Read all the previous posts and followed them with interest, I sort of understand the charging regimes required to maintain starter and leisure
battery condition but don’t know how to apply it to my own setup. I will have shortly 200 watt
solar feeding through a
Victron solar controller into two x 100ah batteries. Also connected to these batteries is the Electobloc EBL99. The
solar will keep the leisure batteries charged sun permitting but what do I need to add to ensure that when the engine is running the starter
battery can be charged to it’s capacity, as I understand from Wildebus’s posts the alternator output will not do this, so I presume the leisure batteries will also not be charged fully for the same reason.
Despite the fact that the alternator on my 2008 Ford Transit may not be fully charging the batteries I am sure that the starter
battery was the original
battery when I had the drivers seat off last year.
Apologies if my explanation seems a bit disjointed but still trying to get my head round motorhome electrics.
Would appreciate advice on how to get the best out of my system as it will all be new as I will have added
solar panels and controller, replaced my leisure batteries and will be replacing my starter
battery shortly, only the EBL unit will be original.
Just to answer the
Solar Question:
The Majority of the
Victron MOT
Solar Controllers have one pair of inputs - for the Panels to feed into; and one pair of outputs - to connect to the Leisure
Battery.
As far as 'engine' charging goes, the problem with just relying on the alternator to do the charging is that it will rarely be at a voltage level that will allow for full
battery charging - either Starter OR Leisure. It is good practice (although rarely done) to periodically connect the starter
battery to a good mains charger to give it a proper full charge. Does it matter? usually won't be noticable, but doing that
will maintain the
battery better.
A B2B Charger takes care of 'proper' Lesiure
Battery charging via alternator as they will boost the voltage upto 14.4V or whatever. This is the best option for Split-Charging where funds allow (reckon on around £200 more for a B2B over a basic relay).
If you have a good
Solar Controller with a multi-stage charging profile (which the
Victron does, of course), then that controller can carry on where the alternator left off the charging and finish the job off, as it were, so your Leisure Batteries will be treated well probably, even if you have a basic Relay rather than a B2B.
If you do have a relay system that is voltage switched rather than engine/ignition switched and is bi-directional sensing, then you will find that the
Solar Controller will also start charging the Starter
Battery once the Leisure Batteries are at a reasonable charge level - when this happens, your intelligent
Victron Solar Controller will give your Starter
battery a decent full charge as well. This is a handy bonus of the basic VSR system.
I don't know much about the EBL99 so don't know what that can or can't do in this respect.
Something that could be worth considering as you said you are replacing the Starter
Battery ... maybe replace with the same
battery technology as the Leisure Batteries if appropriate so the charging profile of the
Victron MPPT Controller matches both
battery sets for optimum charging. When I replaced my Starter
Battery last year I actually used exactly the same model as I had in my Leisure
Battery Bank for this reason so when the VSR came on, all batteries got charge profile they needed.
If you don't have a setup where the
Solar will charge the Starter Batterty, then a trickle charge device such as a
Battery Master can be fitted.