Not being so hard core as some of you lot (we did camp a few weeks ago in Avebury tho...one night = freezing, one night = warm as toast...go figure!) but the Bruce is probably going to be tucked up in the garage for winter is this all i need? http://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-XS-0-8...d=1384440997&sr=1-3&keywords=Ctek 12v charger
Im no expert but I think that one does up to 32a. so you may need a bigger one. I just got a ctek 3.6 that does up to 75 a
As @matty says, it'll be OK but 0.8amp hours is not a lot to put into a battery even for maintenance. Undercharging will lead to sulphation. Also with this one you won't be able to put a reasonable charge into the battery if you do ever need to recharge. If your budget stretches, go for the mxs 3.8 or even the mxs5. You will be able to replace any lost charge at campsites with these whereas the 0.8 will struggle. They are much more versatile in the long run. Remember to alternate charging on both leisure & starter batteries & check electrolyte levels.
Dont get confused between amp and amp hours. As long as the radio/alarm or what ever drains the battery is drawing somewhat less than the charger is putting in it will be fine for maintenance. Its the volts that count on getting a full charge and maintenance. However if you find yourself with a flat battery the small chargers take an age to charge it up again. Conditioning is another matter multi stage charger go through a phase of pulsing current into the battery to help a bit with desulphating if you have a charger rated for 32ah batteries and us it on an 80ah battery its not going to be as effective
Sorry @scote you are right & it's hard not to make a confusing subject even more confusing. A you know, amp hours are simply a representation of how many amps a load draws over an hour & this charger is rated to put back 0.8 amps per hour. As you say, OK if the load is less. Lead acid batteries self discharge even if an external load is not applied. Volts count, as you say. But the chemistry of a lead acid battery means that any charger has to be able to overcome the natural resistance of the battery in order to reach a state of full charge. Therefore these smart chargers will charge at up to 14.7 volts depending upon temperature & maintain a float charge at 13.6V. The higher spec ones pulse at an even higher voltage to drive in the last few remaining amps that the battery is designed to accept. The amps become important in the case of a parasitical load, such as an alarm etc. OR if you want to use the charger to replace power used by a radio, fridge, lighting etc on a campsite. Good advice on the conditioning phase as 0.8amps will struggle to overcome long term sulphation on a "standard" leisure or starter battery for a van, I think??? Please correct me if that's not right but I'd hate to spend my money on something that wasn't quite up to the job.
A good condition fully charged lead acid battery with no load (i.e. take off the earth lead) will last months without needing a recharge. My plan is just to use the van regularly and save having to bother with hooking it up to a charger.
