Guest John Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 I am looking for a good battery charger in a new build. I hope to use a 110 Ah leisure battery and a solar panel of about 40 watts. Has anyone any experience of the Sterling Charger 1220 CE? Can anyone recommend a good charge controller for the solar panel. Where is the best place to buy a solar panel? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 The Sterling charging system has come up before on the forum. If you search on "sterling" you'll pick up some pros and cons comments in a long Battery-charging-on-the-move posting. Though I haven't checked, there's bound to be a load of stuff on solar panels too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Solar Panels, if you think your holiday style will benefit then go for something meaningfull, 80 watts for example. Its best to get a known branded solar panel. BP, Shell etc. Marlec Engineering in Rutland sell these as well as suitable regulators which are quite clever. Its nice to fit a simple analogue ammeter to display solar charging current. Your main van control panel should include a digital voltmeter function. This should be all the information that you need. Sterling charging system will ensure your battery is topped fully up, will require more regular maintenance and can result in high voltages (above 14) being applied to the battery (and anything connected to it) during parts of the charging cycle when the engine is running. Its a lot simpler and less hassle to fit a bigger battery(s) and assume 80 battery capacity utilisation. (Just like the starter battery!) The sterling system uses charging techniques commonly used for battery electric vehicles like milk floats etc where the battery is ALWAYS disconnected from the vehicle when its on charge. KISS is best and safest for motorhomes. Plug-in-Systems and several others make mains based charger-regulators for use when "hooked up". If you can, use gas for all heating and cooking and save battery amps for lighting, TV and that laptop! Eberspacher and Propex heaters consume battery amps all the time they are running and are a bit noisy. Truma and Carver don't consume amps once alight and are a lot quieter. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Thank you Tom for your advice. Are you suggesting that the Sterling System is liable to damage the leisure battery? Where can I find info on the KISS which you recommend? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 John: KISS is an acronym not a product. I believe it's normally expanded to "Keep It Simple Stupid" (though there are other variants that I'm sure you can imagine). KISS may well be WW II military-derived shorthand (like "snafu"), but it doesn't appear in my dictionary. Equally true for motorhomes would be Howard Hughes' aircraft-related advice "Simplificate and add lightness". (Bet you won't find this good stuff on other motorhome forums. "Education, education, education!" as my best mate Tone is always telling everybody.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Posted May 14, 2005 Share Posted May 14, 2005 Thank you Derek for putting me in the picture. I had thought KISS may have been connected to the company making wind generators. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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