triumph Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Hello all any one have any experience with a battery to battery chargers seems I could sell the evil Honda generator if I had one .all so free up some storage seems a win win situation. Thanks. Triumph. Ps. Snowing in teesdale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 what van do you have? Many folk have a van that can chage both leisure and vehicle batteries from multiple sources (EHU or solar) without knowing it. May just need a setting changing in the PSU software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 There has been a fair amount of earlier forum discussion about battery-to-battery chargers. This forum's Search facility is not much use to look for the previous stuff, but you could try a GOOGLE search by copying and pasting the following into the GOOGLE 'search box' "battery to battery charger" site:www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums (Some of the material retrieved will not be relevant to your inquiry, but you should get plenty of useful information.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Battery to Battery chargers allow the alternator in your engine bay to charge the leisure battery faster than it would otherwise. This is does by providing additional volts above those supplied by the alternator. Sterling make a range of these including some high current ones. RoadPro sell them CTEK make a unit that combines a solar regulator and a small (20 amp) B2B charger. Again Roadpro sell these. If you have a relatively new UK manufactured motorhome then it has a good chance of having a Sargent system in it and this can also includes a moderate B2B charging arrangement. But all these systems are only any use when the main engine is running. Have you maximized your solar real estate on the roof of the motorhome first? C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumph Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Thanks for replies . Clive don't have a solar panel just thought a battery to battery system would be better don't you think these should be on a new van when new then battery would be charged most of the time when you start the van . The van is a swift mondieal .it has a Sargent system on it . How much does the system put in battery's as standard Thanks. Triumph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 triumph - 2013-01-19 10:18 AM Thanks for replies . Clive don't have a solar panel just thought a battery to battery system would be better don't you think these should be on a new van when new then battery would be charged most of the time when you start the van . The van is a swift mondieal .it has a Sargent system on it . How much does the system put in battery's as standard Thanks. Triumph The easiest and most cost effective way to get more 12 volt power is to add a 2nd leisure battery. The obvious downside is that it takes longer to charge two than one when depleted. Don't expect much more than about 10 amps of charge from the alternator to the leisure battery. What to opt for depends on your 12 volt power use and type of camping you prefer? If mainly sites with ehu no need for any more. If mainly non ehu but staying put for several days then I would opt for a 2nd battery and as big a solar panel as will fit on the roof. If mainly non ehu and driving most days then a B2B system might be worth considering instead of solar, but I personally would still prefer two leisure batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 triumph - 2013-01-19 10:18 AM Thanks for replies . Clive don't have a solar panel just thought a battery to battery system would be better don't you think these should be on a new van when new then battery would be charged most of the time when you start the van . The van is a swift mondieal .it has a Sargent system on it . How much does the system put in battery's as standard Thanks. Triumph Our Swift bolero 2010 has a Sargent PSU, This allows the alternator, EHU or solar panel to charge both vehicle and leisure batteries. I would have thought the Mondial would be similar. In the PSU there are software options to set the charging regime to 'smart' to allow the unit to determine which batteries need charge. I had to change this menu item when I had my solar panel fitted. The fitter wanted to fit directly (via a regulator) to the leisure batteries but I got some info from Sargent via Swift Talk to find out which socket on the PSU we had to connect to. In fact, Swift hd already fitted a cable from the PSU to a cupboard near the cab and also a cable grommet and external covering panel for the feed from the panel. I suspect a recentish Mondial would have a similar arrangement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I agree adding another battery is the most economical way to increase your independence. Look in your handbook to identify which model of Sargent system it has. From this we can tell you if it includes the B2B feature. The older traditional split charging system still has a lot going for it as it is how the starter battery is kept charged. It just means that the battery never gets above 75 or 80% charged but the reason for doing this is two fold. 1 it minimizes battery gassing, 2 it stops excessive volts being applied to the 12 volt equipment in the van. When the Sargent system with B2B is operating it lets the battery voltage rise to achieve a fuller charge but also supplies a lower voltage to the equipment, quite clever. But the batteries used should have re-combination caps so that gasses are turned back into water inside the cells. The Sterling and CTEK kit does not do this battery and load seperation and the higher voltage gets applied to all the 12 volt equipment. So it is not a panacea. No I would not want this system fitted as standard. The option list in order :- 1 More batteries 2 Solar panels and a depleted bank balance 3 Efoy and a very depleted bank balance Generators are anti-social in most camping environments. None are quiet, just some (Honda) less nosier than others. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losos Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 triumph - 2013-01-18 6:19 PMany one have any experience with a battery to battery chargers Yes, I fitted a Sterling Electronics B2B in my PVC and it works a treat. I don't have solar panels, generator, or EFOY. But I tend to keep on the move and on the rare occassions I do stay put for more than two nights I choose an EHU site. So you need to analyse your 'modus operandi' are you someone who goes to one place and stays put for three or more nights (a B2B won't help much there) or are you someone who is driving every day (for which a B2B is the perfect answer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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