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I am getting my van ready for its first trip this year, but find that my battery has gone flat whilst in storage, is there any tips on what to do with the battery when the van is not in use for a couple of months or so.

should i remove the battery and take it home for the winter.

and how long will it take to recharge the battery.

I reckon this is a super site very helpful for people very new to caravaning like we are.

Hi and welcome,

There are loads of very knowledgable people on here who are only too willing to share their experience. As far as your battery goes how long it takes to charge depends on the type of charger that you use at home. The one on the caravan will not be able to recover the charge in the battery. There is always a danger with batteries that once they have lost their charge they can't be charged again, hopefully this won't be the case.

I remove my battery from the van every time I take it to the storage area, probably overkill, but I haven't had any problems yet.

Mike 

Hi Bruno, I tend to leave mine in the van as well, keeps the clock running if nothing else, on occasion it has been flat when we pick up the van but usually gets charged up on the first journey over 30 miles, you could remove it and overnight charge with a trickle charger if you cannot connect to EHU outside the house, if you take your van there to load it etc.
The battery I am using at present is a gel one and has been in the van for about 5 years, never had any problems with it other than getting low over winter months.

Some battery charges will boost charge in around 1-2 hours, trickle charging is best though in my opinion.

Welcome to ukcampsite.co.uk, hope you continue to find it helpful and also join in on some of the less serious topics as well.

Hi Bruno

If yours is the large 110ah type then it may take up to 48 hours to recover its charge, however, a totally discharged battery may never recover at all. Use a two stage charger (fast input which will automatically drop to a trickle when voltage sensed)

Remove the battery over winter and charge every 3-4 weeks or so for optimum performance

STEVE

 Don't lay the van up for long but i have found the solar trickle panels very good at keeping my battery at full charge cost about £15

Quote: Originally posted by romany on 16/3/2006

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 Don't lay the van up for long but i have found the solar trickle panels very good at keeping my battery at full charge cost about £15

Post last edited on 16/03/2006 14:04:41

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We do the same with a small solar panel. It even charges through the cover we have on the van. We have to use the mover to get it out of storage and it is always fully charged when we do. Have found out that buying a cheap battery is false economy. Have had ours for three years and it is as good as new.

caravan mag has just done a good one on batteries.says check with voltmeter.may help.

VOLTMETER READING //////   APPROX STATE OF CHARGE

12V                              //////    DISCHARGED

12.2V                            //////    25%

12.4V                            //////    50%

12.5V                            //////    75%

12.7V                            //////    100% 

divide watt hours by volts to get ampere hours: 360 '/. 12 = 30Ah

ie.water pump rating in watts 50 / hours in use 0.2 = 10 watts