BATTERY MAINTENANCE REGIME - BETWEEN TRIPS & WINTERISATION

[DartmoorPete]

Morning All!

Recently acquired a 2019 Swift Select/Spirit 122 (we love it!) and I'm trying to figure out the best regime to maintain my vehicle and leisure batteries - both between trips and over winter. Best in terms of what's good for batteries and minimum hassle! Grateful for any advice in light of my circumstances.

Relevant Info:-

• Standard Sargent setup:- EC600 Power Control System, PX300 Charger and EC800 Control Panel
• Leisure battery Yuasa 80ah AGM (REC80-12i) - don't know what vehicle battery is - not easy to see!
• There is a (weedy!) 40watt solar panel but not relevant as vehicle kept at home in a roofed structure with mains power

Options Considered:-
1) Take For Regular Run - rejected as local roads very narrow and we SORN over winter
2) Leave PX300 Charger on Permanently - the Sargent "guff" says it can be left on continuously (it delivers a float charge of 13.6v) but I'm sure I've read this is not always great for the battery long term. Mind you the the Yuasa battery specifies a float charge of 13.65v so it would seem OK? Don't know about the vehicle battery...
3) Isolate Batteries - I believe I can do this:- for the vehicle battery it can be isolated by way of a setting on the ignition switch. For the leisure battery apparently turning off the EC600 Power Control achieves this. However the batteries would still no doubt need charging from time to time and the drivers clock resetting etc etc - fair bit of hassle.
4) PX300 Charger But Using Timeswitch - I'm sure I saw the other day a Funster suggesting using a 7-Day timeswitch on the mains power set to deliver a 2 hour burst to the PX300 Charger twice a week was a good option. Sounds simple, good and hassle-free to me on the face of it!

I really like the sound of Option 4). Can anyone think of any snags with this approach?

Thanks!
Pete

 

[donkey]

Regarding option 4, I believe the PX300 is a three stage charger, so could take a while to complete and go onto float condition. I would suggest three hours to be a better period. I would think once a week should be sufficient.

Geoff

 

[Lenny HB]

We just rely on solar but do have 300 watts.
With modern multistage chargers they can be left connected all the time without damage to the batteries.

Even with the batteries taken care of the van still need a run every few weeks to get the mechanicals up to operating temperature. Most of the problems with Motorhome mechanicals are with vans that are left sitting around unused for months.

 

[Revolvor]

My MH has solar panels, but they don't get sun in the winter as I park to the north of my house.

My van charger is not smart!

CTEK XS 0.8 Battery Charger

Amazon product ASIN B004RADNCQ
I use this charger on the Leisure batteries, combined with a Battery Master to keep the Engine battery charged. They also make a 5 Amp version that acts as a maintenance charger.

 

[autorouter]

You are trying to balance between overcharging and sulfation.

As a battery discharges, the plate materials (lead, lead oxide) turn into lead sulfate, a gooey coating over the plates. When the battery charges, the lead sulfate is converted back into the plate materials again. This is the normal charge-discharge process. If the battery is left partly or fully discharged for several weeks the lead sulfate goo can crystallise, and it is then impossible to convert it back into the plate materials. This is how the battery gradually loses capacity, due to sulfation. To avoid this problem, the advice is to make sure that the battery gets to 100% at least every month, preferably every fortnight.

So if you are putting it on a timer, it should be on long enough to ensure that the last bit of sulfate is converted, so I think several hours, or even 24 hours, every month would be my choice. If it's a weekly timer then once a week would be OK.

For the starter battery, I have a CTEK battery maintainer that is permanently wired to the starter battery, and is active whenever the EHU is plugged in. It's designed to maintain the battery of a car like a classic car that's only used occasionally, I've been using it for years with no problem, always starts first time. If you have access to mains and no solar then it's the best solution, in my opinion.

Edit: It's the one Revolvor mentioned, the CTEK MXS5.0. When I got it many years ago it was the only one of its kind. Now others including Victron, and even the middle aisle of Lidl, do a similar charger.

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[nickq]

Be careful with SORN over winter. If you don't take it for a run don't expect your injectors to last long.
I learned this the hard way. Fiat Professional explanation was that Ducatos are meant to be driven day in day out and when you don't the injectors get damp and corrode and ultimately start to overfuel.
I had new injectors after 5 years very expensive mistake.

 

[Jev88]

Option 5 - fit solar panels?
180watts keeps my leisure battery bank at okay levels & a Battery Master trickles surplus to engine battery.

 

[Lenny HB]

Option 5 - fit solar panels?
180watts keeps my leisure battery bank at okay levels & a Battery Master trickles surplus to engine battery.

Not when he keeps it under a roof.

 

[Jev88]

Not when he keeps it under a roof.

Ah. Didn't spot that.

 

[DartmoorPete]

Be careful with SORN over winter. If you don't take it for a run don't expect your injectors to last long.
I learned this the hard way. Fiat Professional explanation was that Ducatos are meant to be driven day in day out and when you don't the injectors get damp and corrode and ultimately start to overfuel.
I had new injectors after 5 years very expensive mistake.

Nick (and Lenny)
Thanks for warnings on potential SORN related problems. I do have a paddock I can drive the vehicle around - might try 20 mins once a month - hopefully that will be enough to ward off problems.
With my last motorhome (Peugeot Boxer based) I had problems with instrument cluster where dials used to stop working after winter - Cartronix repaired on each occasion and said problem due to it not being driven daily!
My wife also had a VW Caddy where it packed up time and time again with injector problems even though used daily - in the end having forked out thousands on new injectors we got a 1 Litre Petrol Caddy which has been fantastic!

Thanks everyone for views on the battery maintenance. In light of your comments I think I'll forget the timeswitch and merely do a fortnightly overnight hookup to let the PX300 "do it's thing". We put our Black Bin out on a fortnightly basis so that will become "Black Bin & Battery Day" to remind us!!

Cheers
Pete

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