Ours stays connected all year, as you know our van stays outside with no cover etc, apart from a last minute clean before lay up, it does'nt get a charge until we use the van again, my current battery is a 10 year old Varta

Mine stays in the van and I connect the EHU for a day every month or so. So far all is good.

When we had Trolls I don't even remember topping up the battery over winter and they seemed OK.

We have a little solar panel that opens up like a book, it's connected to the battery then we stand it in the window that gets most sun. We like to think it gives the battery a trickle charge. Ellen.

I was looking at the CTEK website and noticed that there are different chargers for different batteries, they have dedicated chargers for leisure batteries because of the higher Ah. , The website FAQ says that they are also suitable for GEL batteries. I already have a CTEK for my car but it is unsuitable for the 95 Ah Eriba battery

http://www.ctek.com/gb/en/chargers

attached to the solar all year.in eriba. keeps battery at 14 volts during day.
we use a solar on car battery to keep charged while not in use

I take ours out and it goe's in the garage on a trickle charger.

ours are fixed to roof think factory fit
buy as many watts as you can afford, add in a charge controller/regulator if buying solar panel on own saves over charging battery

a 250 watt kit the review is worth reading at the bottom

the car solar is similar to this one
a friend has one of these on his lawn mower, the battery was low when came to start every 2 weeks, but fitting this and leaving attached while parked has made starting easy.
ours is always connected to car via 12v power socket..

we go off grid more times then hook up, we did 17days lasting only on solar, inverter and battery, our power is normally used to run energy saving bulbs and charging phones and radio, the system was running for about 8hrs each evening while we crafted..

you may of read about me strongly suggesting OH move off his side of bed due to charge rate not charging as fast as normal, it turned out to be the awning light being left on...but the charge was going up while running the halogen light bulbs x2

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. The MXS 5.0 features a 5- year warranty.

Best regards
Pierre

Bien sur! Brian, £57 from Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-Battery-Aut...&keywords=msx+5

Pierre

We have the CTEK MSX 5.0 for our leisure battery, its an excellent piece of kit.

Charlie

I see Aldi have this on offer on Thursday https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/th...tery-charger-1/