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Hi Guybrush
An intelligent battery charger is similar to an ordinary battery charger you would use on you car battery to charge it if it was flat. A leisure battery needs a charger that has a different charging profile to a standard charger.
There are many variants of this type of charger on sale. This is the one we use;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Numax-Connect-Forget-12V-10Amp-5-STAGE-Leisure-Marine-Battery-Charger-/161195693706?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item258803168a
Halfords do different ones as well;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/ctek-mxs7-0-battery-charger
here's another;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-fully-automatic-battery-charger
You also don't need a fast charger when charging leisure batteries. Numax, a well respected (amongst some) leisure battery manufacturer recommend a charger that is rated at around 10% of the leisure battery's capacity. We have found that the 10 amp Numax works well on the 85 amp batteries we have on 2 of our vans and the 110 amp I have on mine. A 20 amp charger would be too big.
Depending on the amount of work you are doing on a daily basis, I would suggest you recharge your battery every second day. Sometimes I do mine every night depending on the days work load.
A split charge relay is typically a switch that joins your van's charging system to your leisure battery when the engine is running to give a supplementary trickle charge whist you are on the move. Its not a must/got to have item but it can be fitted at a later date. It saves you having to charge you leisure battery overnight as often.
We use similar units to this;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CARAVAN-SPLIT-CHARGE-RELAY-KIT-30-AMP-12V-/161446719966?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Touring_Travel&hash=item2596f971de
Its easy to install and works well.
You can find all sorts of useful info on motor home/RV forums regarding leisure batteries and split charge relays. Our use in WFP is similar to theirs.
Here is an example of the type of heater you would want
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4150499.htm
Something similar would do but must have a frost protection. Remember, you don't need the van to be toasty warm over night. My frost stat is set to come on at around 1 degree and go off at about 2 degrees. (My heater is a simple 800 watt converted wall heater which is at least 30 years old with a frost thermostat added.)
(We do have our r/o in the garage with a 1000 litre IBC tank rather than in the van as we each need to fill up our tanks at different times in the day. The r/o is fitted in a cupboard that is warmed by a tube heater and temperature controlled by a thermostat.)
I have a 650 litre tank in my Citroen Relay van and I have also found that throwing an old double duvet over it at night works well. My pumps are mounted on the side of my tank and the duvet covers them and the 2 hose reels at the back. I usually fill my van at night and even with the water at 6 or 7 degrees it will help to keep the pumps and hoses from freezing.
The only issue I have ever had is frozen van ports.
I also found a second hand factory bulkhead on ebay to separate the cargo area from the cabin area.
We have found that painting the van floor is worth the effort as it does protect the floor against water spills. (We sit our hose reels on rubber mats as they are inclined to damage the paint surface when lifting/taking them in and out of the vans.) The reason why I recommend Protectakote is that it is a non slip paint. I once hurt my back very badly when I slipped on a yet to be plylined floor of a brand new van with wet shoes getting inside. Had I been window cleaning then and had the same 'accident' I would have been laid up for at least a week. In that case £80 worth of Protectakote would have paid for itself many times over.
I'm not sure about the latest model Dispatch but the earlier ones did have the cargo area floor lower than the cabin floor. This is great because any water spills will be contained in the back area and not fill up the driver's footwells with water.
Hi Guybrush
An intelligent battery charger is similar to an ordinary battery charger you would use on you car battery to charge it if it was flat. A leisure battery needs a charger that has a different charging profile to a standard charger.
There are many variants of this type of charger on sale. This is the one we use;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Numax-Connect-Forget-12V-10Amp-5-STAGE-Leisure-Marine-Battery-Charger-/161195693706?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item258803168a
Halfords do different ones as well;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/ctek-mxs7-0-battery-charger
here's another;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-fully-automatic-battery-charger
You also don't need a fast charger when charging leisure batteries. Numax, a well respected (amongst some) leisure battery manufacturer recommend a charger that is rated at around 10% of the leisure battery's capacity. We have found that the 10 amp Numax works well on the 85 amp batteries we have on 2 of our vans and the 110 amp I have on mine. A 20 amp charger would be too big.
Depending on the amount of work you are doing on a daily basis, I would suggest you recharge your battery every second day. Sometimes I do mine every night depending on the days work load.
A split charge relay is typically a switch that joins your van's charging system to your leisure battery when the engine is running to give a supplementary trickle charge whist you are on the move. Its not a must/got to have item but it can be fitted at a later date. It saves you having to charge you leisure battery overnight as often.
We use similar units to this;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CARAVAN-SPLIT-CHARGE-RELAY-KIT-30-AMP-12V-/161446719966?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Touring_Travel&hash=item2596f971de
Its easy to install and works well.
You can find all sorts of useful info on motor home/RV forums regarding leisure batteries and split charge relays. Our use in WFP is similar to theirs.
Here is an example of the type of heater you would want
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4150499.htm
Something similar would do but must have a frost protection. Remember, you don't need the van to be toasty warm over night. My frost stat is set to come on at around 1 degree and go off at about 2 degrees. (My heater is a simple 800 watt converted wall heater which is at least 30 years old with a frost thermostat added.)
(We do have our r/o in the garage with a 1000 litre IBC tank rather than in the van as we each need to fill up our tanks at different times in the day. The r/o is fitted in a cupboard that is warmed by a tube heater and temperature controlled by a thermostat.)
I have a 650 litre tank in my Citroen Relay van and I have also found that throwing an old double duvet over it at night works well. My pumps are mounted on the side of my tank and the duvet covers them and the 2 hose reels at the back. I usually fill my van at night and even with the water at 6 or 7 degrees it will help to keep the pumps and hoses from freezing.
The only issue I have ever had is frozen van ports.
I also found a second hand factory bulkhead on ebay to separate the cargo area from the cabin area.
We have found that painting the van floor is worth the effort as it does protect the floor against water spills. (We sit our hose reels on rubber mats as they are inclined to damage the paint surface when lifting/taking them in and out of the vans.) The reason why I recommend Protectakote is that it is a non slip paint. I once hurt my back very badly when I slipped on a yet to be plylined floor of a brand new van with wet shoes getting inside. Had I been window cleaning then and had the same 'accident' I would have been laid up for at least a week. In that case £80 worth of Protectakote would have paid for itself many times over.
I'm not sure about the latest model Dispatch but the earlier ones did have the cargo area floor lower than the cabin floor. This is great because any water spills will be contained in the back area and not fill up the driver's footwells with water.
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