Yesterday, i bought a lovely Puck (1992) that's in excellent condition, really well looked after by her present owner. However, there is an improvement i would like to make so would like some advice please. She has the normal 240v hook up. She has a leisure battery but no charger and currently no means of charging battery and cooling the fridge while driving along. The wires into the internal lights, battery etc at the tow hitch have been separated from the running lights , so, to use the battery when camping, there is link set up from there to the battery by means of an extension with crocodile clips to the battery, this means the 12v system will work inside. So, my questions are, is this ok and safe? Can anyone offer advice for a small charger to have fitted so i can recharge batery and run fridge on battery while driving? Am i right in thinking that the wiring at the front will just need plugging into the twin socket on my car? Any advice would be great. Thanks everyone!

Zitat

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She has a leisure battery but no charger

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Something like a ctek charger would do

http://www.ctekchargers.co.uk/?gclid=CIyY-YGSoMUCFSLmwgodGXcABw

Zitat

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The wires into the internal lights, battery etc at the tow hitch have been separated from the running lights

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I don't understand what you mean there? does the caravan have a single13 pin plug to connect to the car .......or 2 seven pin plugs one black and one grey?

Zitat

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Am i right in thinking that the wiring at the front will just need plugging into the twin socket on my car?

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Yes if wired correctly and the van has twin plugs see above

Note the fridge will not run on a site from your caravan battery the 12v setting only works from the car while the engine is running as it gets power from the car alternator

Zitat

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The wires into the internal lights, battery etc at the tow hitch have been separated from the running lights , so, to use the battery when camping, there is link set up from there to the battery by means of an extension with crocodile clips to the battery, this means the 12v system will work inside.

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Again not sure whats happening there? a picture of that might be useful

My Old 1993 Puck didn't power the fridge when driving, we got round that by having the power on the van for at least two days before we went on holiday, the fridge/ freezer was at its optimum temperature before setting off and we added a few ice packs for good measure. The longest trip we do is about 2hrs 30 minutes and the Fridge/freezer was still very cold when we got to our destination. As for charging the leisure battery when on site we used a CTek as Nev suggests.

I emailed CTEK, to specifically ask which is the best charger for my Caravan 95 Ah Gel battery, please see below their reply:

The charger that I recommend is our MXS 5.0 following is taken from our website. http://www.ctek.com/gb/en/chargers/12v

The MXS 5.0 is an advanced microprocessor controlled battery charger with automatic temperature 110Ah. The MXS 5.0 solves a broad range of battery problems and is the ideal charger for the user compensation built in providing unrivalled performance on lead-acid batteries from 1.2Ah up to with high demands. Features of the MXS 5.0 include diagnosis of battery condition to establish if it can receive and retain charge, patented automatic desulphation step and a special reconditioning step that will revive and restore deeply discharged and stratified batteries. AGM option is perfect for maximizing performance and life of most Stop - Start batteries. The built in temperature compensation ensures ideal charging performance even in the most extreme conditions. Patented Float/Pulse maintenance makes the MXS 5.0 ideal for long - term maintenance. The entire process of battery testing, charging and maintenance is easily followed on the clear LED display.

The MXS 5.0 is a fully automatic "connect and forget" 12V charger with 8 charging steps and offers selectable SMALL BATTERY, and NORMAL BATTERY programs. The RECOND and AGM options operate individually or together in both SMALL BATTERY and NORMAL BATTERY programs providing great flexibility for the user. Wide charging range on all lead-acid battery types from 1.2Ah up to110Ah with additional maintenance capability to 160Ah. Splash proof and dust proof (IP65). The MXS 5.0 is easy and safe to use, protects vehicle electronics, is spark-free, reverse polarity protected and short circuit proof.

Pete fitted a schaudt booster to charge his battery (thats pepe le pew)

Quote: LookaPuck wrote in post #1

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, to use the battery when camping, there is link set up from there to the battery by means of an extension with crocodile clips to the battery, this means the 12v system will work inside. So, my questions are, is this ok and safe?

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Thanks so much for your replies, sorry i have been late replying but have been working away for a few days and no internet connection. Thanks Hob and Poptop for the info regarding the CTek charger, looks good so i will look further into it! So, if i understand it right, even if i get the caravan engineer to redo the connection to the car for the interrnal 12v system, and if get a Ctek charger, i still wont be able to work the fridge when driving? In that case, there seems little point in buying a charger, getting the electrics redone just so i can charge the battery on site (which i wont use on 240V hook up anyway!) The only question seems to be the water pump, will it work on 240V or 12V alone or does it have to go through the battery and charger? I guess i will just have to try when it comes on Monday. All these questions, really appreciate your help so far, thanks one again!! :-)
Peter

The water pump is 12v so needs to run from the battery ...........having said that the only other thing that will run off the battery is 2 12v lights so a fully charged good sized battery should run those for a good amount of time and if not on hookup you should be able to run the fridge on gas.

Thanks Hob, you have summarised perfectly what i was thinking, so there really is no need to change anything, or am i still missing something????