Is it better to charge leisure battery occasionally or keep it on permanent float charge?

[Lyrick]

would you allow your leisure battery voltage to drop before charging it ?

On a recent thread several funsters said that they only charged their batteries every few weeks.

My Motorhome is on my drive and is connected to mains electric. I normally leave the batteries on a permanent float charge - CBE 516 charger , float voltage is 13.5 volts. The leisure batteries don't power anything , except for keeping the engine battery topped up, when the van is not in use.

So should I charge occasionally , and when , or should I leave the batteries on a permanent float charge ?

Thanks , Patrick

 

[haganap]

For 20 years my motorhome(s) have been parked on my drive plugged in when not in use.
They will be for another 20 i hope, never had a single issue.

 

[LesW]

Don't you have to switch the control panel from HAB to VEHICLE in order for the charge to go to the specific battery?
I'm sure I do on my 2003 Autosleeper Nuevo.

A battery master overcomes this issue.

 

[seasideBill]

Left a car battery on continuous (smart) charge for 14 years interspersed with occasional alternator charge - battery still good.

 

[VXman]

Don't you have to switch the control panel from HAB to VEHICLE in order for the charge to go to the specific battery?
I'm sure I do on my 2003 Autosleeper Nuevo.

It really depends on model, electric set up, age etc etc. Most modern vans have chargers connected to both.

Mine (Burstner 2021 model) charges the Leisure when on EHU but also sends a trickle charge to the starter. No buttons to switch - all automatic.

I also have solar charging the leisure and a battery master which takes excess charge from the leisure to the starter so actually I never need to plug in at home. It's been on my drive and hasn't moved for 2 months now but both batteries are full. Purely from the solar panels.

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[BigFeet]

I just leave our lead acid leisure and starter batteries on charge via the 100w solar and a battery master.

No issues all year round here in Mid Suffolk.

Same here - South Hampshire - 12.3 to 12.5V via the solar only

 

[SpeedyDux]

Don't you have to switch the control panel from HAB to VEHICLE in order for the charge to go to the specific battery?
I'm sure I do on my 2003 Autosleeper Nuevo.

Not with my Rapido Van. The Nordelletronica charger appears to do both automatically, although initially it prioritises the 2 leisure batteries, and then switches a relay to add charge to the starter battery as well. All I have to do is plug in the EHU lead and switch on the 230v socket in my house garage. I didn't know that other MHs need to switch between the batteries manually. Every day is a school day!

 

[two]

It would seem that you either adopt a "set it up and leave it" or "check it every so often" regime (where "set it up and leave it" is using solar or EHU). This merely shows that either method is workable but not which is "best". Unless you compare both under similar conditions, I guess we'll never know. What has been said would suggest that the difference between methods would appear to make little difference to battery life (which is as long as a length of cable)..