@matty I've got a ctek charger permanently hard wired to my LB so when I hook up either at home or on a campsite the charger does my LB. after trips without hookups I plug in at home to keep the LB fully charged as I've read it's much better for them. Is there any way to link my LB or charger so that it charges both batteries automatically? I've read that someone has put a wire between the two positives which I'm sure would work but would that allow the Van battery to discharge through the LB when I'm camping without a hookup?
Put the cable across and use a battery isolator switch so it breaks the circuit, or run a switch through a relay.
You can get inteligent split chargers that divert charge from the main battery to the leisure once the main battery is full If you fitted one of these then wired the ctek to the main battery then id imagine when the main battery is full the leisure one will then start to take the charge
That would work but I know I'd forget to isolate them so I wanted something which joins them when I'm hooked up but separates them automatically when I'm not.
I think of electricity as little cars driving along roads and batteries as little car parks so I'd need a Noddy guide with part numbers and even a little drawing for my little brain to understand.
The intelligent split charge relay I got which is made by amber valley connects the two batteries together when the voltage is above 13 point something volts on the starter battery side, it then disconnects them when the voltage falls to 12.5v. Normally you would connect your ctek to the mains when you get back from taking the bus out, at that time the leisure battery will still be connected to the main battery, it takes quite some time for the voltage to fall back to 12.5v. By connecting your ctek up and leaving it on the batteries will remain connected together indefinitely keeping both of them topped up.
The reality is that if you have your ICE on the leisure battery, the only time your starter battery discharges is while starting up. After starting it's on charge permanently from the alternator. If your ICE is on the leisure battery I'd just leave your CTEC like it is.
You can do it a number of ways the easiest is put a jump lead between the 2 pos of the battery You can replace this with wire and a switch or run it through a change over relay I personally don't like the intelligent charge relay on old vans like ours due to the switching voltages are a bit high I run everything that i will used when parked on the leisure battery as Zed says the main battery is only use for the basic van stuff starting lights wipers etc
My reply was based on personal experience, my starter does the car stuff and the leisure does everything else. My starter battery never needs attention but the leisure battery needs constant molly-coddling
I've just bought a CTEK and was planning to use a marine dual battery switch in the circuit. That way I can condition the leisure battery on EHU but have the option to switch charging to the main battery. Especially useful when my van has been tucked for the winter.
I have everything required by the van off the starter battery (lights horn etc) and everything else off the leisure (interior lights propex ice etc) I charge the leisure off the c-tek on site/my drive plus have a split relay for topping it up as I drive to the place i'm going, never needed to charge the starter battery that way and in emergency (if I flatten the leisure) I've occasionally dropped a jump lead onto the positive feed of the leisure from the starter battery to steal some power.
this makes it sound simpler lol. i'm currently (no pun intended) awaiting a larger leisure battery at 110a/h to replace my 85a/h one.
Thanks for the replies chaps, I too have everything including ICE off the LB and actually I've never had a problem with the van battery. I just thought that as the ctek is so good at looking after batteries that including the van one automatically would help it last longer. Looks like a case of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Owned my T2 for nearly 17 years (286 nights away!), and after getting through batteries at the rate of knots have found my ideal solution. Campers place unusual demands on their batteries. 1. Camper is often not used for long periods 2. Camper uses considerable power while on site. Molteni Mike's modifications. 1. Two batteries (NOT leisure ones) bought from a breakers yard for £25 each. They're huge, 70-80AH each. 2. Hardwired the +ve terminals together with heavy duty jumper lead cable. Then sent both earth cables to a heavy duty (300Amp!) "boat switch" placed in a rear cupboard. This gives a choice of OFF - batt 1 - batt2 - both. The choice of using the "earth" for this system is in case of a short circuit, the system is safe. Never ever turn the switch to OFF with the engine running, you'll fry the alternator diodes! I've never used the "both" option as charging more one than one battery in parallel results in the "better" battery only being charged to the level of the "worse" one. 3. Wired a solenoid (standard Leyland starter solenoid) so that when the starter is turning, BOTH batteries are momentarily called into action. 4. When parked in the drive, the electrics are plugged into an "Optimate" charger which safely keeps the battery charged without risk of overcharging. Protocol when away from home. As soon as the vehicle is parked for the night, the battery is "switched" to the other one. In this way the battery just charged by a long drive will be fresh for the following day. The one just connected can be used overnight without concern about the following morning's start. Touch wood, this setup/protocol has worked 100% for several years. Here's a picture of the boat switch, they're about £25 from chandlers. The Optimate charger is about £40 from various suppliers on eBay. The traditional "split charge" system has the "overnight" camper electrics wired to the leisure battery and a relay to charge both batteries together when the alternator is turning. It's a great system when everything is working! But there's a small risk that something to do with the vehicle's electrics will be left on (sidelights, courtesy lights etc), causing the engine battery to drain on site. Additionally, if the leisure battery is in poor condition, after a long drive the engine battery will become drained. It's possible to fit a gizmo which sends the alternator's charge to the battery with the greater need. But that is an expensive option. But on an old vehicle, starting needs every help we can give , hence the decision to use two engine batteries which are used in tandem when cranking. In my set up, the system has controlability in that it's me who decides where the charge goes and which battery is used overnight. Actually I don't use much power on site, in the days when I had just one battery, I could remain on site for several nights and the engine would (just about) start. For the majority of the time the camper is not used for holidays, so it can be driven without regard to charging. I like the peace of mind which comes with knowing that the fully charged battery is completely isolated overnight from any current drain. It's a bit of hassle to remember to switch over batteries but it soon becomes instinctive.
