Leisure battery

corktina

OK thats interesting....at present it is wired so that the fridge is running off the leisure battery as default. The relay connects the leisure battery to the engine battery when you start the engine.

From what you say, it seems you are saying the fridge should only be operating when the engine is running (or on gas)

Will check a few things that occur to me now

corktina

OK , rewired the fridge relay back to original. Seems to me the problem was my misconception that the fridge should run on the leisure battery when parked. Niloc pressed the right button in my head, thanks (to everyone)

Now I need get the gas going if that's possible....Aidan MM , can I call on you? Actually the ignitor switch is missing n I'm not sure we'll get anywhere without it.

Once thats done, I might persue the transformer idea as I could then run the fridge from the mains.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

AFAIK power does not flow from the vehicle battery to the fridge at any point, that's the point of the relay isn't it? to prevent the vehicle battery being run down ,when the engine stops the relay opens disconnecting the two batteries..
Power from the alternator should do this when the engine is running

Both batteries and alternator are linked to your fridge with the engine running common positive, common negative. So all 3 are powering your fridge...or I imagine the engine battery and alternator were powering a dead battery and a fridge previously.

The point of that relay is to stop draining the engine battery with the engine off.

You can still get service manuals for old vans. If Haynes don't do them. Try http://www.russek-publications.com/shop/shop.html I bought a paper version for my '70 odd to '95 van there.
Easy enough find factory service manuals online in .pdf on popular vehicles, love these, 1200+ pages and a separate book for wiring diagrams.

corktina

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

The point of that relay is to stop draining the engine battery with the engine off.

what I didn't ppreciate was that this would be by other 12v uses such as lights /radio and that the fridge shouldn't be working off the leisure battery at all. I don't think it's dead btw and should be OK powering just the radio and lights (radio probably works off engine battery anyway if using the standard wiring.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

..it has wiring like spaghetti...it has fuses at every corner.... it has wires going up and wires coming down and some just for luck that go nowhere....

Labels could save you lots of time in the future

corktina

m\ybe there were labels 26 years ago

corktina

corktina wrote: »

what I didn't ppreciate was that this would be by other 12v uses such as lights /radio and that the fridge shouldn't be working off the leisure battery at all.

corktina wrote: »

I don't think it's dead btw and should be OK powering just the radio and lights (radio probably works off engine battery anyway if using the standard wiring.

I'd say it's close enough to qualify, don't take my word for it though. Test it anyway.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

m\ybe there were labels 26 years ago

Probably better not have a working fridge. Don't really wanna be leaving food in that place with thems a-maraudin' gremlins aboot!

corktina

not a lot of use to me tbh if it wont run the fridge when parked up.... doesnt really matter if it's flat or not now, although it is charging at the moment and showing full voltage already

corktina

corktina wrote: »

not a lot of use to me tbh if it wont run the fridge when parked up

What about the camper discos in the wilderness? You'll be wanting it then!

corktina wrote: »

although it is charging at the moment and showing full voltage already

That's not a good sign. Reduced capacity, only surface charging etc.

corktina

i have a torch and failing that a box of matches :-)

tehehe...I remember those days.
I'll quote you on that in a year or two

Self-build campers are like ships they never work 100%, just gotta keep fixing/improving 'em. Never build something you can't unbuild.

corktina

not a self build camper though..purpose built on a Ford SVO (special vehicle order) van, built specifically to be made into a camper.

Ah, I just took the wild and easy electrics to be a predecessor's handy-work. Doesn't look like it came out of the factory like that.

Aidan_M_M

corktina wrote: »

Now I need get the gas going if that's possible....Aidan MM , can I call on you? Actually the ignitor switch is missing n I'm not sure we'll get anywhere without it.

.

Of course you can . Not next week though , I won't be working .;)

corktina

let me know then....

Aidan_M_M

corktina wrote: »

let me know then....

Thursday?

corktina

what about the switch though? I can get one on ebay,,,

Aidan_M_M

Which switch?

corktina

ignitor switch is missing

Aidan_M_M

corktina wrote: »

ignitor switch is missing

Ok. I have a battery powered auto one here, it'll do for test, no harm to buy the ordinary one yourself if you find one cheap.

corktina

i assume from that that the fridge can be fired up on gas manually?

Aidan_M_M

Um, not really. It's a proper igniter button, just for a newer fridge.

Seaswimmer

Slightly off topic for this post but what is the average life of a leisure battery from experience. Used for 3 or 4 weeks a year but mostly on hook up and left connected all the time with the engine run every few weeks for half an hour or so when not in use.

Between 2 and 11 years (I've heard on Trojans) depending on how well you treat them.
3 - 5 years average for most. The vast majority are killed long before their time.

If you treat them like electron fruit plants instead of functional objects you'll get your money's worth.

You should expect 4+, as you are keeping them maintained. Best take them in for the Winter and keep floating them inside. Charging a frozen battery will destroy it. Deep cycle batteries do need to be cycled between 10% and 40% discharge every once in a while this will keep the cells equalised.
Underused batteries (less than 10% depletion between charges) tend to only give surface charge after a while which manifests as a reduction in capacity.
(EDIT: I pulled this off another forum because I'm thinking equalising isn't the appropriate chemistry for this problem)

wrote:

Lead acid batteries DO suffer from memory effect, even though they are not supposed to, but as the battery you are using is designed specifically for cyclic use with fairly high discharge rates, you are probably not cycling the battery properly.

In theory a 200Ah battery SHOULD be able to provide 10A for 20H at the C20 Rate, but if you are only pulling an amp or two you would suppose you get 100H at least, but this isn't always the case.

I'd be tempted to use a higher load which works better with the plate construction for that type of battery....if you are only pulling off 'surface charge', then your plates will 'remember' that and you will only be getting chemical exchange in part of the plate surfaces. A recharge then recharges in a very short time as it's only partially discharged.

Always try to discharge your battery at somewhere between the C20 and C10 rating. For a 220Ah battery, that's a load of between 11A and 22A to get maximum effective cycling and proper Ah capacity.

I find people who cycle their batteries more frequently get the longest out of them rather than those who maintain them. I think this is a somewhat fudgey statistic though because clearly those who rely on batteries take the best care of them.

The problem with the transformer idea is the 12v element probably doesn't have a thermostat.