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Charging parked vehicles

Over the last few months i have bought new batteries for half of the fleet and am now feeling paranoid about looking after them.

I'm also sick of going out to use/move a car and finding that the battery is flat.

Rigging up some kind of charging system would be good, and also help my batteries during the winter cold.

Has anybody got any suggestions on possible ways to do this?

I've been thinking, and have thought of the following options:

Solar panels fitted in/on cars - No running costs, but very low powered. Maplins sell a 1.5watt one (

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), which by mycalculations is only about 0.1Amps. Is there much point in this? This also wont be working at night, when its more use (so that thebattery is powered when it is coldest and ready for me to use the carin the morning)

Low ampage mains charger A low ampage charger such as this one

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thatcharges at 2.7amps. Presumably it should be clever enough that itshould only charge when the battery needs it.Could be put on a timer to only work at night to save me money. I have also seen more expensive battery chargers designed to be left on all the time. How do they differ from something like the above one?.

If i go for this option then my second issue is where i should put things?. My cars are parked a good 20m or so of cable length away from the house. I can either - Site the chargers in the house and run long charging cables out to the cars. This would be good as i wouldnt have to put any mains leccy outside and could keep an eye on the chargers. Would this be okay or would i have issues with running low currents and the chargers sensing the battery state over the 20m or so that i need?. I could also use something like a caravan towing socket to easily plug into the cars to save unearthing batteries every time.

second option - build a little box outside next to my drive. run mains to that and put the chargers in it. Run short charge cables from there to each car. I'm not so keen on this as i cant see what the chargers are doing. I do need to put in an outdoor socket anyway though so i can use tools outside easily.

third option - put a charger in each car, and plug the car into the mains. I can use caravan mains sockets. I'm not sure i want to leave a charger unnatended in my car for long periods though. (I had one that went pop and started smoking once). This method would also be good because i can leave my car pc powered up to use it from within the house :)

Has anybody got any good advice or ideas?

Reply to
Tom Woods
Loading thread data ...

Disconnect the battery? It's the cheapest option but you will lose things like radio presets.I've used one of those big red cut-off switches you see on rally cars, saves messing around with spanners.

John

Reply to
John Greystrong

MBS1 Battery Isolator Switch - Removable Key £4.35

Would that count as a pun?

Richard

Reply to
beamendsltd

A shocking pun.

Reply to
EMB

I've fitted one of them on the 2A. It's actually on its second one as the first started smoking when i was cranking the starter and then melted.

I'm still keen on fitting some kind of charging solution as i was under the impression that leaving batteries standing unused for weeks/months outside was still bad for them?

Reply to
Tom Woods

I would suggest a somewhat larger solar charger, about 6w for example will charge at around half an amp maximum. I have used this successfully for a couple of years on my tractor as I got sick of replacing the battery nearly every time I went to use it (It only gets used every few months). They are relatively expensive - unless you get them like I did at a clearing sale for $20. JD

Reply to
JD

...and EMB spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Wire you encouraging him?

Reply to
Richard Brookman

Good to see you made the connection.

Reply to
EMB

Dunno. I know that constantly flattening them is jolly bad for their longevity.

John

Reply to
John Greystrong

...and EMB spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

There's a whole battery of bad jokes looming.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

I'll see if I can generate a few more before someone someone blows a fuse about us not staying on the current topic.

Reply to
EMB

I use two of the little 1.5w ones on my 80 amp hour boat battery. It won't charge a flat battery as such but does prevent natural discharge. I use the boat every couple of weeks but only use the battery for lights at night and the radio. The battery stays charged all season and during the summer months will charge enough to cover the little I use out of it. This will be the first winter with the panels on board so we'll see how it goes. They cost me £14 each from gts online, an ebay seller.

TonyB

Reply to
TonyB

...and EMB spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

This has been done before, and I amp got any new jokes. Watt a shame.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

We might have to rectify that.

Thread snipped of excess ballast.

Reply to
EMB

Someone needs to take charge of you two.

Reply to
Tom Woods

On or around Mon, 24 Oct 2005 21:45:22 +0100, Tom Woods enlightened us thusly:

This sounds like the shed.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

No.

Hiss, miss and urinate sound like this.

The head, the bed and the dead sound like the shed.

Hope that clears things up.

David

Reply to
rads

Given the topic about batteries, it's also a current pun

- Tom.

Reply to
Tom Bennett

In message , Tom Woods writes

Sorry to sound pedantic, but unless you are a qualified electrician it is now illegal to add additional new circuits. It is OK I believe to put a new socket on the end of an existing circuit .

Reply to
hugh
.

Not /quite/ but made b********y difficult (unless you have a supply of of suitable cable dated prior to 2005!). Google search UK DIY newsgroup, drop in the magic phrase 'Part P' and then duck.

Reply to
rjs

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