Hi Wiganer. If your caravan is in storage you will need to take the battery home and charge it up every month or so. (i need to do mine) Having said that I know of people who never bother.
------------- Regards Robin
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If you are not using it then yes. I would take the battery out store in in your garage (off the floor) connected to a smart charger(ie ctek 3600 or cheaper aldi version). It can be left that was all winter and will be in peak condition for the Spring. Make sure you check the battery fluid levels before charging.
Some batteries do like too be fully discharged now and again but a leisure battery does suffer if fully discharged. If in storage take it home and keep it on charge on a liesure battery charger,no probs.
I leave mine connected over the winter but have one of those briefcase solar panels - never experienced a problem when we finish the season in November and start again in February.
Thanks Wilkolad, you`ve just answered the question I was about to post. I have a solar briefcase & have just put on for the winter. It`s 13 amp, will this be man enough for the job.
Can someone tell me what could be draining my battery while the van's sitting on the drive & everything switched off?
The battery is 110amp & was new on the van back in may this year. We used it for three weeks away in August & it's been on the drive ever since, I've just been out to it & it's as flat as a pancake.
Just as well we haven't decided on the spot to go away because we have to use the mover to get it off the drive, under control & safely it's better with the mover.
Quote: Originally posted by millermicm on 13/11/2009
Always leave mine on charge in the van EHU connected all winter. Never yet given a problem.
I checked how much my EHU used when only the battery charger was connected. Once the battery was fully charged, it still used 50 watts. Thats 1.2kw per day. At about 12p per kw, thats about £1 per week in electricity. It would be cheaper to buy a new battery every 3 years.
My panel is also 13w and supports a 2 year old 110amp battery. At the moment we always use EHU pitches (so assume it's fully topped up at the end of the holiday) and for the last 2 winters have always been ok when we then use it for February half term.
| guess age and condition of the battery will factor into its ability to last the winter months but so far we have been fine.
Basilbrush - the battery loses its charge naturally so you will need to recharge it every now and then. If you have a voltmeter (£5 at Maplins) dont let the voltage drop below 12.5V.
You might also need to switch off the 12v switch on your control panel as some power can leak back to the van charger etc. Dont just switch off all the lights etc.