tonyfletcher Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Hi, Anyone out there using one of these from Road Pro: STERLING 50A 12V BATTERY-BATTERY CHARGER Feedback welcome Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_C Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 tonyfletcher - 2010-01-31 8:13 PM Hi, Anyone out there using one of these from Road Pro: STERLING 50A 12V BATTERY-BATTERY CHARGER Feedback welcome Cheers Tony I have a Sterling 24v-12v battery to battery charger to charge our 12v leisure battery set from the 24v vehicle system. Works very well. AndyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I have one too, works very well for me, made genny redundant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I have one here as well, on test. Also CTEK and WAECO also do a B2B charger - which I have for evaluation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 So...normally vehicle battery and lesiure batteries are independant of each other? leisure battery charge whilst driving? and when plugged in to 230v? but vehicle battery only charges while driving? is this correct? and this B - B charger, charges either way, preventing either going flat..... is that it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I have the Road Pro Battery to Battery 50amp Charger fitted. Work roughly like this engine starts b2b check voltage at engine battery when it rises to a pre set level it fools the alternator into thinking the engine battery is low then diverts the charge to the leisure batteries. It periodicaly checks that the engine battery is k so there is no danger of it running low after a set time in which it will bring the charging voltage up to 15volts in then settles down to maintain a float charge. there are different settings for type of leisure batteies, mine are wet lead acid. you must check this types water level as with the high rate of charge some water may be lost. this system is fully automatic, fit and forget. This chager only ork when the engine is running or if you can as I can on my Bessacar select to charge the engine battery when hooked up to the mains, by doing this you get a better charging cycle than using the constant current system fitted to most camper vans, I hae no connection w th Roadpro other than buing the Charger which I fitted myself but it is one of the best bit of kit I have installed as we usually wild camp for up to ten weeks at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I'm not sure, (so check with Autotrail if you have one of their vans), but I seem to think Autotrail vans have something in their electrical system that automatically does the things outlined above anyway, and the leisure batteries get charged automatically when you start the engine. So a B2B charger isn't required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 If your motorhome has a Sargent control unit do not use a Sterling B2B, they don't like each other! Autotrail, among others use Sargent electrical units. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 some further info re B2B charger, All Motorhomes that I know of have the means to charge the leisure batteries from when the engine is running but most suffer from the fact that when the engine battery is nearly fully charged the alternator output falls and likewise so does the power to the leisure batteries, some vans have built in systems to overcome this but not all and again the wiring that runs between the take off for the leisure batteries is quite small and does not carry a great current and suffers from voltage drop. The recomended wiring depending on the distance from the engine battery leisure battery and the charging unit mine is 25mm sq. The unit functions solely between the engine and leisure batteries and does not require the vans wiring at all. There is a temperature sensor that fits on the leisure batt and one on the alternator output to avoid either getting to hot. It would be advisable to check but I cannot see how this unit would be compromised with any mains onboard charger unit. I know that the remote control unit will not function with some vans but the remote unit is quite expensive and does not give you any more output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeler Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I've been using one of these for about five years now. It will certainly bring your leisure battery up to full charge, in a very short time. If our battery is getting low and we aren't planning to drive very far, it comes into its own. In fact, I fitted an isolating switch, so that it isn't used when we are travelling a long way on a particular day. This is because a sustained high charge rate doesn't help either the battery or the alternator, so having the choice makes sense. The only downside is that the batteries electrolyte needs checking more often ( My battery manufacture doesn't supply reconstituted cell caps ). As has already been said, you won't need a genny with a sterling fitted, because running the vehicles engine for only a 20 min cycle puts a fair charge back into the batteries. I didn't buy from Roadpro myself though, they are too pricey, try one of the marine suppliers, such as www.yatchbits.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 There is a typo in the above web address for Yacht Bits and it should read: http://www.yachtbits.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 note a comment I have fitted an isolator switch to isolate the B2B charger to avoid a sustained high rate of charge? I have the B2B 50 amp fitted so in thery the maxmum output to the leisure batteries is 50 amps, which is well below the capacity of most Motorhome's alternators. The unit as I understand it will only take the excessive amps available and these will drop as the leisure batteries reach there required level of charge. As both the alternator and the leisure batteries have temp sensors fitted I would of thought the idea of this type of unit is fit and forget, mine has to top up three 110 amp leisure batteries and her indoors likes her telly but the batteries only require occasional top up and the unit copes with this very well without any input from me. any switch in a system that deals with high amperage current may creat a spark if current is present as they are only meant to be used to isolate and notact as a on and off switch,so care must be taken when using them that curent is not flowing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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