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Leisure battery charger just sparked and broke after 10 years.

Messages
140
Location
Northumberland
It's one of the old ring chargers. Just failed to auto cut off stupidity turned it off then on again and as the battery was overcharged it blew it!. 

So need a new one there is a screwfix near me I see they sell the newer ring which one is recommended?

Cheers ?

 
Daft question, have you tried changing the fuse in the plug? I have an older ring charger than the current offering (no auto cut off) and managed to touch the red and black clips together recently - big spark and it was dead. Changed the fuse and back in working order again.

 
Daft question, have you tried changing the fuse in the plug? I have an older ring charger than the current offering (no auto cut off) and managed to touch the red and black clips together recently - big spark and it was dead. Changed the fuse and back in working order again.
Might be worth a try but it's parts from inside and there was a burning smell from the actual unit I'll be very fortunate if it was a fuse don't think it is really I really have to get a new one today so should I go to Screwfix?

 
Won't hurt you to try a fuise will it - only takes a few minutes. If that doesn't work then off to screwfix you go. No brainer really mate - make it work cheap or shell out serious money - i know what i'd try first. You can always keep the fuse.. lol

 
Won't hurt you to try a fuise will it - only takes a few minutes. If that doesn't work then off to screwfix you go. No brainer really mate - make it work cheap or shell out serious money - i know what i'd try first. You can always keep the fuse.. lol
I wouldn't go as far to say serious money but maybe 50 or 80 quid but yeah fair enough I guess I'll have to get the screwdriver out lol.

Just one thing when it was overcharging the battery the battery actually performed a lot better now I'm starting to wonder if this charger actually wasn't charging the battery correctly

 
I wouldn't go as far to say serious money but maybe 50 or 80 quid but yeah fair enough I guess I'll have to get the screwdriver out lol.

Just one thing when it was overcharging the battery the battery actually performed a lot better now I'm starting to wonder if this charger actually wasn't charging the battery correctly
Maybe you are correct. These things are just starter battery chargers designed to give a flat battery enough charge to start the engine.

IMHO you need to be looking for a proper leisure battery charger designed for purpose.

Like this;

https://www.tayna.co.uk/battery-chargers/numax/leisure-12v-10a/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmL-ABhDFARIsAKywVae4u0JkLSJBn17in2hYKdfpmLy1UkfyfAcqoUgUTkrIIy7VnUxK2BAaAhz7EALw_wcB

 
Maybe you are correct. These things are just starter battery chargers designed to give a flat battery enough charge to start the engine.

IMHO you need to be looking for a proper leisure battery charger designed for purpose.

Like this;

https://www.tayna.co.uk/battery-chargers/numax/leisure-12v-10a/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmL-ABhDFARIsAKywVae4u0JkLSJBn17in2hYKdfpmLy1UkfyfAcqoUgUTkrIIy7VnUxK2BAaAhz7EALw_wcB
Tanya told me that this charger which is listed on their site as a leisure battery and a car battery charger is the same, as you know I use the Numax charger to charger a wfp system battery, I also use the same charger on my van battery as needed more so with doing short runs as my van battery was down to 50% at the weekend. 

 
Tanya told me that this charger which is listed on their site as a leisure battery and a car battery charger is the same, as you know I use the Numax charger to charger a wfp system battery, I also use the same charger on my van battery as needed more so with doing short runs as my van battery was down to 50% at the weekend. 
Its primarily a leisure battery charger that will work with a starter battery as well.

The instructions for the Ring charger just say that when the charge light turns to green you switch the charger off. Its not designed to be left connected to the battery to keep it fully charged like ours are.

When I used a car battery charger to charge the leisure battery on my wfp trailer it was a disaster. It was probably a combination of the battery on the draw bar in the elements and a rubbish battery charger.

Its funny you should say that your van's battery was down to 50% this weekend. My van battery hardly ever shows 12.7 volts. Its usually 12.4 to 12.5 the evening after both battery were fully charged the previous evening.

 
Its primarily a leisure battery charger that will work with a starter battery as well.

The instructions for the Ring charger just say that when the charge light turns to green you switch the charger off. Its not designed to be left connected to the battery to keep it fully charged like ours are.

When I used a car battery charger to charge the leisure battery on my wfp trailer it was a disaster. It was probably a combination of the battery on the draw bar in the elements and a rubbish battery charger.

