This is my first winter with our campervan (1998 autosleeper executive) and I am in the process of draining water etc for the winter.
Many places it says to remove the leisure battery or at least disconnect it to prevent discharge and damage.
I have a solar panel (PV) fitted to the van with a charge controller which keeps the battery topped up. Any thoughts on whether it is better to remove the battery or leave it connected as it will be trickle charged when necessary duing the winter anyway so should not discharge?
Provided you know the battery starts the layup well charged then leaving it connected to the solar charger is about as good a way to preserve the batteries life as you can find.
All assumes the kit is working, there is no over heavy drain and where stored the solar cell is seeing a fair bit of direct day light.
The battery is well charged as we were out in the van last week and the Zig shows full charge. I will be turning all the other systems off so there should be no drain and I will need to keep any eye on the snow fall to make sure the panel stays clear and seeing at least some of the winter sun.
Quote: Originally posted by bordercaz on 26/10/2012
What a waste. Vehicles don't like sitting around doing nothing for months at a time. Get out and about for some winter camping instead.
With the battery still in the van there is a chance that we might well brave the winter in it - main problem is the short days that we have this far north in the winter - maybe we should be heading south.................
The same could be said for the vehicle battery too mind you. If at all possible I would suggest starting it up every week or two and ideally moving the vehicle a few feet to stop the tyres standing in one position too long and keep the brakes free.
Failing that then take the battery off and give it a top up once a month, chock the wheels and leave the hand brake off.
As already confirmed the solar panel will be fine to keep the battery topped up and prevent discharge (unless it's covered in snow for any long period)
I am assuming from your post you have a sensible sized (10 watt minimum)solar panel and not one of the £20 jobbies that put out a quarter of a watt when placed on the surface of the sun.
If the temperature falls to -20 like it did 2 winters ago no amount of trickle charging from a solar panel will save your battery. Of course , at night , it doesn't get charged. The acid in the cells can freeze , it can expand , bending the internal plates. -1 or -5 it's unlikely to hurt the battery but if it's going to sit for a while ( 2 or 3 days )in anything like -10 or lower, I would advise you remove it to somewhere a bit warmer. Lets face it, it doesn't take long to take it out and it's not difficult either.
Solar panels have their maximum output in direct bright sunlight and no output in darkness. Think about those days in winter when the sun is low , the sky clouded or very hazy, the temperatures low or below freezing. Foggy days, morning and evening mist, the panel iced over, maybe you can see that the output from you solar panel won't be doing a great deal.
When batteries are being used every day , heat is generated inside the battery , either by being discharged or charged. Chemical reactions are taking place which also generate heat ( just a little ) so even in very cold temperatures the battery is fine. Besides that , the inside of the caravan / motorhome will be warmer when people are in it, all helping to keep the battery happy. It's completely different to an empty van at night in winter , low to the ground where it's colder.
Having said that, I am an electronics engineer and not a seasoned caravanner. There are plenty of people on here with years of experience of caravan ownership that will probably know better than me . Just leave it fitted , why not ?
------------- Camping to the ex.tent that I like awnings as a bit on the side.
Frozen battery? never seen a charged one in 60 years in the trade. Even in '67 when I recovered 20 buses with frozen diesel in a single day. The batteries were still good. Of course a dead battery can freeze, But if it goes flat the instant a trickle charger goes off its knackered anyway. -20 two years ago? mostly wind chill (how windy inside your van?) How many cars did you see with frozen batteries? I felt sure car and caravan batteries were the same!!!
------------- VENI VIDI VACATIOUS (I came, I saw, I stayed for an holiday).
I was talking to someone a couple of months ago who owns a motorhome. He told me that if you have a fixed solar panel installed then the leisure battery should not be disconnected and the reason being is that the solar panel is still accepting a charge from the sun but nowhere to distribute the power thus eventually burning out the solar panel. He said that after purchasing a motorhome from a dealer it had to have some work done under the warranty and during that specific time of work carried out they removed the leisure battery to which he couldn't claim for a new one as he had no proof so he had to go out and buy a replacement solar panel at his own expense. I don't know if there is any truth in this and it's just a word of advice but when you think about it logically it does make sense.
