LAS 1218 auxiliary charger (1 Viewer)

[a900ss]

Hi,

I want to increase my battery capacity and I’ve been told the EBL 101 charges at 18A and that I should limit my battery bank to 180Ah (ish) as an larger will put too much pressure on the EBL.

I’ve been recommended a LAS 1218 as an auxiliary charger if I go with a bigger battery bank.

Looking at the wiring, it just seems to be a sort of kettle lead to the EBL101 to the LAS 1218. If anyone has fitted one, is it really that simple or am I missing something?

Thanks.

 

[Lenny HB]

Unless you are going to be charging the batteries from a low state of charge regularly not really necessary unless you need a faster charge rate.
I have 3 x 78 ah Gel charged by the standard EBL charger.

 

[Rapides]

My Hymer came with a second leisure battery and the LAS1218 aux charger. The LAS is powered via a kettle lead and connects to a socket on the front of the EBL.

 

[a900ss]

My Hymer came with a second leisure battery and the LAS1218 aux charger. The LAS is powered via a kettle lead and connects to a socket on the front of the EBL.

So if I get a LAS1218, it’s just a 2 minute job to connect once I’ve located it in the van then? Thanks.

 

[Lenny HB]

So if I get a LAS1218, it’s just a 2 minute job to connect once I’ve located it in the van then? Thanks.

Yes, providing you have space to fit it.
Do you really need it, also if you plan on going to Lithium in the future you will need a new charger.

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[Rapides]

So if I get a LAS1218, it’s just a 2 minute job to connect once I’ve located it in the van then? Thanks.

My installation. LAS connects to block 7 on my EBL. Looks like there’s a temperature sensor wire there too.

 

[tonka]

Not got one or fitted one but if any help here is the manual.

https://www.bbatechniek.nl/sites/default/files/downloads/manual/28102_gebruiksaanwijzing_eng.pdf

 

[a900ss]

Thanks all. Really helpful and appreciated.

 

[autorouter]

Don't forget to set the charging profile on the LAS 1218 with the small DIP switches, so it's the same profile as the existing charger.

 

[Rapides]

Unless you are going to be charging the batteries from a low state of charge regularly not really necessary unless you need a faster charge rate.
I have 3 x 78 ah Gel charged by the standard EBL charger.

I’ve just replaced 2 x 95AH AGM’s with 2 x 80AH gels. As mentioned earlier in the thread, I have a factory-fitted LAS1218 to supplement the EBL30. Is the LAS still necessary (if it ever was)? Could the presence of the LAS even be harmful now with total charging current available being over 20% of the batteries’ rating?

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[autorouter]

I’ve just replaced 2 x 95AH AGM’s with 2 x 80AH gels. As mentioned earlier in the thread, I have a factory-fitted LAS1218 to supplement the EBL30. Is the LAS still necessary (if it ever was)? Could the presence of the LAS even be harmful now with total charging current available being over 20% of the batteries’ rating?

It's only marginally over, at 22.5%, so nothing to worry about really. It's easy to just unplug Block7 which will stop the charge from the LAS1218.

I find that if there is hookup it is usually available overnight, so there is no hurry to top up the batteries, and one charger is fine with that. If there is a reason to charge as quickly as possible (from a generator, or parked outside your house on the way from storage, etc) then having both chargers on the go won't cause much reduction in the battery lifetime.

 

[Rapides]

It's only marginally over, at 22.5%, so nothing to worry about really. It's easy to just unplug Block7 which will stop the charge from the LAS1218.

I find that if there is hookup it is usually available overnight, so there is no hurry to top up the batteries, and one charger is fine with that. If there is a reason to charge as quickly as possible (from a generator, or parked outside your house on the way from storage, etc) then having both chargers on the go won't cause much reduction in the battery lifetime.

Thanks for the reply, autorouter , it's appreciated. Having RTFM I see that a current of 10-20 amps is recommended during the bulk phase, so the chargers are within those bounds.

It seems that having dual chargers doesn't necessarily give a huge benefit with gel batteries. If I understand correctly you might get through the bulk phase more quickly, but the gains are marginal when you still have a 12-hour absorption phase regardless with these chargers to reach full charge.

I'm thinking that if I'm going to disable one of the chargers I should go for the EBL's internal one, the LAS having the advantage of an LED to indicate the charging state.

 

[autorouter]

If you're going to disable a charger, there's one quirk worth knowing. When the internal charger is on, a separate output turns on a trickle-charger for the starter battery. This stays on if you remove the 20A 'Internes Lademodul' fuse to disable the main charger output. However if you disable the charger by pulling the mains input kettle plug, it goes off.