Its funny you should say that your van's battery was down to 50% this weekend. My van battery hardly ever shows 12.7 volts. Its usually 12.4 to 12.5 the evening after both battery were fully charged the previous evening.
Aha got ya, defo need a charger that will go into a float state 

My vans battery been depleted was also a bit to do with having to park in tandem in front of the garage as until I had the side door on the garage reinstated I was having to move it multiple times in a day when I was off, plus sitting the van with the radio playing on work breaks, 

When I had a breakdown guy come out maybe 2 years ago he said sitting in the van with the radio on and the blowers on for a bit without the engine running through the winter months would also deplete the battery, so I do try and remember to charge my vans battery once a month only takes about 30 minutes 

 
Aha got ya, defo need a charger that will go into a float state 

My vans battery been depleted was also a bit to do with having to park in tandem in front of the garage as until I had the side door on the garage reinstated I was having to move it multiple times in a day when I was off, plus sitting the van with the radio playing on work breaks, 

When I had a breakdown guy come out maybe 2 years ago he said sitting in the van with the radio on and the blowers on for a bit without the engine running through the winter months would also deplete the battery, so I do try and remember to charge my vans battery once a month only takes about 30 minutes 
Errr....am I missing something here?leave your engine running while having your lunch!....I always do all year round...it charges my batteries plus I have my diesel heater running for 6 hours a day...

In the summer I have my air con blasting in my cab during breaks...heaven on a hot day!??

I would NEVER have my ignition on with heaters blowing through the vents with my engine off.....your asking for trouble IMO.....

 
The instructions for the Ring charger just say that when the charge light turns to green you switch the charger off. Its not designed to be left connected to the battery to keep it fully charged like ours are.
I've got one of those ring charger starters too. Somewhat daft design really. Yes it's great at starting but the fact that it doesn't drop into a trickle charging mode once the battery hits tops is just stupid. I did email ring recently about that and ask them what happens if the battery hits peak in the middle of the night - they said it would be fine left on and just to turn it off the next day.

When I used a car battery charger to charge the leisure battery on my wfp trailer it was a disaster. It was probably a combination of the battery on the draw bar in the elements and a rubbish battery charger.
I use one of the older Halfords automatic chargers. It's way better than their current offerings as it can recharge larger capacity batteries (upto 110A) which their newer ones aren't designed for. It also switches into trickle charge once done and is suitable for leisure batteries and motorbikes too (both lead acid and gel types). They're not available new anymore but if you can find a used one at a car boot etc then it's probably worth having if the price is right. Got these images via google..

5ab8f20299c7ef258d1ea8ad.jpg   image1.jpg

 
Ok I guess I'll buy it not bad but £65 it doesn't seem to have any digital Dials like my previous one.

By the way the battery is 110 amps
The linked Numax charger is good for batteries up to 165amp. If you have 2 x 110 amps linked together then a 20amp is better.

Remember, you shouldn't be recharging your leisure battery when its flat. Its recommended that you never drop below 50% charge and you should charge it as often as you can.

Yesterday I was working on our estate. My 105 amp leisure battery was 87% charged when I got back after a short run. The charger went on when I got home. I usually leave it on overnight. I have a B2B charger in the van and have wired the charger in so it charges both my leisure and van battery.

 
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Errr....am I missing something here?leave your engine running while having your lunch!....I always do all year round...it charges my batteries plus I have my diesel heater running for 6 hours a day...

In the summer I have my air con blasting in my cab during breaks...heaven on a hot day!??

I would NEVER have my ignition on with heaters blowing through the vents with my engine off.....your asking for trouble IMO.....
I don't see any point running my engine needlessly, it will clog the dpf plus cause extra pollution 

 
I don't see any point running my engine needlessly, it will clog the dpf plus cause extra pollution 
It doesn't clog the dpf!that's a myth!?....as for pollution I dont care.....its better than having a flat van battery or  depleting my leisure batteries!it also helps me keep warm/cool depending on what time of year....?

 
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It doesn't clog the dpf!that's a myth!?....as for pollution I dont care.....its better than having a flat van battery or  depleting my leisure batteries!it also helps me keep warm/cool depending on what time of year....?
Also it didn’t take a breakdown guy to tell me that using anything electrical in your van without the engine running would discharge the battery!! Why have the blowers (presumably the heater) on without the engine running. Where’s the heat coming from?

 
Also it didn’t take a breakdown guy to tell me that using anything electrical in your van without the engine running would discharge the battery!! Why have the blowers (presumably the heater) on without the engine running. Where’s the heat coming from?
Woo Hoo get you, previously never had any issues using motors with decent big batteries, my combo was fitted with a smaller battery even though the tray was much bigger no doubt penny pinching when it was first rolled out, 

Since that issue a got a decent Banner battery and keep an eye on it to ensure it's not getting depleted, I do less than 3,000 miles a year, I ain't got a clue about motors, also don't need heat to quickly demist a windscreen during the day. ?

 
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