# Home Hook-up



## Smokeyjoe (Nov 30, 2009)

I get the idea this is subject to many different opinions but I wondered if there is any safe common practise. We tend to leave our van plugged in to the mains on the drive when we're not using it (we tend to be away every other weekend, plus holidays). Reason we do that is a) the handbook doesn't say don't, b) our weekends away tend - this time of year - to use the domestic battery well and we don't use sites for a weekend generally, and c) I've a serious issue with the amount of care I can give to a motorhome with a life so full in other ways, and can't be running back and forth switching off after 20 hours on return and 20 hours before departure. 
So, you can imagine my consternation to be told by a dealer that, long term, this can tend to cook the battery. It's an 11 month old van and is clearly well sorted with an Elektroblok, etc. Should I succumb to one further discipline, and have to worry about switching on and off?
What do you think?
Thanks


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Ours is plugged in all the time when at home, as advised by our dealer! 8O 

Modern chargers are designed safely to regulate the charge to the battery, though perhaps it was not a good practice in the distant past when they were not so sophisticated?

Dave


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

If you have a "wet" battery keep it topped up with distilled water.

I have recently installed a solar panel and found that the electrolyte level in the leisure battery does go down slowly. It never did before.

As Has been said many modern chargers will not overcharge.


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

My manual specifically states I may leave the charge connected, although I choose not too as it took my nearly a week to realise that it uses 800w in "charge" mode.

I checked everywhere including the garage in a compound 50m away before checking the big white box on wheels on the drive. Doh!


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Never a problem in 25 years with 24/7 hook up at home


Dave p


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## Smokeyjoe (Nov 30, 2009)

Andysam said:


> My manual specifically states I may leave the charge connected, although I choose not too as it took my nearly a week to realise that it uses 800w in "charge" mode.
> 
> I checked everywhere including the garage in a compound 50m away before checking the big white box on wheels on the drive. Doh!


Interesting. Our little checking device shows our house uses about 4-5p constant at night, fridges, nightlight, standby's, etc, etc. I'll check the book to see what our Elektroblck uses, but it'll mostly be trickle charge.


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

Andysam said:


> My manual specifically states I may leave the charge connected, although I choose not too as it took my nearly a week to realise that it uses 800w in "charge" mode.
> 
> I checked everywhere including the garage in a compound 50m away before checking the big white box on wheels on the drive. Doh!


This is over 60 A at 12V. This current would certainly cook the battery.
Mine uses very much less than this and in fact switches off much or the time.

The maximum charging current should be one tenth of the A-Hr capacity if the battery requires charging an falling to nothing at about 14.5V Modern chargers do this.

800W sounds as if you have a heater on in the van somewhere.

Safariboy


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Am I missing something here. Why leave the van hooked up if your not using it?

I can sort of understand it if your keeping heating on in the winter if your not using the van but for charging shouldnt the battery just stay charged?

We never leave ours hooked up. The longest its been left without use is probably just a month or so though. The battery seems to be in the same state it was when I left it. Anyway presumably if you go off somewhere its going to be topped up by the time you have driven to where your going anyway.

Or am I wrong?


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## Dick-Vanagogo (Nov 26, 2010)

barryd said:


> Am I missing something here. Why leave the van hooked up if your not using it?
> 
> I can sort of understand it if your keeping heating on in the winter if your not using the van but for charging shouldnt the battery just stay charged?
> 
> ...


Hi, Yes and No to your answer, it all depends if your charging system is of the split system type, ie when the motor is running firstly it will recharge the starting battery first, when this is at it's max then the system will then change over to charge the leisure battery from the alternator topping this up until the Vehicle battery demands the charge back.

Well I think that's how it work's, I'm sure someone will clarify this or not.

Personally I keep mine hooked up when at home on the drive, as I then now that the leisure battery will be on trickle charge all the time. This is similar to having a solar panel fitted to keep the leisure battery topped up or the main Vehicle battery when kept in storage.

Hope this may help.

Dick


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## DJMotorhomer (Apr 15, 2010)

Hi

We leave our "Mo" hooked up at home and put the PSU on SMART charge, which trickle charges both batteries. Never any prob.

Dave & Jan


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Electroblock equiped Hymer for me. It's on charge 24/7 whilst not in use. That's what its designed specifically to allow. I'm optimised for long term use of 12V only & recharging through solar. But lots of people are'nt. So when they pitch up they need to plug in, possibly for weeks at a time.

