# Leisure battery charging



## jonybakery (Mar 31, 2010)

Hi All,

I have just had 3 new Elecsol 110ah batteries installed in my van. They have been charging on the mains now for over 24 hours. While hooked up to the mains I took a reading of the volts across one of the batteries and it says 13.92v. To get the battery to full charge it should read 14.4v per the battery instructions.

The charger in the van says it has a 14.4v output so I would think that this would do the job on my batteries.

Do I need to invest in an Elecsol charger to get full charge? Is there another charger that will do the job? Is there a way to get more out of the charger currently in my van?

I also have 2 solar panels hooked up with 250w of power. I use a juta 24 amp regulator. Is there a way of getting the reg to get the batteries up to 14.4v when being charged?

Cheers
Jon


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

You did not say how long they have been on charge but my guess is that with all of your power supply as indicated, you could already compete with Blackpool. Give the equipment a little more time to peak.
Alan


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

I agree with Alan but further to this I'm pretty sure the Juta is user programmable? I've just got one for £37 off ebay but wont get chance to fit and play with it until the weekend. The instructions are poor a Chinese attempt at English :lol:

Giving further thought it may be that they already peaked and are now on a float charge. This asuming that they were charged already when delivered which would be the norm


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

If it is the original battery charger you find it will struggle when the batteries get down to a low charge.
You need a charger that will charge them in a reasonable time the lower the ampage of the charger the longer it will take.
If it has say a 8 amp out put it could be days to fully charge them.
I saw this on a site and it may help

The formula for working out how long a charger will take to recharge a battery from 100% flat state is. The batteries Amp Hours x 0.7 divided by the chargers charging current in amps. If you use a 8AMP battery charger

200ah battery x 0.7 = 140
divided by 8AMP: 140/8 = 17.5 Hours

Andy


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## jonybakery (Mar 31, 2010)

Thanks guys


Maybe I should upgrade the charger, the current one is now 9 years old. I guess a new charger will keep the batteries in better condition.

Its been on charge for 48 hours, I'll test the voltage again in the morning.


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

Make sure you get one that will float charge them as well, not just wack them with high amps.

Andy


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## jonybakery (Mar 31, 2010)

Seeing as I've got Elecsol batteries, I thought i'd get an Elecsol charger.

This is what they do

Desulphation – Recovers a Sulphated Battery
Soft Start – Tests the Battery Condition
Bulk – Bulk Charge
Absorption – Peak Charge with Minimum Fluid Loss
Analysis – Tests whether the Battery retains the Energy
Recond – Reconditioning of a Drained Battery
Float – Maintenance for Maximum Performance
Pulse – Maintainance for Maximum Battery Life. 

I normally wild camp so I'm not hooked up that often but I think its good to get the batteries fully charged every so often.

If I do buy the new charger will it be easy to replace the existing charger? Or do you normally run them using croc clips?

Cheers
Jon


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Techno100 wrote.


> Giving further thought it may be that they already peaked and are now on a float charge


I'd agree. FWIW, Steve at Elecsol assures me that the Hymer Electroblock is perfect for charging and maintenance of their batteries. The voltage you're quoting is typical of what i see after the battery has attained a full charge & the charger has entered it's float phase, having previously peaked at 14.3-14.4 V.

Does the charger have a switch to optimise the charging for Gel & FLA ?

D.


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## jonybakery (Mar 31, 2010)

Hi guys.

The below link shows a picture of my in van charger. Does anyone know it and whether it will be ok for the Elecsol batteries?


__
https://flic.kr/p/5171085645

Cheers
Jon


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

Looking at the picture it does not show clearly what we need to see. But the picture of the battery on the charger suggests it's out put is 4.5 amp. 

That would not be enough for 330amps that you want to charge.
The elecsol charger seems to be the business but make sure it is okay for the ampage you need to charge.

You will need some thing around the 80amp mark to if it is not going to struggle when they are fully discharged ask elecsol what one they recommend

Andy


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Having now fitted my Juta charger I understand the charger stops at 13.7 volts by default :roll: This can be incresed via the menu, just find charge voltage cut off and press the + button to increase it.

I'm not recommending this seller but it shows a copy of the instruction book
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20A-SOLAR-PAN...065?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item336248a8c9


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

I went to fully check my system today. Under very dark grey sky my 80 & 60 watt solars were producing 1.1amp . I disconnected panels one at a time, the 60 gives .5amp and the 80 .6amp. Batteries are at 13.4volts. Could do with some current bun 8)


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

My batteries are FULL today and the Juta regulator is holding the voltage at 13.7. The RED charge indicator flickers as it aproaches cut off voltage and goes out when no charge is being permitted.


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