Carthago E line- why do I have two chargers??

[G1969]

I am arranging for lithium to be installed, and me being me, just double checking the battery space etc. Although not directly related to what I am doing, I cannot understand why it has two chargers installed- could someone answer this please?

 

[G7UXG]

I’d guess it’s probably because it had 3 gel batteries fitted at the factory. Second charger fitted as part of that option I think.

 

[Pausim]

32A charge rather than 16A.

 

[tonyidle]

Doubles the current available for charging and offers redundancy should one fail.

 

[G7UXG]

I am arranging for lithium to be installed, and me being me, just double checking the battery space etc.

I managed to get three 100ah lithiums in mine (same model as yours), but I had to build a wooden platform for one of them to sit on top of the wheel arch.

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[G1969]

I managed to get three 100ah lithiums in mine (same model as yours), but I had to build a wooden platform for one of them to sit on top of the wheel arch.

Thanks, yes I have three 80ah gel at the moment, and the far one is on a step, I am going do 1-460ah fogstar (522mm long) and just wanted to double check it will fit before the step, which it does- just!!

 

[G7UXG]

I am going do 1-460ah fogstar (522mm long) and just wanted to double check it will fit before the step, which it does- just!!

I’d perhaps consider two batteries instead of one. If you only have one and there is a fault (with the BMS for example) and it closes down, you don’t have any 12 volt power. Two batteries provides some redundancy as they probably won’t both go wrong at the same time.

 

[Pausim]

On the other hand there is another thread where the op is having trouble getting his 2 Fogstar batteries to play together nicely.

 

[AdrianChen]

Our S Plus had three gels and two chargers fitted by Carthago as an option. We can fit up to a couple of 460AH Fogstars in the space, but these were not available when we converted to lithium (pandemic supply chain issues) so we ended up with 2*216 AH which has been sufficient so far...

On the S Plus the EHU socket pokes into the space which is a pain.

We ditched one of the 16amp CBE chargers, and left the other (with the white signal cable) connected directly to the B1 starter terminal as an emergency measure, but will probably remove it as we haven't used it, and the space would be handy for other kit.

 

[G1969]

I’d perhaps consider two batteries instead of one. If you only have one and there is a fault (with the BMS for example) and it closes down, you don’t have any 12 volt power. Two batteries provides some redundancy as they probably won’t both go wrong at the same time.

Yes good point, I will discuss the pros and cons with the installer

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[bigtree]

I was trying to figure out your install and looks like your batteries are under the controls in the garage, I have an i50 too. My battery is in a dedicated box between the hab door and the front wheel, I installed a single 280ah on its side and modified the original clamp bracket to keep it in place.

 

[G1969]

I was trying to figure out your install and looks like your batteries are under the controls in the garage, I have an i50 too. My battery is in a dedicated box between the hab door and the front wheel, I installed a single 280ah on its side and modified the original clamp bracket to keep it in place. View attachment 856852

Yes they are, they go back under the bed area, below the floor, it is the tag axle (DA) model, so I think that may be the difference

 

[bigtree]

Yes they are, they go back under the bed area, below the floor, it is the tag axle (DA) model, so I think that may be the difference

Yes I realised that when I looked at your avatar, mine is the single axle.

 

[AdrianChen]

Yes they are, they go back under the bed area, below the floor, it is the tag axle (DA) model, so I think that may be the difference

We had a 51qb da before the S plus - with an L shape battery box I think. 460AH works for us, and we're not particularly careful with usage in spring summer etc. If the 460 gives enough discharge amps for whatever inverter or other users, you could always have a smaller backup next to it for the unlikely event of the big one failing. I did think the garage was plenty big enough to "extend" the box a bit if needed. We now have 550w solar, and 30amp B2B (soon to be 50), and rarely stay more than 2-3 days in any one place so tried to work on a 3 day capacity in the batteries......

 

[G1969]

We had a 51qb da before the S plus - with an L shape battery box I think. 460AH works for us, and we're not particularly careful with usage in spring summer etc. If the 460 gives enough discharge amps for whatever inverter or other users, you could always have a smaller backup next to it for the unlikely event of the big one failing. I did think the garage was plenty big enough to "extend" the box a bit if needed. We now have 550w solar, and 30amp B2B (soon to be 50), and rarely stay more than 2-3 days in any one place so tried to work on a 3 day capacity in the batteries......

Thanks, I only plan to use the 1800w dometic inverter, so amp draw should be enough, I only have 2x135w solar, but like you majority of time will only be 2-3 days.

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[autorouter]

The maximum recommended charge rate for an 80Ah gel battery is 80 / 5 = 16A. That's why a CB516 charger, 16A, is the standard charger for a MH with one 80Ah battery. Adding a second and third battery means the battery bank will take 2 or 3 times longer to fill from a single charger. These chargers are not designed to be charging at full output continuously, so a second charger to assist the first one is required so as not to burn out the single charger. Of course they could have just swapped the 16A charger for a 40A one, but probably easier to just double up the existing charger.

I'm not convinced by the 'redundancy' argument. One item out of two is twice as likely to fail as one item on its own. That applies to chargers and batteries.