Charging from 240v mains

[bob600]

Silly question but a newbie here!
When I hook up at home... The van is a 12v system I assume?
When I plug in to my 240v socket at home... Thats ok?
Must be a converter somewhere or something?

 

[Jev88]

Hi

Yes, 99%? of Motorhomes have an in built charger, often as part of an overall electric control system.
You should have a box of tricks somewhere with switches and fuses on it.
The charger supplies your leisure battery with 12V+ and in turn your battery supplies your 12v sockets and devices like spark ignition, lights, water pump, blown air heating fan etc.....
Get yourself a cheap multimeter. Set to DC. Measure battery when everything is off - a full battery is about 12.8V. now turn on EHU and your charger - voltage should jump at battery to 13+ volts to show it is being charged.
Don't fear asking questions here. But do use the search button too. The more you understand How These MH work the less stress you have that day you flick a switch and things don't work like you expect them to.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

Almost* everything in your motorhome will run on 12v. That means that when you're parked up, it'll all* operate, powered by a leisure battery.

When the leisure battery becomes flat, lots of things will stop working.

There are typically three ways to recharge the leisure battery:

• from the engine (when it is running)
• from the mains (when connected)
• from a solar panel.

* Some things will be 220v only - mains sockets, microwave, etc.

 

[PP Bear]

Simples, everything that works when it’s not plugged into the mains is 12 volts. When you plug in, it’s all still operating on 12 volts.

Only the 3 pin plug sockets, fridge and water heater will run on the mains input. Some vans have addition lighting that also work on mains. None of the 12 volt systems will switch over, the 12 volt systems never change.

Vans should then have a battery charger fitted. Most operate when you switch them on, however some converters have the system installed that have them on permanently. Most chargers have a cooling fan fitted which, while quiet, can still be heard when running. With this switched on, then the mains power is charging the batteries and hence running the 12 volt systems.

In my opinion, it’s not a good idea to have the battery charger running permanently, as there is always the risk of cooking the leisure batteries and then they fail. Your control panel should give you the state of power available in the batteries, as there’s not usually a requirement to automatically switch on the charger, unless it’s required.

Lastly and hope it’s helpful, the charger usually charges the engine battery as well.

 

[bob600]

Hi

Yes, 99%? of Motorhomes have an in built charger, often as part of an overall electric control system.
You should have a box of tricks somewhere with switches and fuses on it.
The charger supplies your leisure battery with 12V+ and in turn your battery supplies your 12v sockets and devices like spark ignition, lights, water pump, blown air heating fan etc.....
Get yourself a cheap multimeter. Set to DC. Measure battery when everything is off - a full battery is about 12.8V. now turn on EHU and your charger - voltage should jump at battery to 13+ volts to show it is being charged.
Don't fear asking questions here. But do use the search button too. The more you understand How These MH work the less stress you have that day you flick a switch and things don't work like you expect them to.

Thank you. Great info.