water freezing on windows

[Pjj]

My battery is connected to the vehicle battery. I occasionally go for a longer drive to get it charged up. The battery powers a reel and pump. 

Should I be connecting it to a charger for a good charge, and if so, how frequently? 

It has never died on me yet but I appreciate I could be shortening it's life by not fully charging it. 

How long is a piece of string , it depends on a number of things , how many hours is it running a day what the amp hour rating of the battery is , what the charge rate is and so the list goes on , to charge it a couple of times a week with a decent smart charger certainly isn’t going to hurt it , that’s what I would do ,I have always charged mine every night .

 

[NewGuy]

How long is a piece of string , it depends on a number of things , how many hours is it running a day what the amp hour rating of the battery is , what the charge rate is and so the list goes on , to charge it a couple of times a week with a decent smart charger certainly isn’t going to hurt it , that’s what I would do ,I have always charged mine every night .

Cheers, I don't think I need to charge it daily but I suppose the occasional charge might do some good.  

 

[ched999uk]

My battery is connected to the vehicle battery. I occasionally go for a longer drive to get it charged up. The battery powers a reel and pump. 

Should I be connecting it to a charger for a good charge, and if so, how frequently? 

It has never died on me yet but I appreciate I could be shortening it's life by not fully charging it. 

You need to charge it when the voltage is a low, fully charged is about 12.7v.

Just so you know a leisure battery should only be discharged to 50% of it's capacity. Discharging it more will damage it and reduce it's capacity to hold electricity. To get an accurate voltage reading you really need the battery to sit for about 4 hrs without and charging or discharging. 50% capacity is about 12.2v. 

About 4 hrs after you get home measure your battery voltage if it's less than 12.7v then it's not fully charged and needs topping up. You should test say each day for a typical week to give you an idea of how often to charge.

Remember that if you have a split charge relay and if you drive a lot then it will probably be recharge but just a few miles, say under 50 miles and you probably wont be fully charged!

By keeping the discharge above 50% you will extend the battery life. The more times you take it under 50% the shorter it's life will be.

 

[NewGuy]

I can see the voltage on the controller and it is usually around 13v at the start of each job.  It goes down to circa 11-12v after a job or two.

 

[ched999uk]

I can see the voltage on the controller and it is usually around 13v at the start of each job.  It goes down to circa 11-12v after a job or two.

It might be worth buying a cheap multimeter so you can check each night. 

Just to let you know a powered reel will but about 25Amps while reeling in. The pump about 4Amps while running.

So if your reel takes 1 min to pull hose in, if you do that 60 times a day then that's 25Ah out of your battery. Say your pump is running say 3 hrs = 12Ah. So that's 37Ah out of a 110Ah battery? If you only drive a couple of miles you might put 5Ah back into the battery. If there is no other charging then gradually the battery will go below 50%.

Hope that helps you understand a little.

 

[NewGuy]

It might be worth buying a cheap multimeter so you can check each night. 

Just to let you know a powered reel will but about 25Amps while reeling in. The pump about 4Amps while running.

So if your reel takes 1 min to pull hose in, if you do that 60 times a day then that's 25Ah out of your battery. Say your pump is running say 3 hrs = 12Ah. So that's 37Ah out of a 110Ah battery? If you only drive a couple of miles you might put 5Ah back into the battery. If there is no other charging then gradually the battery will go below 50%.

Hope that helps you understand a little.

Yes, that's very helpful. Thank you ?

 

[Davy G]

In nearly seven years I have almost never needed to mains charge my leisure batteries. I never used to mains charge when I had a single leisure battery until, after the first two or three years when my son started working with me. Then the one leisure battery was not able to cope with two pumps. I mains charged it a few times and was going to scrap and replace it. Then I thought~I wonder if it might be ok to keep it and pair it with a new battery so the two could share the load.

I checked with Varitech and was told that it was a good idea and that it wouldn't overload the electrical system. That's what I did. I still have the original battery and the newer one is now also several years old.

As a matter of interest I checked the combined voltage two days before returning to work after Christmas. The reading was 12.3v. As an experiment I mains charged the two batteries for two days and nights using a very high quality diagnostic Durite charger.

When we started back at work the reading was 2.8v. After a couple of hours it was around 12.3v~12.5v, the normal working level and that's where it remains.

Conclusion : I personally don't need to mains charge my batteries for my use with two controllers and pumps. The Durite SCR takes care of it without any mains charging.  We don't have electric reels. We don't feel that we need them to each reel in an average of twenty or thirty times a day (very light exercise) . I have considered going electric with an open mind but it's not for us in the near to middle future. We probably would have to mains charge if we went for electric reels.

My main reasons : Two of the main subjects of discussion on the forums are : electric reels and the expenses and problems associated with them. And, the extra demand put on the batteries and the need to mains charge them regularly.

I may change my mind one day but for sure it's not in my plans at the moment.

I think a lot of people are missing a trick by not using two big beefy leisure batteries in tandem to share the load.  NUMAX XV35MF 120 AH get my vote.

I'm not telling anyone what they should do. Just sharing what works impeccably for us. ?

 

[spruce]

Bladder control and memory function probably. ?

Now I'm worried! What happens next?

