power inverter

pongo69

Is it possible to use a battery charger on a power invertor to charge the same battery so that I can use the lights when I am away?
Thanks for any help

exaisle

pongo69 wrote: »

Is it possible to use a battery charger on a power invertor to charge the same battery so that I can use the lights when I am away?
Thanks for any help

Eh...I think you need to explain that a bit better....

pongo69

exaisle wrote: »

Eh...I think you need to explain that a bit better....

if i am out fishing at the beach and there is no where to plug my camper in so can i use my leisure battery with a charger yo charge itself so i can use the lights and radio i dont want to use the motors battery as i might go flat and i cant start my camper as i found out HAHAHA

brightspark

No it won't work. A battery cannot charge itself.

Even with nothing else connected the battery will discharge quicker than the charger can charge it!

(And depending on the circuitry of the charger and inverter something might just go bang as soon as you try)

Irishgoatman

My 1989 camper wasn't designed with a leisure battery so how I overcame this problem was: I fitted a small(ish) solar panel on to the roof, connected it to a standard battery inside the camper and wired two of the interior lights and one cigarette lighter socked to the battery. This enables me to see what I'm doing, charge my 'phone and tablet and run a radio alarm clock via an inverter. So when I'm parked up no power is being taken from the starter battery.
The panel doesn't need sunlight, just daylight.

In five years the battery has never gone flat.

I won't mention the size of the panel because both Sir Liam and crabbypaddy would probably say that it's too small to be worth the effort and money.:(

But it worked for me.

Irishgoatman

Irishgoatman wrote: »

I won't mention the size of the panel because both Sir Liam and crabbypaddy would probably say that it's too small to be worth the effort and money.:(

Irishgoatman wrote: »

In five years the battery has never gone flat.

Proof is in the pudding IGM.
I think us techies are a little heavier on the lecky...;)

crabbypaddy

I think in his roundabout way he's saying that he wants to charge the starter battery from the leisure battery as he's flattened the starter battery using the cab stereo and lights.

This is the wrong way to go about things. You can cut the live to the radio and run a new one from the leisure battery then you don't need to worry about that.

For lights, just don't use the van lights fit led lights wired to the leisure battery and carry some good led torches / lamps for when you need light outside.

If you're planning on being away from hookup for long periods the first step is reduce consumption
- fit led lights
- avoid electric coolerboxes they eat power
- inverters also waste power so try to get 12v chargers for laptops, phones etc, rather than running from inverter
- car stereo headunits and factory speakers can be dreadfully inefficient a cheap solution is use a bluetooth speaker and spotify/phone radio when parked up, you'll get the same volume where you're sitting for fraction of the power you would use with the car stereo which is blasting it into the footwells and out the front doors.

brightspark

brightspark wrote: »

(And depending on the circuitry of the charger and inverter something might just go bang as soon as you try)

Can't imagine why it would, most chargers are current limited.
More likely the inverter will just shut down after it's finished destroying the battery. Unless it's a clever inverter that shuts down at a reasonable threshold which are as rare as hens teeth.
Mollified square waivers are very bad at powering battery chargers.

Irishgoatman

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I think us techies are a little heavier on the lecky...;)

So am I when I'm home but when I'm away I like a simple life. All the Bars and Restaurants are well lit up (along with me from time to time).:D