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charging batteries
Topic Started: Friday 25-06-2010, 13:28 (142 Views)
nuggetykath-68
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HI MEMBERS,

THIS LAST WEEK AWAY WE DID NOT GET ANY SUN FOR 5 DAYS. DICK USED OUR 20AMP BATTERY CHARGER WHICH WAS LOCKED IN, BY CABLE, TO
OUR SON'S GENERATOR WHICH RAN FOR 2/3HOURS NIGHTLY CHARGING BATTERIES...WE HAD NOT TAKEN OUR GENERATOR!

HOW DO YOU CHARGE YOUR BATTERIES ETC????

CHEERS,

KATH
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davsgold
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Yep, even on a sunny day in winter our solar panels only output about 2/3 capacity, as they are fixed flat on the van roof and you can't get the best angle towards the sun.

Only choice is run the genny for a few hours when needed to keep the battries topped up. We have been camped out for the last 3 weeks and on our way home now for a bit of a break and restock the van etc.

cheers dave
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Nightjar
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Hi all,
Have toyed with the idea of a wind generator for years. All the units available in the shops are expensive and not practical for caravaners because of their size.
Maybe one of our members can suggest a small 12V alternator/generator or dynamo that could be suitable for connecting to small wind driven unit for trickle charging a battery on sun less days.

Cheers
Peter

Good luck & safe travels
Peter


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silverback
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hi Pete,Kath Davehave you tried Jaycar,i beleive they have a smaller version available now with a type of enclosed blade. i think also the new inventors programme had one on not long back.having the same problems ourselves at the moment with the cloudy weather.normally we would not go thru more than 50 ltrsfuel each season and thats including the bike but we have gone thru over 30 so far and still several months to go.we turn our freezer on for 2-3 hrs in morning and about 4 hrs at night,seems to hold just below freezing,as our supplies are vac packed this seems to be all right at the moment.
All the best,
Peter
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Nightjar
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Evening Peter,
When you say you turn the "freezer" on for a few hours morning and night, am I right in thinking you run the "generator" for a few hours morning and night to run your "Freezer" and for the rest of the day/night the "Freezer" is a virtual esky?
Good luck & safe travels
Peter


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silverback
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hi Peter,
sorry, should have explained a bit better.The freezer sit in the back of the ute and runs of two deep cycle batteries. these are charged by a 80 w panel, i found after a few cloudy days this one panel did not supply enough power to the batteries hence the running only morning for a couple of hours and evening for about 4 hrs. the genny charges the batteries in the van when they get too low as has happened quite a bit this season due to lots of cloudy days.the van has 3 x 70 ah deep cycle batteries and about 160 w of panels on top.We are pretty power hungry as we have tv ,sat a 70 litre fridgemate frig/freezer,uhf radios batteries,gps batteries plus computer and detector batteries to charge.our van has an inbuilt 240v charger but it only puts out about 3-4 amps so i clip a 15 amp charger up as well when i run the genny.i can see myself getting another panel for the ute and bigger batts for the van,i picked them up second hand 3 yrs ago and i feel that 1 of them may be a bit dodgy now.hope that helps a bit.sorry the bit about the esky is right .we have used this method for years when fishing on trips and find that it holds temp quite well.
All the best,
Peter
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Nightjar
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Morning Peter and all,
Have a similar but not the same set up as yours on the back of my little truck; Two 6Volt Deep Cycle batteries in series charged by a 64W Solar panel and the vehicle alternator while travelling. Detector batteries are charged from this setup and two Engel Fridges, 39L as a fulltime freezer and a 80L fridge\freezer combo. If we are going to be free camping we pre-cook meals at home, vacuum seal them and fill the freezers. Simple zap with the micro wave at days end and we have a meal in a few minutes. When the 39L is emptied it is turned off.
Our generator supplies power to the micro wave, the caravan smart charger to top up the van twin 12V deep cycle batteries and a permanently wired battery charger on back of ute is also connected if the batteries are low due to conditions you mention. Have two panels on van putting out approx 8amps in full sun. Also have a 15amp 240V/12V charger if required.
I am currently looking to see if I can beef up the wiring from vehicle alternator to the caravan because we have found that on long trips the Dometic 150L caravan fridge draws about 14Amps and runs the batteries down. Obviously voltage drop, vehicle to caravan is restricting charging capacity. We find that the Smart Charger does not auto switch to Solar (currently trying to find answers to this) when we set up camp, however a boost with the genny soon sorts that out.
I just won a competition entering a story to CaravanWorld mag, part of the prize being a fridge auto cut out which disconnects power when it senses no vehicle movement then auto connects when you are on the road again. We run van fridge on gas when camping.
There is a photo on the forum somewhere of my charging unit, will see if I can find it.

You probably don't need 3 batteries in your van, two in top condition should handle your load if you keep them topped up with the genny. A simple hydrometer check on your current batteries should establish their condition, you probably realise if one has a cell problem you won't be getting charge across all three batteries and they will be permanently low.
Could rabbit on for hours on this subject, 12V systems fascinate me and am always experimenting with something.
Cheers
Peter

Good luck & safe travels
Peter


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Nightjar
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Hi Peter,
Found the old post however the pic was on a website that has since shutdown. Will see if I can find it in amongst my photbucket pics.

Compact charging unit. by Nightjar
Hi all,
After updating to the GPX 4000 I found my old charging unit out of date as well, so, currently have a new one under construction. (Pic attached)
Won't have batteries, chargers and a tangle of wires drifting around in the back of my little truck.
This unit will incorporate the following in one neat package;
64 Watt Solar Panel (Will add another panel at a later date)
Two 6volt heavy duty batteries in series (In box under this unit- not shown in pic)
Solar panel regulator
Ability to charge from vehicle alternator while mobile
Ammeter showing Solar input
Voltmeter registering battery content
Power lead for Engel fridge
600Watt inverter
12V/6V trickle charger
4 cigarette plugs
4X 240 volt adaptor plugged into inverter.
Tray to secure detector batteries and chargers while travelling.
Fuse panel for all individual circuits
Will post a completion pic when it is all done.

Cheers

Peter


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Good luck & safe travels
Peter


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