Extra leisure battery.

Dead easy Paul

Use hefty cable and wire up the two batteries + to + and - to -  (Plus to plus and minus to minus). You could install a fuse between the two, but the automotive engineer who checked my installation for me said it wasn't necessary, as there was already one in place for the existing battery. (I wasn't 100% confident of my knowledge of electricity, so I erred on the side of caution and went to the engineer armed with a nice bottle of wine.)

Position the two batteries as close together as is feasible, and get advice on the size of cable needed. Peter #1 will know.

It's as easy as that. To all intents and purposes you then have only one battery - your charger unit will work fine, although it will obviously take longer to charge up the double battery, but by the same token it will take twice as long to discharge.

Dave

Thanks for that Dave, sounds straight forward enough, only thing is the cupboard I was going to house the extra battery in I.e the cassette loo space is about 14 to 15 feet away from the other battery, will that be to far? Also does it matter if the batteries are different in power?

Cheers
Paul

That's far from ideal - you will get a large voltage drop over such a long run, unless you use very heavy gauge cable, which would make it difficult to install. A large voltage drop will make it difficult for the alternator to charge the rear battery at speed, so it will probably charge very slowly while you are driving.

If you do choose an installation with two batteries - one at each end of the van - then it is imperative that there is a fuse at each end of the positive connection between the two. This is because either battery has the potential to set fire to your van if there is a short to the chassis on that interconnecting wire.

Connecting batteries of different A/h rating should not be a problem. However, connecting two batteries where one is more recent and in significantly better shape than the other will be - typically the better, more recent battery will partially discharge into the weaker of the two, so if one is in a poor state you effectively end up with two weak batteries.

It's quite common for people to see the appeal of having two batteries worth of capacity, but it's not so common for people to realise that - as a fairly accurate generalisation - two batteries will also take twice as long to charge fully as a single battery, and running two half-charged batteries is likely to lead to a much lower overalll battery life than having a single battery that is kept fully charged.

A solar panel is definitely worth considering - they have come down a huge amount in price and you can now get 100-120W semi-flexible panels for less than £150, and rigid framed ones for a lot less than that. Unless you go away a lot out of summer season, I would recommend a solar panel in preference to a second battery.

As has been mentioned in another thread, this is a mine of electrical information. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks guys, Caz has now informed me she'll keep her extra storage space now  I'll just replace my old leisure battery with the new 135AH Battery that I bought, reckon that should be enough upgrade for now, then get out and use it.

Cheers,
Paul & Caz

Hi Paul

If it's any comfort we have only run out of (110 Amp Hour) battery power once, and that was in France when we found two lovely private farmyard Aires within 20 miles of each other where it was permitted to stay for more than one night. Unusual for us as we normally use Aires only for a one night stopover en route, and prefer ACSIs or Municipals when we "get there".

We stayed for two nights on the first, and three on the second, and on the fifth evening without hookup the low battery alarm sounded. Not to bore you with detail, but the farmer very kindly reeled out a long cable and hooked us up for the evening - and wouldn't accept a penny!

A 135Ah battery should be fine, but Mojo's suggestion of a solar panel could be worth thinking about. 80 Watts should be enough, and as he says they have come down in price a lot.

Dave


P.S. If you are travelling only a short distance between "off hookup" stops, switch your fridge off - it won't defrost in a couple of hours. I didn't realise (that time in France) how much the fridge hogs power from the alternator when on the move, leaving relatively little to charge the battery. (Thanks to Mark Burdett at Autosleepers for the tip.)

Mr Gromit... Who is good in our area for the fitment of a solar set up ? I am a bit anal about my kit so would like a competent installer who takes great care of the vehicle and the installation.. 

We plan on touring Europe next year once we have got used to the vehicle and how everything works and the wee daft things we need to pick up along the way.

The wish list is for a decent Solar set up and a fully automated satellite set up as well.

Not to concerned about having it all fitted this year but will definitely have everything in place for next year.   

Hi Charlie

I can't help with a recommendation for a local solar panel fitter, other than the obvious. Ours came with the van, and I suppose Autosleepers are the obvious ones to fit yours. They won't be the cheapest, but they know your van better than anyone and I'm sure they would do a good job. Willersey can't be far from you either!

As for the automated satellite (for TV I presume) I would advise caution before spending a lot of cash. Ever since we went digital you can pick up a signal in most of the UK using a short length of wet string as an aerial. I jest only slightly!  And you don't have to be careful not to park under a tree or too near a high building.

Any satellite of the size fitted to a motorhome roof begins to struggle south of the Paris latitudes since the satellite footprint was drastically narrowed, so it seems hardly worth the considerable expense for such limited use abroad. (I know you can pick up some English language stations a long way south, but most of the Sky channels are unobtainable? We certainly wouldn't bother.)

Sorry I can't be more help.

Dave

Gromit wrote:Hi Charlie

I can't help with a recommendation for a local solar panel fitter, other than the obvious. Ours came with the van, and I suppose Autosleepers are the obvious ones to fit yours. They won't be the cheapest, but they know your van better than anyone and I'm sure they would do a good job. Willersey can't be far from you either!

As for the automated satellite (for TV I presume) I would advise caution before spending a lot of cash. Ever since we went digital you can pick up a signal in most of the UK using a short length of wet string as an aerial. I jest only slightly!  And you don't have to be careful not to park under a tree or too near a high building.

Any satellite of the size fitted to a motorhome roof begins to struggle south of the Paris latitudes since the satellite footprint was drastically narrowed, so it seems hardly worth the considerable expense for such limited use abroad. (I know you can pick up some English language stations a long way south, but most of the Sky channels are unobtainable? We certainly wouldn't bother.)

Sorry I can't be more help.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I have the details of a guy who comes well recommended and is down Taunton which isnt to far. If there was a similar person up this way then that would be better but no problem !

I spoke to the factory regarding them fitting a satellite receiver and they just sent me to a place in Birmingham.. I did call them and got a price but thought it best to ask around a bit and seek recommendations where possible .  

Thanks again ! 

That will be VanBitz I guess.

I agree, Eddie is excellent. One of the best and most genuine people I have dealt with.

If you go he will give you a free night on his very nice campsite, and he also fits satellite dishes if you still decide you want one. He's not the cheapest, but probably the best. His after sales support is superb, and that's worth a lot!

Ashley will run you into Taunton in the morning for a bit of retail therapy, or there's a frequent bus service. It's a 10 minute walk to the bus stop though, which may not suit.

We've dealt with him several times and never had the slightest complaint.

Dave

Gromit wrote:That will be VanBitz I guess.

I agree, Eddie is excellent. One of the best and most genuine people I have dealt with.

If you go he will give you a free night on his very nice campsite, and he also fits satellite dishes if you still decide you want one. He's not the cheapest, but probably the best. His after sales support is superb, and that's worth a lot!

Ashley will run you into Taunton in the morning for a bit of retail therapy, or there's a frequent bus service. It's a 10 minute walk to the bus stop though, which may not suit.

We've dealt with him several times and never had the slightest complaint.

Dave

It is in fact Eddie ! Your recommendation is appreciated and in addition to the others means I shall look no further. So thanks for that  

I have no problem paying top money so long as a top job is done !

Thanks again