Managing Lesuire Battery

[Leehoops]

hi guys , it’s looking like the first chance I get to use my van will be the bus fest in sept I’m wondering how to manage the battery life !
I am having a solar panel fitted to the roof but will have no electric hook up while I’m there so how will it be best to manage the battery as I will be arriving Friday evening and leaving Sunday afternoon, I will be using fridge and lights so , just wondering what you guys do in this situation as it’s all new to me ? Cheers

 

[Dellmassive]

What's your current leisure battery setup?

What solar are you getting fitted,?

What fridge and lights are you running?

Just a rough idea so we know what you have.

 

[Lord Mfwic]

I have a leisure battery and don’t have solar. I run my engine for 20 mins twice a day, more if required and this tops up my leisure battery. Not ideal and can be a bit annoying if on a very quiet campsite but my need for cold beer out-ways my desire to be considerate.

 

[Leehoops]

The solar panel is 105 mivp ! And all I know about the battery system is it’s a Sargent electrical control unit and a heavy duty leisure battery, I will have in total 11 led lights (on 2 gang switch ) and two usb points . I will have a crx 50 fridge and I think that’s about it , and maybe some power for the stereo and amp

 

[Lord Mfwic]

and maybe some power for the stereo and amp

Perfect. You can play your music which will drown out the sound of my engine running... Result.

 

[Grainfoot]

You will be fine for a weekend. As long as yours is a compressor fridge not just a cool box. We leave ours on for weeks at a time without running anywhere at this time of year.

 

[Deaky]

The solar panel is 105 mivp ! And all I know about the battery system is it’s a Sargent electrical control unit and a heavy duty leisure battery, I will have in total 11 led lights (on 2 gang switch ) and two usb points . I will have a crx 50 fridge and I think that’s about it , and maybe some power for the stereo and amp

The stereo and amp will be the biggest draw and will flatten your battery in no time

 

[Skinnysye]

Get yourself a Bose soundlink Bluetooth speaker, great sound and it'll have very little effect on your leisure battery except when charging the speaker up.
Bose® Wireless Speakers | SoundLink® Mini II

 

[Lord Mfwic]

Get yourself a Bose soundlink Bluetooth speaker, great sound and it'll have very little effect on your leisure battery except when charging the speaker up.
Bose® Wireless Speakers | SoundLink® Mini II

I’ve got one of them.
Take it with me every time we go away.
Great bit of kit.

 

[Lord Mfwic]

You will be fine for a weekend. As long as yours is a compressor fridge not just a cool box. We leave ours on for weeks at a time without running anywhere at this time of year.

We have the very small electric cool box and it eats the leisure battery as it only works off 12v.
Its perfect for days out but it’s been a real challenge on this current trip when we are parked up for 2 or 3 days at a time.
I’m going to look at a compressor version when I get back.

 

[Davenjo]

We upgraded from an older version of the above to the Revolve last year - has the added benefit for camping of being splash proof SoundLink Revolve Portable Bluetooth® 360 Speaker | Bose

 

[Salty Spuds]

Get yourself a Bose soundlink Bluetooth speaker, great sound and it'll have very little effect on your leisure battery except when charging the speaker up.
Bose® Wireless Speakers | SoundLink® Mini II

That’s what we have,sounds better that the van stereo & the sound is very localised, doesn’t disturb the neighbours.

 

[Skinnysye]

The solar panel is 105 mivp ! And all I know about the battery system is it’s a Sargent electrical control unit and a heavy duty leisure battery, I will have in total 11 led lights (on 2 gang switch ) and two usb points . I will have a crx 50 fridge and I think that’s about it , and maybe some power for the stereo and amp

This might seem obvious to alot of the more experienced but before setting off on Friday put your van on hook up at your house to get your beer / fridge contents nice and cold, then you can afford to turn the fridge thermostat down to a lesser setting drawing a lot less power as the thermostat isn't cutting in and out as often, I have a dometic fridge similar to yours and I never need it cooler than number two of seven on my thermostat, although I have educated the wife not to unnecessarily leave the door open.

 

[Leehoops]

I have a leisure battery and don’t have solar. I run my engine for 20 mins twice a day, more if required and this tops up my leisure battery. Not ideal and can be a bit annoying if on a very quiet campsite but my need for cold beer out-ways my desire to be considerate.