 

[dazmond]

If your powering a diesel heater and electric reel every day then you should be charging your batteries overnight as a matter of course regardless of having a split charge relay fitted....

If it's just a pump or two,no electric reel or heater and have a decent split charge relay fitted then you may not need to charge them up at all depending on the mileage and hours you work....

 

[spruce]

In the early days of WFP we hadn't a clue what we were doing tbh @NewGuy.

We learnt a lot from trail and error as there was very little info based window cleaners experience available.

My lad had a Peugeot Partner van 800LX and we experimented using his van's starter battery as the single pump's power supply using a controller.

His area is roughly within a 5 mile radius of home. His van's starter battery was flat after 4 days. He had to bump start it on the 4th day to get home.

I fitted a leisure battery with a split charge relay and I charged his leisure battery every night as he also parked his van on our drive way and walked home.

A short time after this his van's starter battery needed to be replaced. We tried the same experiment again with his new battery, and again, his starter battery was flat within 4 days. There was a fellow window cleaner I communicated with in the South of England who had the same van and ran his pump successfully from the starter battery without ever having to recharge it. The only difference was our traveling to and from base to work took 10 minutes either way at most. He was invariably stuck in traffic and this gave his alternator more running time to replenish the charge in his battery.

When son in law joined us we tried to run his pump from the starter battery on his Transit Connect. The distance he traveled was further but he used the motorway. I think his van's battery was flat in 7 days.

So for us, we have never been able to rely on alternator charging alone to run our systems. For many years now I plug my van in every night in winter along with a heater and every second night in summer. Now I have a diesel heater it will be plugged in every night in summer as well.

An Australian magazine once stated that it would take a motorhome a distance of 750km to fully recharge an onboard leisure battery from flat.

 

[windowsurfer]

I have an electric reel, I don't know anything about voltage n don't check that stuff, I have a golf buggy leisure battery n just plug in charger each day, I do have an outside socket on drive, that makes live alot easier of taking it out to charge.

I enquired about a split relay to be fitted, but think it was about £500, so decided against it. I know they only cost about £30. I travel around 100miles a day, so split relay would keep a good charge in battery.

 

[ched999uk]

I enquired about a split relay to be fitted, but think it was about £500, so decided against it. I know they only cost about £30. I travel around 100miles a day, so split relay would keep a good charge in battery.

Split relays are cheap but if you have a vehicle with a 'smart' alternator then you need a 'battery to battery' (B2B) charger and they are not cheap. One good brand is Sterling, a 30Amp one is about £180 plus fitting!!! I still think £500 was taking the mickey even if you do need a B2B charger. Installation shouldn't be much difference between split charge or B2B, I would guess less than 2 hrs work and maybe £50 max on materials.

 

[NewGuy]

Split relays are cheap but if you have a vehicle with a 'smart' alternator then you need a 'battery to battery' (B2B) charger and they are not cheap. One good brand is Sterling, a 30Amp one is about £180 plus fitting!!! I still think £500 was taking the mickey even if you do need a B2B charger. Installation shouldn't be much difference between split charge or B2B, I would guess less than 2 hrs work and maybe £50 max on materials.

I think this is what I have. It's a "smart" battery fitted by GrippaTank. Essentially it's being charged by the vehicle's main battery

 

[ched999uk]

I think this is what I have. It's a "smart" battery fitted by GrippaTank. Essentially it's being charged by the vehicle's main battery

Split charge relay is very basic and supplies battery voltage to leisure battery when van battery above certain voltage. A B2B charger is needed for vans with 'Smart' alternators (usually with start stop systems). Basically to reduce emissions the alternator is 'switched on' when you let go of throttle or brake. Some smart alternators also charge with a much higher voltage (some around 18v). They also monitor how much electricity is being consumed regulate charge to maintain battery charge. Hence why they need more sophisticated charging systems.

So either a B2B or a split charge relay will charge a leisure battery but you need the correct one for your van!

 

[NewGuy]

In that case, I have no idea what system I have! 

 

[Part Timer]

In that case, I have no idea what system I have! 

A highly technical man of my own heart ?

 

[spruce]

I have a Sterling B2B BB1260 charger.

I have a 62 plate Peugeot Boxer. The alternator charges the starter battery at 13.9v. This is a safe charge voltage as the starter battery is in the floor of the driver's compartment. (My previous van was an 04 plate Citroen Relay. The starter battery was located in the engine compartment and the alternator charge output was 14.6v. So that worked fine for my flooded leisure battery but wasn't so good for a maintenance free battery.)

Here is the thing; a maintenance free leisure battery should be charged at 14.2v and a flooded leisure battery 14.6v. I can use a split charge relay on my current van as it doesn't have a smart alternator, but charging at 13.9v I'm never going to fully charge either leisure battery.

I have to option on my B2B charger to alter output charging voltages.

 

[NewGuy]

In that case, I have no idea what system I have! 

I have a B2B system ?

 

[Part Timer]

I have a B2B system ?

Who did you ring and ask

 

[NewGuy]

Who did you ring and ask

I can't hear on the phone ?

PS - this is what I have.

https://www.grippatank.co.uk/full-kit-12v-30amp-smart-battery-to-battery-charger