The EBL charger in its standard form has a maximum charging current of 18A at between 12 & 14.4 volts-ish. If you're van's consuming more
than this is going elsewhere.

D.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I still dont understand. As soon as I start my engine the leisure battery starts to charge. I know this as if you have the switch in the back set to leisure battery the needle pings right over like it does when on hook up. I find that if we have been wilding for say 4 days without hookup an hours drive or so will top it up for another couple of days. Moving on often like this I never need hookup.

IF I know I am going wilding for say a long weekend I might plug the van in at home for say 5 or 6 hours and its fully charged, especially when I get to my destination.

I still dont see what advantage there is of leaving it plugged in for months on end. I wouldnt feel happy doing it in case there was a fire or some kind of electrical problem (and a cable trailing out of one of my windows).


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## Bob45 (Jan 22, 2007)

We leave ours on mains hook up all the time. It powers a small oil filled radiator in winter and keeps the fridge freezer going as well as we often over flow from the kitchen fidge and fridge freezer in the garage.
We also use the M/H as a 4th bedroom when needed.
No problems so far.
Bob


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

safariboy said:


> 800W sounds as if you have a heater on in the van somewhere.
> 
> Safariboy


Not sure where it's going but we have no electric anything in the van apart from the 3 way fridge and 12v lights. Heating is diesel, water is gas only and no electric heaters are plugged in.

Anyhow, problem solved...I unplugged it :lol:


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

barryd said:


> I still dont understand. As soon as I start my engine the leisure battery starts to charge. I know this as if you have the switch in the back set to leisure battery the needle pings right over like it does when on hook up. I find that if we have been wilding for say 4 days without hookup an hours drive or so will top it up for another couple of days. Moving on often like this I never need hookup.
> 
> IF I know I am going wilding for say a long weekend I might plug the van in at home for say 5 or 6 hours and its fully charged, especially when I get to my destination.
> 
> I still dont see what advantage there is of leaving it plugged in for months on end. I wouldnt feel happy doing it in case there was a fire or some kind of electrical problem (and a cable trailing out of one of my windows).


As far as I am concerned the reason for plugging it in is that there is a steady drain on the cab battery due to the security system and the various computers that modern base vehicles seem to need to be running all the time. The discharge current is about 170 mA and over a few wks that is significant. There is no need to keep the leisure battery topped up as it does not seem to discharge.
The alternative is to disconnect the cab battery and this is possible but not convenient and the security system is off. When turned back on everything seems to start up OK.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

As Safari boy says the batteries will go flat if you don't trickle charge them. My engine battery used to go flat in 3 weeks and this does not do them any good at all. It shortens their life. If your engine battery is not charged when on hook up fit a Battery Master, you will not regret it. 

peedee


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi!



barryd said:


> I still dont see what advantage there is of leaving it plugged in for months on end.


There are several reasons: In practically every MH, as well as in every modern car, there are a few devices which are always powered on. Think of a boiler safety valve, a clock or something. By themselves they use very little power, but over weeks or months they drain the battery considerably. And this kind of slow drain is the one thing lead batteries dislike the second most, after deep discharge.

And there is also a certain self-discharge, which happens even if the battery is completely disconnected.

A battery also does not like to be stored in partially charged condition for extended periods.

The easiest way to compensate for that, and keep the battery in healthy condition, is to first recharge the battery to 100%, and then switch over to continuous trickle charge. Modern multi-stage battery chargers do just that. In trickle charge mode they also consume very little power. You have to pay a little tribute to your electricity board (unless you have solar cells), but it pays off many times by extending battery lifetime.

With wet batteries you should however check the acid levels from time to time (e.g. once a month). But this should be done anyway.



barryd said:


> I wouldnt feel happy doing it in case there was a fire or some kind of electrical problem (and a cable trailing out of one of my windows).


I have installed a blue CEE connector close to my van's parking place on my ground. So no cables hanging out of any windows.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

Seems to me the simplest solution to some of the perceived issues mentioned on this thread is to use your motorhome. My van vehicle battery might flatten over 3 weeks (although to be honest I think 6 is nearer the mark), but there's rarely more than 10-12 days inbetween us using ours. Do those people who keep the van plugged in on the drive think those of us who keep our vans in external storage compounds need to jump start them every time we use them?

