My leisure battery is not used as we are always on hook up and use the 12v transformer. My battery has gone flat though as the van is in storage with no charging taking place. I think, from what I have read that this would mean the battery is ruined? The reason I mention this is because on the first night away our CO detector alarm sounded twice in the night. There was no and had been no source of CO as no fuel was being burned or had been (no gas appliance had been or was being used and certainly no BBQ ). I suspected false alarm, but opened windows and turned off gas anyway as a precaution. Phoning the manufacturer of the alarm the next day, they suggest the leisure battery can give off H2 gas and this triggered the alarm. This seems a possibility if you google it. Checking the leisure battery it was making a bubbling noise and was hot. I disconnected it. Alarm did not sound again. Is the battery of no use now? Anyone else had these "false" alarms?
I have not had a CO alarm going off in the van but I have had several duff batteries bubbling and getting hot. Fortunately all in my workshop while trying to see if they were duff or not. They were gubbed.
It does interest me however that you say you do not use your leisure battery while caravanning.
Caravan sites are notorious for the mains power failing and as my water system only runs on 12v as does the blown air heating, I depend on having a fully charged leisure battery to give me heat, water and lighting when (not if) the mains fail.
Another point that bothers me about the CO alarm going off and the suggestion that it was from the leisure battery, surely your leisure battery is in a sealed but ventilated box outwith the inside of the van where the CO Alarm is situated?
There should be no way that any gas from the leisure battery is able to enter the van.
Quote: Originally posted by Si-the-gas on 21/8/2014Was your fridge running on gas ?
Good question.... Andy says There was no and had been no source of CO as no fuel was being burned or had been (no gas appliance had been or was being used and certainly no BBQ ).
So trying to run the fridge off the battery through a transformer??? Rather than plugging it into the EHU via a three pin (household) plug?
Thanks for replies. There is an open cable entry point in the battery box so gas could go through that. I will seal it with a blanking grommet.
The fridge wasn't running on gas or 12v. It was running on 240v mains hook up.
I hadn't realised what complicated and dangerous devils these batteries are now that I've done some reading up. I need to see what type of charger the caravan has, because I understand some aren't "smart" and don't fully charge either. The adria doesn't come with a battery so I am assuming it is ok to use without, just on the transformer. I have only known EHU to go off temporarily for a short time and we could manage with camping lamps and without the pump and blown air for a short time or could plug into car because that powers the van (lights at least to my knowledge).
The car take off point in caravan electrics is really just an emergency output from the car in case the caravan battery goes completely flat.
It should only be used minimally to run the odd 12v light and/or water pump and not as a second caravan battery.
<<< The adria doesn't come with a battery so I am assuming it is ok to use without, just on the transformer. >>>
I am not sure I understand this.
Are you saying that your model of Adria never had a battery from new, or are you saying that the Adria you bought S/H did not have a battery?
IE. Was there ever a battery fitted to this model?
If there was, then you should also fit a battery and a PSU.
I wouldn't use the car battery connection routinely, only if absolutely necessary, just saying that it's available.
The caravan was new and did not come with a battery. It has a "caravan charging system BCA". The caravan manual states "the caravan battery or the towing vehicle battery can provide power for connected devices when no mains connection is available. Mains operation is switched to automatically as soon as the 230v mains voltage is available."
I bought a 110a battery as an extra thinking that I may have later fitted a motor mover, but never did and have also always used EHU, so never relied on just the battery. The manual says only gel or AGM batteries can be used. It says the system will charge the battery but prevents overcharging automatically.
The battery has been left to go flat a couple of times due to the heating air fan left on and also left for more than 2 months, so I guess that has damaged the battery. If I replace it I will have take it out and charge it once a month.
A battery in a caravan levels out any surges caused by mains being reduced to 12v.
Also, caravan sites are notorious for mains power failures, either across the whole site or on the EHU that you and several others are connected to.
We use EHU all the time these days because of medical reasons but we always have a fully charged caravan battery and the means to use that medical equipment on 12v if necessary.
We have never had to, but, for peace of mind, we know it is there.
We have an older van but this year it has a brand new battery and a brand new PSU.
Medical reasons aside, we would never dream of caravanning without a good battery and a reliable means of charging it.
But that is just us.
Hi, have you changed the battery in the CO detector, we get false readings from ours at home when the battery is getting low. It maybe nothing to do with the leisure battery!
I have a Adria Adora Danube 2013 which came with 110Ah deepcycle battery ready fitted. The van also has main switch for 12volt circuit which isolates the supply to whale pump, cooker ignition and battery charger, truman heater elements thermostat etc if tripped voltage supply gauge drops from 13.4 volts to zero. but if EHU is tripped voltage still reads 13.4 volts. A battery can also over heat if topped up to high with distilled water as there is no way gas can escape. I also drill 8mm hole through battery box and floor and change vent pipe for longer lenght to extend a good 6 inches below van underside I use airpipe used for aerating fish tanks
Forgot to mention is your van fitted with radio and intruder + tracker alarms these items can flatern batteries very quickly if in storage or not used on a regular basis the station memory on radio draws power from battery as well as intruder alarms plus tracker device
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: CO detector and esiure battery