Ha ha I like your style ! I think this would be my attitude in that situation thanks for the info , I’m sure I can keep my eye on the gauge

This might seem obvious to alot of the more experienced but before setting off on Friday put your van on hook up at your house to get your beer / fridge contents nice and cold, then you can afford to turn the fridge thermostat down to a lesser setting drawing a lot less power as the thermostat isn't cutting in and out as often, I have a dometic fridge similar to yours and I never need it cooler than number two of seven on my thermostat, although I have educated the wife not to unnecessarily leave the door open.

This is great advise ! Obvious ! but without you mentioning it ,I wouldn’t have thought to do it so thankyou

 

[Shaun Witts]

I’ve got a 180 amp leisure battery with no solar panel (yet) and an Indel B T31A compressor fridge. This weekend I went down with my son (& his Mini) to the Mini & VW Bus meet near Dudley.

Before leaving on Saturday, I had hooked up to the mains for a few days to fully charge everything, and not only was my beer kept nice & cool, and all the lights & mood lights worked throughout the evening, but on the Sunday I used my Nespresso machine 3 times without noticeably draining the battery (it was reading 12.3v).

Busfest will provide a bigger (2 day) challenge, but I may find a chance to reach the limits before then.

 

[Leehoops]

Get yourself a Bose soundlink Bluetooth speaker, great sound and it'll have very little effect on your leisure battery except when charging the speaker up.
Bose® Wireless Speakers | SoundLink® Mini II

That’s a great idea

 

[Leehoops]

I’ve got a 180 amp leisure battery with no solar panel (yet) and an Indel B T31A compressor fridge. This weekend I went down with my son (& his Mini) to the Mini & VW Bus meet near Dudley.

Before leaving on Saturday, I had hooked up to the mains for a few days to fully charge everything, and not only was my beer kept nice & cool, and all the lights & mood lights worked throughout the evening, but on the Sunday I used my Nespresso machine 3 times without noticeably draining the battery (it was reading 12.3v).

Busfest will provide a bigger (2 day) challenge, but I may find a chance to reach the limits before then.

Thanks for the info , i have a mutual interest in classic minis , I have a 1975 mini van which is sat in my garage and a race prepared turbo A series engine awaiting fitment , I don’t seem to have any time to get it finished off !! What was the meet like ?

 

[Shaun Witts]

Thanks for the info , i have a mutual interest in classic minis , I have a 1975 mini van which is sat in my garage and a race prepared turbo A series engine awaiting fitment , I don’t seem to have any time to get it finished off !! What was the meet like ?

It was my first ever such meet, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a surprising number of VWs there, and not just vans. But only 3 T6's in the Show&Shine (made me wish I'd entered mine!).
The most outstanding Mini was a Rover Cooper from 2000 with just over 300 miles on it (just driven to/from shows). However, there was only one Mini van that I saw, and no pick-ups or Mokes.
Good luck with you Mini van.

To keep within the thread, I work away from home & sleep in my van 2 or 3 nights a week with the fridge permanently on and usually the Webasto heater on overnight. I don't use the Nespresso machine though, but have seen no noticeable loss of power so far.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Going back towards the start of this thread I thought it had been pointed out a while back (previous topics) that the Sargent unit doesn't actually recharge the leisure battery while you're driving about or running the engine, only when plugged into an EHU as basically the Sargent is just a battery charger.

Also the smart alternator won't charge an additional battery due to weird shit going on there that has to be addressed with a specific dc to dc charger?

I've got a Sargent unit that came with my camper but reading travelinlites posts and Loz's thread their reasoning makes sense, at the moment, in my case, as long as I book sites with an EHU then no problems, to go off grid will require further investment here as will hooking that solar panel of yours into the mix.

 

[Mavis]

Going back towards the start of this thread I thought it had been pointed out a while back (previous topics) that the Sargent unit doesn't actually recharge the leisure battery while you're driving about or running the engine, only when plugged into an EHU as basically the Sargent is just a battery charger.

Also the smart alternator won't charge an additional battery due to weird shit going on there that has to be addressed with a specific dc to dc charger?

I've got a Sargent unit that came with my camper but reading travelinlites posts and Loz's thread their reasoning makes sense, at the moment, in my case, as long as I book sites with an EHU then no problems, to go off grid will require further investment here as will hooking that solar panel of yours into the mix.

@Stay Frosty What model of Sargent unit have you got, I have one in my van but not that sure how well it works unless you are frequently on EHU?