When I replaced the PDU with my version I did not bother with a battery charger. As we never had a hook up, there was no point But last week we spent a few days on a campsite – with a hook up!!! Maybe we are getting old. We didn’t really need it, but I … Read more
The Varta was 4 years old. I had got the feeling it was a bit down on capacity, but it’s a bit immaterial. I managed to flatten it by leaving it for a few weeks with a light switched on. I must have inadvertently left it on when we unpacked the van from a previous trip. … Read more
UPDATE I managed to flatten my leisure battery! Bummer. I left the van parked up with everything switched off but I forgot to switch off the fridge and it was on battery power. Now the fridge is switched off when the engine is not running BUT I left the fridge door slightly open and the … Read more
The solar panel is only a 10W item and mounted under the skylight. It seems to work as predicted, even better really. After a day of sunlight the leisure battery was showing 15.6V. This is what the CTEK battery charger information calls “A reconditioning charge” There cannot be much current from a 10W cell – … Read more
From Part 6 This is an experiment – I’ve tried a brand new highly esteemed 110AH battery from Banner. Now I’m running with a five year old 44AH starter battery from Alphaline! We shall see what we shall see. Well we saw! The wee 44AH battery may have been OK, but it was a worry. … Read more
I had established that the original system using relays to switch everything was inefficient and my original lashed up modification drastically reduced the load on the battery. The mod was implemented using terminal strip fixed to the struts under the seat (where the leisure battery and PDU are located) and scotchlok connectors to tap into … Read more
It’s around four years since I wrote the last article on the electrics. The mods have worked very well, we have used the van two or three times a month without any problems. But the Banner Leisure battery was starting to struggle. Sometimes we would see the lights flicker as the water pump or the … Read more
This article was published on 8/4/2014. The fourth in a series of articles about my experiences with the electrical system and the leisure battery in my Motorhome. The saga continues SO after all of the calculations and planning, there we were ready to set of for our first festival at Moffat. We had been been … Read more
This article was first published on 11/02/2014. It was the third of a series of articles about my experiences with the electrical system and the leisure battery in my Motorhome. This is hopefully the final part of the saga. ( Update – it wasn’t) I now have the Banner battery installed and I hope to … Read more
This article was first published on 14/1/2014. The second in a series of articles about my experiences with the electrical system and the leisure battery in my Motorhome. I’m updating this as I dig out more data. To tell the truth I’m getting a bit fed up with the lack of datasheets and the standard … Read more