Which DC-DC battery charger?

[Skyliner33]

I am now ready to install a leisure battery.

I thought I had decided on a CTEK Dual, but now am looking for alternatives.

I would like it to have the option to input from a solar panel for ease of future installation.

What options are there/what would you recommend?

Thanks

 

[Loz]

@travelvolts do an Ablemail with solar in..

 

[Dellmassive]

We have a:



Redarc BCDC1240LV

Ot can be used with solar.

But we have separate Victon MPPT solar controller.

 

[Skyliner33]

@travelvolts do an Ablemail with solar in..

Yes, I spotted that. I am looking because the CTEK are out of stock.
I wanted to order today.
Is that Ablemail better than the Ring RSCDC30?

 

[Deaky]

Redarc would be my preferred choice

 

[Deaky]

The size of the ring box is massive

 

[Skyliner33]

We have a:



Redarc BCDC1240LV

Thanks, thats a few £££ more. Is it worth it? Whats better? Thanks

 

[Skyliner33]

Thanks @Deaky that rules the ring out.

Is the redarc worth the extra?

 

[Jollyvan]

Suffered with a Ring unit for 2 years never really happy. Upgraded to Ablemail from @travelvolts . Its brilliant for my use - so easy after the Ring unit.

 

[Dieseldonkey]

Another plus from me for Ablemail. (12-12-30). Built in MPPT solar input. Was speaking to someone more knowledgeable than I am on these things. They told me they'd opened one up for a look. They were impressed by the quality of the components and assembly of it, compared to others that they'd tried. Martyn at @travelvolts is very helpful too with these things.

 

[micksea]

I had a ring and it was massive and unreliable,turned up for a few days camping to discover both my leisure batteries were drained....not good with two kids.I don"t have EHU just split charge and solar.I"ve since fitted a redarc and it seems to be fit and forget reliable which is what I wanted.Martyn at travelvolts is your man

 

[Josh Corps]

Hi all, I'm just in the process of buying my supplies to do my electrical installation.
I'm now in the market for a DC/DC charger but I don't know which one to get. Especially because the price seems to vary so much for what appears to be a very similar product. My set up so far;

2000w pure sine wave inverter/charger
240watt solar panels
20amp MPPT charge controller
2x 110ah batteries

 

[Martin Gibson]

Hello,I've just been doing the same,buying all the supplies for my electrics/leisure battery and i bought an Ablemail 12-12-30 from Martyn @travelvolts. This charger comes with a really good reputation and is really small so should be neat to fit into an underseat set-up

 

[glensmadhouse]

hi i am new to the forum but wanted some help on charging a leasure battery , we have had a solar panel fitted along with a leasure battery and controler for charging . i am gonna be fitting all the units in the next few weeks and was in a undecided brain moment of should i fit the sterling bb1230 dc - dc b2b charger at a cost of £165 supply as i understand the smart alternater idea
but would i need it with the solar panel if we also have electric hook up i could fit a 240v charger , any ideas or opinions would be great , many thanks glen a newbee to vw world

 

[czmate1999]

Hi,

Would recommend you check out the posts by @Dellmassive on the subject of solar and Leisure Batteries, etc.

He may or may not have have gone into what you have asked already or provide other inspiration... - but either way his posts / videos are very useful!

CZ.

 

[Markymark]

Having mucked around with our electrics from the original one supplied by the converter we now have the following:

150W solar panel from Travelvolts
Redarc b2b charger also from Travelvolts
EHU and AC charger as supplied by the converter

we are now really really happy with our set up.

Just back from 7 weeks in Scotland (Orkney, Outer Hebrides and NC500). Didn’t use EHU once (only spent 2 nights in campsites).

as far as we’re concerned for our type of overnighting a decent B2B is a must. We weren’t driving much (some islands only 8 miles long) but were never concerned about having enough battery power (heater on every evening and all night on low. It was worth every penny spent and another long trip and it will have paid for itself in saved campsite fees.

Solar was sometimes briefly contributing 60-70W but couldn’t rely on it that far North in Sept/Oct/Nov.

 

[Dellmassive]

Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread

 

[Gooson]

Hi, I've searched through a lot of similar threads regarding the dc to dc chargers, there's a lot of information on these threads that mean nothing to me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm fitting a leisure battery with 240v shore supply in via a charger but obviously when I'm not on site the leisure battery won't get charged, its only there to power led lights and occasionally a little 12v fridge. Can anyone recommend what I need regarding the dc charger? I was tempted not to bother as go on site most times but not sure running the leisure batt down is good for it? Cheers in advance

 

[Dellmassive]

Have you seen this thread... ?

Dc-dc Charger (for Leisure Battery) -- How I Done It --

.

 

[Gooson]

Have you seen this thread... ?

Dc-dc Charger (for Leisure Battery) -- How I Done It --

.

Hi, yes I read that post, was very informative but lost me at points as to what one I actually need. I was looking at the Renogy one that's around £150, hoping that'll do the job? As you sound like you are well informed on these would you think it's OK?