[JandS]

I remove my battery from the van every night and charge in garage......going away for the week in a few days time, would you leave the battery on charge whilst away or not......would it damage it by not leaving it on charge?

[Simon Trapani]

Don’t leave it discharged.

Best practice would be to leave it charging as long as you have a battery charger which goes to float mode once charged. Then it’ll cut in & out as needed.

[Granny]

I cut the crocodile clips off my charger and extended the lead with some 2 core lighting flex.
The charger stays in the garage the battery stays in the van.
The lead has been hung on a clip outside for years it's a lot easier then lugging a battery around.

[richard connett]

I run an extension reel into the vans . Shut them inside with a ctek charger that will charge then trickle

[dazmond]

I remove my battery from the van every night and charge in garage......going away for the week in a few days time, would you leave the battery on charge whilst away or not......would it damage it by not leaving it on charge?

i always charge my batteries up overnight......just leave it on charge as itll go over to float charge once charged up fully...

you can also leave a leisure battery fully charged for 3 months before itll need a slight charge again(if your storing them away)...itll be fine

[Bungle]

I run an extension reel into the vans . Shut them inside with a ctek charger that will charge then trickle

Same, but I cover the extension lead with a plastic bag in case it rains. If I go away for a week I'll not worry about the battery until I get home, it's not going to drain.

[Pete Thompson]

It’s amazing to hear how many people charge their batteries overnight.

I have a ctek smart pass charger in the van (this one : https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/ctek-smartpass-120s-power-management-system.html )

I’ve never once mains charged my leisure battery,  it’s been perfectly fine for 3 and a half years.

I’m curious to know if my use is unusual and this is why I’ve never needed to.

I run a normal aquatec pump with analogue pump controller (I like a good strong flow), and a waterworks 3D electric hose reel. I drive about 30 miles on average per work day. I work 4 and a half days every week, and use about 500 litres per day.

How does this compare?

[Simon Trapani]

Pete,this has been discussed many times on here before so I’m not going to go through it all again. Use the search or wait for a long fully informative reply from Spruce.

[Granny]

It’s amazing to hear how many people charge their batteries overnight.

I have a ctek smart pass charger in the van (this one : https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/ctek-smartpass-120s-power-management-system.html )

I’ve never once mains charged my leisure battery,  it’s been perfectly fine for 3 and a half years.

I’m curious to know if my use is unusual and this is why I’ve never needed to.

I run a normal aquatec pump with analogue pump controller (I like a good strong flow), and a waterworks 3D electric hose reel. I drive about 30 miles on average per work day. I work 4 and a half days every week, and use about 500 litres per day.

How does this compare?

It compares very  well but I'd rather have £230 in the bank!
It takes seconds to clip the leads on the battery and switch it on.

[johnny bravo]

I run an extension reel into the vans . Shut them inside with a ctek charger that will charge then trickle

pics

[johnny bravo]

just charge up fully and leave,    silly things like leaving on can cause a fire surely.   especially for a  week, seems too long to left  switched on
going away for a week  all sockets off,  except broad band

[Scrimble]

all you need is the spring controller with split charge relay function, still cannot believe there are guys who lug the battery out of the van every night to bench charge it, fit a split charge relay controller once and forget about it. It has 1 extra which is connected to the van battery so even the inept could manage it

https://windowcleaningstuff.co.uk/shop-all/spring-controller-v16-digital

[dazmond]

If you have a diesel heater you need to charge the batteries up overnight every night as well as a split charge relay fitted if you want your batteries to last...mine are 3 and a half years old.....I run extension cable to the van

[Smudger]

Ive never needed to mains charge the batteries either until I got the newer vans with "smart" alternator

As above I'm not paying 230 quid when a 20 quid charger will do the same thing - we don't remove the battery just use an extension reel into the back of the van

Darran

[Richard Groves]

I made a pump box. It houses battery, pump, controller and a ctek charger permanently wired to battery with 3 pin plug.  I simply run an extension cable to it each night and plug it in.

[Blue Frog Systems]

Got a split charger and a 100w solar panel that power my leisure battery.  No need to worry about it and the last battery lasted me 5 years like this

[robert mitchell]

just charge up fully and leave,    silly things like leaving on can cause a fire surely.   especially for a  week, seems too long to left  switched on
going away for a week  all sockets off,  except broad band

It’s not a fire hazard if it’s a smart charger , they are designed to be left on for long periods , no more a fire hazard than your fridge or broadband router .

[dd]

Ive never needed to mains charge the batteries either until I got the newer vans with "smart" alternator

As above I'm not paying 230 quid when a 20 quid charger will do the same thing - we don't remove the battery just use an extension reel into the back of the van

Darran

A battery should last longer if charged with a quality smart charger , such as a ctek, rather than with a cheap bog standard charger.

[zesty]

Extension reel into van. Ring smart charger lives in the van, connected to battery.

Charged most evenings, can leave it on charge indefinitely if needs be due to smart charger capabilities.

If I was going away I’d fully charge the battery then leave it unplugged. Why wouldn’t you? It’s absolutely fine to leave a leisure battery fully charged for a period of time.

[NWH]

In the winter yes but at the moment I wouldn’t worry