Vixter Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Hi friends. I am settling down to life with a Micro Camper, and I am surprisingly pleased. It is a 2012 Peugeot Partner Tepee converted by Riviera Motors for a solo camper. Although I can deal with 'most things motorhoming' I must admit that managing the leisure battery fills me with dread. So far the display shows between 12 and 13.5v, the lady I bought it from gave me the stern warning not to let the reading drop below 12 or.....well, I can't imagine....I guess it would be very poorly and I would not be possible to recharge it. Ever. So if I haven't been out much (normal) I connect the hook-up and leave it to percolate for a few days then tidy away the cable before some local oik runs off with it. So, my question is, will I always have to connect the hook-up regularly? And what is a 'healthy' reading and how far below 12v would be putting my leisure battery at risk? Before you ask, the little fridge is turned off. On another subject completely, I have booked a ticket for the MMM show at Shepton Mallet, so if you are also there and see a totally mad woman trying to perform CPR on a Micro Camper, that just may be me.... :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Hi Vicki, Start off with a little bedtime reading of the late Allan Evans article on 'How does a battery work' then maybe read a few of his other pages and if you still have questions come back and we'll try and help... http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-battery-work.php Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Vicki This article may be a bit less technically orientated https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/caravans/articles/practical-advice/caring-for-and-charging-your-leisure-battery Regarding your question "will I always have to connect the hook-up regularly?” - it all depends on the capacity, charge-state and ‘health’ or your campervan’s leisure-battery, how much electrical demand you place on that battery while it is not receiving charge and how long that demand lasts. So, if you park in a field and your campervan’s leisure-battery is large capacity, in good-condition and fully-charged, you might be able to stay there for several days without the battery needing to be recharged. But if you ran a TV for hours and/or a heater that required a 12V supply and/or a 12V fridge, or your leisure-battery were old, tired and small capacity (or not fully charged to begin with) the battery would need to be recharged much sooner. If you want a simple ‘rule f thumb’, what the lady who sold you your camper told you is as good as any. If the vehicle is not on hook-up and the leisure-battery is not being charged, NEVER allow the voltage display to go below 12V. When you are not using your camper, how often you’ll need to recharge its leisure-battery will (once again) depend on the battery, any electrical demand placed on it and also on the camper’s charging system. Many motorcaravanners leave their out-of-use vehicle continuously on charge, others only charge the battery now and again. It all depends... A full day (24 hours) on ‘home hook-up’ for a small camper like yours should be sufficient to fully recharge its leisure-battery, so there would be liitle point leaving it on charge longer than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ageingandrew Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Keithl - 2021-08-16 10:33 PM Hi Vicki, Start off with a little bedtime reading of the late Allan Evans article on 'How does a battery work' then maybe read a few of his other pages and if you still have questions come back and we'll try and help... http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-battery-work.php Keith. NO. Do NOT read the web page quoted above. It is poorly written and does nothing more than disseminate fear, uncertainty and doubt. There are far, far better documents available on the internet. Just do a search along the lines of 'caring for your leisure battery' and then read some of the materials from Yuasa, practicalcaravan.com, campingandcaravaningclub.co.uk. If you want a fairly technical but comprehensive description of motorhome electrics then you could look through the article from Victron at https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Book-Energy-Unlimited-EN.pdf Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 ageingandrew - 2021-08-17 11:30 AM Keithl - 2021-08-16 10:33 PM Hi Vicki, Start off with a little bedtime reading of the late Allan Evans article on 'How does a battery work' then maybe read a few of his other pages and if you still have questions come back and we'll try and help... http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-battery-work.php Keith. NO. Do NOT read the web page quoted above. It is poorly written and does nothing more than disseminate fear, uncertainty and doubt. There are far, far better documents available on the internet. Just do a search along the lines of 'caring for your leisure battery' and then read some of the materials from Yuasa, practicalcaravan.com, campingandcaravaningclub.co.uk. If you want a fairly technical but comprehensive description of motorhome electrics then you