Profile View Profile   Reply to David Klyne Reply   Quote David Klyne Quote  
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You obviously have the facility to connect to 230v? That could charge the leisure battery via the van consumer unit. I imagine that Elddis is a bit like Bailey as they don't provide a facility to charge the cab battery? If you can connect to EHU it might be an idea to fit a device called a Battery Master which will push any excess charge in the leisure battery through to the cab battery.

David


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Personjoelewes
via mobile 27/2/2022 at 8:00pm
 Location: East Sussex
 Outfit: Elddis Autoquest 195 SE View joelewes's Profile View Profile   Reply to joelewes Reply   Quote joelewes Quote  
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Hi all thanks for the prompt replies. The EHU was connected all winter and the vehicle battery was on a trickle charge via a charger all winter too - but the leisure battery was as dead as a dodo when I came to start the van again. It may be that the leisure battery was dead for a while. So, are you saying that the alternator won’t charge the leisure battery even when the engine is running? And that it only charges when the EHU is plugged in?


Persontango55
27/2/2022 at 8:47pm
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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The leisure battery should be able to receive a charge from the alternator when the engine is running but there maybe a switch somewhere to isolate the current to the leisure battery. If there is then it needs to be switched ON to be able to activate the power feed. One way to check if the leisure battery is receiving a charge or not is to switch off the engine and take a reading at the battery with a voltmeter. Switch back on the ignition and start up the engine then take another reading with the voltmeter. If the reading is higher when the engine is running this proves that the leisure battery is being charged from the vehicle. However, if the battery is defective it may not be able to receive a charge so it's time to get the leisure battery checked professionally to see if it's duff or not.


Personbilly
via mobile 28/2/2022 at 7:49am
 Location: North Essex
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If everything is working as it should leisure battery should charge while engine is running. I would disconnect leisure battery. Fully charge with separate smart charger & see if battery holds charge. Once disconnected from charger & left for a while it should read around 12.7v & hold that charge. If it does not then battery has had it.

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Every day should be a holiday!


Personjoelewes
via mobile 01/3/2022 at 3:50pm
 Location: East Sussex
 Outfit: Elddis Autoquest 195 SE View joelewes's Profile View Profile   Reply to joelewes Reply   Quote joelewes Quote  
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Thanks all for your help. Good advice as usual.


Personkiev
02/3/2022 at 8:52am
 Location: West Midlands
 Outfit: peugeot coachbuilt motorhome View kiev's Profile View Profile   Reply to kiev Reply   Quote kiev Quote  
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No mention here of the advantage of fitting a B2B device when I have hook up at home it charges the leisure battery up to about 13,6 volts then trickle charges the starter battery, when the leisure drops below 13.6 volts it switches to charge that,and so on.

I have found that those cheap plug in voltage testers give a good indication in volts what the state of the batteries are in.

My set up is fitted direct from leisure battery a 3 socket cigarette socket device that I can read with the said voltage test readers.I always know the state of the leisure battery. Its worked for me for a number of years.

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kiev


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PersonLukeledge
via mobile 02/3/2022 at 9:17am
 Location: Scotland
 Outfit: Adria Compact 590SP View Lukeledge's Profile View Profile   Reply to Lukeledge Reply   Quote Lukeledge Quote  
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On our Adria the built in charger keeps leisure and van battery charged on EHU, as does the solar panel when no hook up. Both are still going strong at 6 years so it seems to work OK.



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