I've only had the van battery go flat once, on the previous motorhome, and that was because a numpty electrician had wired a reversing camera to permanent 12V. Longest I left it was 7 weeks (especially bad weather meant we couldn't get away), started first time (and yes, X/250 with an alarm fitted).

Likewise I've only had the hab battery go flat once, and that was because of counter-intuitive operation of my satellite dish (when front panel says "off", it's not really off, it means you are able to press the on/off button to turn it off...obvious really :roll: ). If your hab battery is draining when the van's not in use there's something wrong.

Paul


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Rosbotham said:


> Do those people who keep the van plugged in on the drive think those of us who keep our vans in external storage compounds need to jump start them every time we use them?
> 
> Paul


Nope, but there have been plenty of posts where they have been in trouble and asking about using solar chargers to keep the batteries topped up.

peedee


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I refer the honorable gentleman to the first sentence of my post. If a van battery goes flat in 3 weeks, there's either something wrong with it or a drain that needs looking into.


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

Rosbotham said:


> I refer the honorable gentleman to the first sentence of my post. If a van battery goes flat in 3 weeks, there's either something wrong with it or a drain that needs looking into.


The X250 cab with a security system gives a drain of 170mA. This is the result of an actual measurement.
This is about 86 A-Hr over 21 days. 
A 110 A-Hr battery should not be allowed to go 50 A-Hr and in storage I would be unhappy with that discharge.
Fiat admit that there is a constant drain and recommend removing the battery earth connection if the van is to be left for any period. They put the figure at nearer 50mA. (25 A/Hr per 21 days) But that does not allow for a security system and is not what I have found.

The problem is that these vans were designed for every day use.

Safariboy


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Yep.

My experience confirms what Safariboy just said, though ours doesn't drain quite that quickly. Maybe our after-market security system doesn't draw quite so much current? (Strikeback)

Hence the permanent hookup and Battery Master . . . and the peace of mind that comes with it! :wink: 

Dave


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I accept there's drain, but sorry, I don't accept that there should be so much. I've had Cobra alarms on both my X/250s. The last one was left for 6 weeks in subzero conditions and started just fine. Longest the new one has been left is 3 weeks, but again has started and battery condition according to the control panel = "good". The only time I've had a flat is when an incorrectly wired reversing camera on the old van was pulling 0.2A constantly. I've actually got the technical spec for the Cobra 4400 in front of me here...armed with ultrasonics & siren, current draw = 6mA. 

As I've commented on other threads though, the old van used a Peugeot radio (so nothing fancy), and I'm reasonably certain the radio on my Autotrail is fed from the leisure rather than hab battery so doesn't drain it. I'd be interested if you were to disconnect your radio and see what the current drain is Safariboy. Otherwise, you wouldn't happen to have a reversing camera would you?


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Does it matter whether the drain flattens a battery in 3 weeks or 6 weeks. I have never actually measured my drain, don't have a need with a battery master. I certainly do not have a fault but a Mercedes chassis, a Scorpion alarm system and the radio runs off the engine battery.

Surely what matters is the batteries will go flat if the vehicle is not used and that is not the way to treat them. 

Can we not settle for 3 to 6 weeks and it is not a good idea to let the batteries discharge or to leave a vehicle idle for long periods?

peedee


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

peedee said:


> Can we not settle for 3 to 6 weeks and it is not a good idea to let the batteries discharge or to leave a vehicle idle for long periods?


Oh yes, of course we can agree. That's where I came into this discussion in the first place : if you use your van regularly, there's no need to worry about the battery going flat...

Depreciation on my van is about a tenner a day. On that basis alone, I use it as much as possible.


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

Ours stays plugged in over the winter, with a frost protection free standing heater in it. 

Once the heater comes out, I tend to switch the power off during the week, only switching it back on over a weekend to top the batteries up or in preparation for going away (at which time the fridge also gets switched on).

I have noticed that the control panel shows power going in to or out of whichever battery I have switched, but once the battery is fully charged the "IN" arrow for the power fluctuates between 0.05A and 0.00A, so I'm assuming it drops on to trickle feed at that point.

Only once over the winter did I allow the cab battery to get fairly low and I got a nice text from "Tracker" telling me it was getting low... 8) 


Ken.


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