Quote: Originally posted by babygrumplin on 08/11/2012
Frozen battery? never seen a charged one in 60 years in the trade. Even in '67 when I recovered 20 buses with frozen diesel in a single day. The batteries were still good. Of course a dead battery can freeze, But if it goes flat the instant a trickle charger goes off its knackered anyway. -20 two years ago? mostly wind chill (how windy inside your van?) How many cars did you see with frozen batteries? I felt sure car and caravan batteries were the same!!!
Hi your comments are noted and respected.
I have seen batteries frozen inside. I have seen them in trucks and cars. I have seen them with the filler caps pushed out by ice. I have seen them cracked on the outer casing by ice. think none of them were likely to have been in a charged state. More likely they were completely flat !
However, I bow my head to your greater wisdom and experience.
Leave it in the van , why not ?
------------- Camping to the ex.tent that I like awnings as a bit on the side.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 08/11/2012I was talking to someone a couple of months ago who owns a motorhome. He told me that if you have a fixed solar panel installed then the leisure battery should not be disconnected and the reason being is that the solar panel is still accepting a charge from the sun but nowhere to distribute the power thus eventually burning out the solar panel. He said that after purchasing a motorhome from a dealer it had to have some work done under the warranty and during that specific time of work carried out they removed the leisure battery to which he couldn't claim for a new one as he had no proof so he had to go out and buy a replacement solar panel at his own expense. I don't know if there is any truth in this and it's just a word of advice but when you think about it logically it does make sense.
On solar panels ( as far as I know ) it won't hurt the panel if it's left open circuit. There are thousand of solar panels all over the place in the sun with nothing connected to them. Small ones and big ones. No current flows in an open circuit. Like in a battery that has power in it but no current flows unless a circuit is connected. I think possibly , someone has been pulling
the blokes leg with a rumor or sidestepping their responsibility by lying !
When you buy a solar panel, it has nothing connected to it.
As for batteries freezing well if a battery could freeze then Santa wouldn't be able to start his sleigh.
You test antifreeze concentration by measuring the specific gravity with a hydrometer. You also check the specific gravity of the battery electrolyte with a similar tool which indicates the state of charge. A discharged battery has a similar specific gravity to water with a 25% concentration of antifreeze which would freeze at about -12 degrees. but when charged it it is the equivalent effect to overdosing on anti freeze.
A brand new fully charged battery will not freeze unless the outside temperature is minus 77 F. A battery that's only charged to 75% will freeze when the outside temperature reaches minus 35 F. A 50% charged battery will freeze at -10 F. A 25% charged battery will freeze at + 5 F
Quote: Originally posted by amara 520 on 09/11/2012
A brand new fully charged battery will not freeze unless the outside temperature is minus 77 F. A battery that's only charged to 75% will freeze when the outside temperature reaches minus 35 F. A 50% charged battery will freeze at -10 F. A 25% charged battery will freeze at + 5 F
In Celcius, that would translate to:-
A brand new fully charged battery will not freeze unless the outside temperature is -60 c. A battery that's only charged to 75% will freeze when the outside temperature reaches -37 c. A 50% charged battery will freeze at -23 c. A 25% charged battery will freeze at -15 c
In the UK, unless you are right up in the Scottish Highlands or the top of Snowdon, we very rarely drop to -15. Even at the north and south poles, extremes of -60 are rare.
Quote: Originally posted by amara 520 on 09/11/2012A brand new fully charged battery will not freeze unless the outside temperature is minus 77 F. A battery that's only charged to 75% will freeze when the outside temperature reaches minus 35 F. A 50% charged battery will freeze at -10 F. A 25% charged battery will freeze at + 5 F
ah , yes amara ....... thank goodness for GOOGLE and Yahoo eh ?
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We have ended up talking about flat batteries that freeze !
We haven't heard anything from the person who asked the question .......Ivor3648
While we are all at home freezing like a flat battery at -5 , too scared of the cost to put our heating on I bet he's gone off on a jolly in his campervan
I hope Ivor3648 doesn't think we have hijacked his post .
Post last edited on 09/11/2012 20:43:19
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Topic: Solar panel and leisure battery
