# cab battery charge



## roverman (Mar 14, 2006)

hi all
has anyone ever tried to charge the cab battery by linking from the solar fed leisure battery connections, would it work once the leisure one has registered full,or will this be disastrous, I have a professionally fit solar panel fitted but i don't think it has a split charger to direct to the cab battery after the leisure one is charged
has anyone any suggestions

regards

Roverman...


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

I installed a BatteryMaster which does precisely that and does it reliably, once the leisure batteries are full, any excess goes to the vehicle battery, but it cannot go the other way.

The BM was about £60 and it took me 10 minutes to fit - three wires to connect to the split charge relay, very easy, instructions are excellent and it is 100% reliable solid state components so no relays to fail......

Great piece of kit and one that I would recommend without reservation, they are made by VanBitz and I believe;

VanBitz direct; £69.95

http://www.vanbitz.com/product/battery-master/

ODB no longer seem to sell them.....

Dave


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Just link the positive on the hab battery to the positive on the vehicle battery with an inline fuse of say 15amps. The negative side (earth) is already shared. This will mean that the batteries will equalise themselves in voltage terms but it should not matter if your hab batteries are fairly well charged.

JohnW


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

+1 for the Battery Master. It is very small and can fit virtually anywhere in the engine bay near the battery. It has a couple of LEDs that tell you if the batteries are equalised or if the hab battery is higher voltage than the VB.


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Sorry Dave but the battery master does not work like that at all.
It will transfer charge from the leisure to the engine battery whenever the latter is more than half a volt lower than the former.
The alternative is the CBE CSB2 which does prioritise the leisure battery and much cheaper at £22 ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111262381698?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

BTW the battery master is available from Jim's shop on FUN @£59


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## p-c (Oct 27, 2007)

Hi Techno100
I like the sound of the CBE CSB2. Does it work OK with the MPPT controller?
p-c


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

p-c said:


> Hi Techno100
> I like the sound of the CBE CSB2. Does it work OK with the MPPT controller?
> p-c


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## p-c (Oct 27, 2007)

Hi Techno100
Very many thanks. I was worried that it might confuse the controller but as you have it rigged in....
p-c


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## csmcqueen (May 12, 2010)

Yup +1 for the CBE CSB2, works great!

My vans been sitting for 6 weeks and all 4 batteries are fully charged thanks to solar and the CSB2


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