could look through the article from Victron at https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Book-Energy-Unlimited-EN.pdf. Andrew The late Allan Evans was a well respected contributor to this Forum and a professional electrician and electronics man. You are a newcomer. Would you like to explain your qualifications to sound of with such an outspoken opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 ageingandrew - 2021-08-17 11:30 AM Keithl - 2021-08-16 10:33 PM Hi Vicki, Start off with a little bedtime reading of the late Allan Evans article on 'How does a battery work' then maybe read a few of his other pages and if you still have questions come back and we'll try and help... http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-battery-work.php Keith. NO. Do NOT read the web page quoted above. It is poorly written and does nothing more than disseminate fear, uncertainty and doubt. There are far, far better documents available on the internet. Just do a search along the lines of 'caring for your leisure battery' and then read some of the materials from Yuasa, practicalcaravan.com, campingandcaravaningclub.co.uk. If you want a fairly technical but comprehensive description of motorhome electrics then you could look through the article from Victron at https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Book-Energy-Unlimited-EN.pdf Andrew Your Victron link didn't work - I've corrected it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Let's not get confrontational chaps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ageingandrew Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 StuartO - 2021-08-17 12:16 PM ageingandrew - 2021-08-17 11:30 AM Keithl - 2021-08-16 10:33 PM Hi Vicki, Start off with a little bedtime reading of the late Allan Evans article on 'How does a battery work' then maybe read a few of his other pages and if you still have questions come back and we'll try and help... http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-battery-work.php Keith. NO. Do NOT read the web page quoted above. It is poorly written and does nothing more than disseminate fear, uncertainty and doubt. There are far, far better documents available on the internet. Just do a search along the lines of 'caring for your leisure battery' and then read some of the materials from Yuasa, practicalcaravan.com, campingandcaravaningclub.co.uk. If you want a fairly technical but comprehensive description of motorhome electrics then you could look through the article from Victron at https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Book-Energy-Unlimited-EN.pdf. Andrew The late Allan Evans was a well respected contributor to this Forum and a professional electrician and electronics man. You are a newcomer. Would you like to explain your qualifications to sound of with such an outspoken opinion. I am a University educated engineer, working initially in electronics but later in computing/software. I have written and reviewed hundreds of engineering documents and Allan Evans document is probably the worst I have read. Thanks to Derek for correcting the link to the Victron Energy Unlimited book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 What I suggest Vicki does is - first of all - get hold of a copy of John Wickersham’s book “The Motorcaravan Manual”. Probably any of the editions will be adequate for basic electrics information and used copies are advertised cheaply online (examples here) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcaravan-Manual-Choosing-Using-Maintaining/dp/1844250474 or a local library might be able to source a copy if requested. What is really needed in Vicki’s case is for someone who is motorhome electrics-literate to have a look at her camper, confirm what equipment the converter Riviera Motors installed and what leisure-battery is currently fitted, and then advise on what she asked about in her original posting here and answer any other questions she might have. Any volunteers in the South Wales area? Or perhaps a Shepton Mallet 'consultation’ could be arranged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixter Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 Thank you everyone, for taking the time to reply to my question. Derek, you may be relieved to hear that I have ordered a copy of John Wickersham's book which is bound to come in handy for all sorts of queries. Back in those happy days when Roger and I had our motorhoming adventures we worked to a very traditional system in that he saw to all things mechanical, electrical and tank-emptying and I peeled the spuds, went round with a damp cloth and wrestled with TomTom. It worked very well. Now I'm on my own I must wear two hats but one of them's a bit small! To quote from my favourite film of all time 'Kelly's Heroes' Oddball: Well, the tank’s broke and they’re trying to fix it. Big Joe: Well, then, why the hell aren’t you up there helping them? Oddball: [chuckles] I only ride ’em, I don’t know what makes ’em work. Big Joe: Christ! So, today I'm Oddball, you guys are all Big Joe and I'm very glad that you are around. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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