Try this link for some good charging info. I bought an electronic charger from Lidl (still in stock last week) for £13, identical to the Ctek charger. This will, apparently, restore my very flat Varta battery to near perfect condition. Fingers crossed!
Don't use a car battery charger on a leisure battery - you could cause major damage and it could even be dangerous. Instead, use a proper charger designed for the job. This is a reliable, reasonably priced, specialist charger.
Quote: Originally posted by nigel16 on 22/11/2008
Being new to caravanning I am quite happy to ask what might be a stupid question so here goes. When my van is plugged into an EHU or the mains at home is this charging my battery. Otherwise how do I charge it ?
mine is plugged into the mains full time at home,i have a timer that comes on for 6 hours daily.this charges the battery and runs a small dehumidifier.a caravan charger will only charge to 13.5 volts.i just check the voltmeter from time to time.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Don't use a car battery charger on a leisure battery - you could cause major damage and it could even be dangerous. Instead, use a proper charger designed for the job. This is a reliable, reasonably priced, specialist charger.
Sorry, It looks like a car battery charger , but CAN be used for Leisure batteries as well. I guess it's all due to the automatic switching .
It's not best suited for car batteries. It is:
Designed especially for "maintanance free" and "sealed for life" batteries including deep cycle leisure types. This full automatic 4 amp (RMS) charger has special features to ensure peak performance and maximum efficiency.
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
Well, there are plenty of other chargers actually designed for specific car batteries and those are not suitable for leisure batteries. This one will also do car batteries, but you probably wouldn't buy it specifically for that, whereas you would buy it specifically for leisure batteries.
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
I bought my van new in2002. The battery is a sealed type and I have never had to charge it other than on ehu on site It stays almost fully charged over winter storage and when Ilooked last week it was still fully charged and my last use was2 months ago but perhaps I' ve just been lucky!!!