Van battery duration

[SR Cleaning]

Hi just got my reach and wash fitted and I'm just wondering how long I will get out of my van battery or is there nothing to worry about.I travel about 3/5 minutes every day to work so I'm not doing many miles to charge the battery it's a 12 plate berlingo if this matters aswell.

Thanks in advance Shane

 

[Smurf]

ionic systems install?

 

[Tuffers]

Is there a split relay fitted? You will need to charge the battery even if you have one. I put mine on charge probably twice a week even though it gets charged while I drive around.

 

[Alien Human]

Is there a split relay fitted? You will need to charge the battery even if you have one. I put mine on charge probably twice a week even though it gets charged while I drive around.

Whoops.....didn't realise you were supposed to do that.

I have got split relay and never taken it out to charge seperately. Looks like I have been quite lucky as it hasn't run out on a job yet. Does yours ever run out Tuffers?

 

[Smurf]

Why would there be a split relay fitted if it's connected directly to the van battery @Tuffers ?

That what I was getting at as the only company I know of uses the van battery to power a wfp pump is ionics which is crazy

 

[Tuffers]

Whoops.....didn't realise you were supposed to do that.
I have got split relay and never taken it out to charge seperately. Looks like I have been quite lucky as it hasn't run out on a job yet. Does yours ever run out Tuffers?

Mine doesn't go flat because I charge it up regularly

My battery stays in the van and I take the charger to the battery.

Top Tuffers tip; when disconnecting a battery, take the negative (black) off first then the positive (red). When connecting a battery, connect the positive first and then the negative. :thumbsup:

 

[Tuffers]

Why would there be a split relay fitted if it's connected directly to the van battery @Tuffers ?
That what I was getting at as the only company I know of uses the van battery to power a wfp pump is ionics which is crazy

Does OP mention a split relay being fitted? No. That's why I asked the question.

 

[Smurf]

Just to clarify you should have a separate leisure battery fitted to power a wfp pump and not run the wfp pump straight off the van battery.

The idea of an intelligent split relay is to be able to also charge the leisure battery from the van alternator when driving about. If you don’t do much mileage in a day the leisure battery will eventually go flat. Likewise having a feed directly from the van battery to a wfp pump will also flatten that battery too.

 

[peter rogers]

ur battery wont lst the lenght of time it takes u to ****

u wil go back to the van and it will be dead

top tip from moi..... join the AA

 

[spruce]

ur battery wont lst the lenght of time it takes u to ****
u wil go back to the van and it will be dead

top tip from moi..... join the AA

............ but how many times will the AA come out to jump start his van?/emoticons/sad.png

We found that with limited mileage traveled on 2 vans using a van battery to power a single pump with controller gave us 4 days work before the van battery wouldn't start the van.

Webasto make diesel/petrol block heaters especially used in cold countries in winter. Power this unit up 30 minutes before starting off and you will have a warm engine and car interior with deiced windows ready for the start of your journey.

Webasto advise that if you run this for 30 minutes, then you need to travel for at least 30 minutes to replace the current back to the battery the unit and cabin heater fan has drawn during the warming up phase.

The same principle applies if you are using your van battery to power your pump. If you do limited mileage then a leisure battery is the best route (our experience) with regular auxiliary charging.

 

[SolarPanelCleaning]

Doesn't a van battery have a different discharge rate to a leisure battery? They're designed to chuck all the amps out in one go to turn your engine over?

Don't think I'd use a car battery for anything other than starting a car/van.

 

[spruce]

Doesn't a van battery have a different discharge rate to a leisure battery? They're designed to chuck all the amps out in one go to turn your engine over?Don't think I'd use a car battery for anything other than starting a car/van.

This is correct. However my feelings are that leisure batteries are leaning toward the traction/marine battery concept. You will notice recently that most leisure battery manufacturers also quote a cranking amps figure (CCA - cold cranking amps), as they now have to not only provided a power source as before but also are being employed to drive caravan movers which are modeled on vehicle starter motors.

See example

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Numax-CXV31MF-P3694.html

We have a local windie who has 2 batteries, a leisure and a starter battery. The previous 'set' he has now replaced were from the same manufacturer and were the same size. The car battery lasted him as a single operator 3 years and the leisure battery 3+1/2 years. They were swopped each day and the battery taken out was left on charge whilst the other was put into service. This however isn't quite as it seems as the car battery started to fail at about 2 and a half years which meant he had to use the leisure battery in the afternoon to finish the day off.

Now there are 2 of them (his son has joined him) I wouldn't expect the car battery to now last as long TBH.

 

[Pete Thompson]

I have a 115AH leisure battery and a split charge relay.

I never charge the leisure battery. Ever. The split charger is the only charging it gets.

Its been working perfectly for over a year and half.

I do live in a fairly rural area though, and do about 1hrs driving (total) on an average work day.

It's a pure2o system, fitted by ionics.

 

[Smurf]

That's interesting Peter.

May I ask what size tank and how much you paid for a pure20 system installed?

I have a 115AH leisure battery and a split charge relay.
I never charge the leisure battery. Ever. The split charger is the only charging it gets.

Its been working perfectly for over a year and half.

I do live in a fairly rural area though, and do about 1hrs driving (total) on an average work day.

It's a pure2o system, fitted by ionics.

 

[Pete Thompson]

That's interesting Peter.May I ask what size tank and how much you paid for a pure20 system installed?

You may.

It is a 400 litre hard-water (RO and DI) Pure2o system, installed in a VW Caddy.

I can't remember exactly how much it cost, but it was approximately £2,700 including vat and fitting. I also paid a bit extra to have the van floor done with speedliner or whatever they use now (which I highly recommend keeps the water off the paintwork).

Not sure about Ionics main systems, they look good but were out of my price range. Well happy with my pure2o system though, never had so much as a sniff of a problem with the system, so I would recommend.