Replacing a caravan batter charger.

pjordan

I'm looking to replace the charger on my Elddis Avante. I'd been doing an internet search looking to replace it and I was wary of dismantling the PSU to find the well concealed charger until I came across some pix on a caravan thread.



My existing faulty charger is the supposedly poor quality PS276 which it is apparently possible to replace with an improved multi stage replacement AE276 (from a UK company called Apuljack) whilst another suggestion is the less expensive option of a Sargent PX300 Battery Charger which is fitted externally to the PSU (still within the seat well).

I'm angling towards the latter option as much for easy of access and ventilation, as much as price and I'm confident of my ability to complete the slight adjustment work required to achieve this.

I understand both options are much better for providing a trickle charge for maintaining leisure batteries while leaving caravan plugged into mains supply over the winter. But I'd welcome any thoughts that anyone has on this?

Jaden

I decrypted your cypher Jaden. :P


It broke. Don't bother fixing it, the next will fail again. Sargent are old school ferroresonant maintainer junk. They were bad 20 years ago, by today's standards they're boat anchors.

Promariner ProNautic, Victron, Ctek, Sterling Power make better more reliable chargers in order of precedence.

I feed PSUs to MPPT MorningStar Solar controllers and make them solar/mains chargers and I have found these to be the best but no off-the-shelf solution.

dee bee

[quote="Sir...

I feed PSUs to MPPT MorningStar Solar controllers and make them solar/mains chargers and I have found these to be the best but no off-the-shelf solution.[/quote]

I wish you'd speak English. I'm sure there's a lot to learn in what you say, and I really try, but not being an electrician or 'electrically enabled', I've to wait for other posters to reply before I can make sense of the solution. 😔😩😫

It means I build better chargers than you can buy.



That's a 2kW mains, 4kW Solar, 60A fully programmable hybrid charger with temperature compensation.
Cost me about €350 to build.

For the rest of you that buy off the shelf chargers, that oughta buy a 20A fixed algorithm might kinda charge a battery but not all the way jobber.

I don't buy mains battery chargers (never met a good one). I buy MPPT solar controllers and use PSUs as artificial PV arrays. It works waaay better and much cheaper than two units.

Come to think of it Ctek Marine are far far superior to standard Ctek. I think it's the temp sensor that makes all the difference. The silent mode select which derates the charger from 15A to 3A is a joke though. I just transplant the noisy fan for a silent one.