What to do with battery & solar when storing van with a cover for months?
Crane said
07:02 PM Dec 11, 2016
We have put our van in storage and have just purchased a cover. We are going to fit the cover tomorrow and will disconnect the battery & bring it home to maintain charge for the next 6 months. Q. Is there anything else we need to do with the solar ? Our handover was pathetic. I asked about a small box in the tunnel boot which I think has something to do with charging the battery from the solar and was told "you don't need to worry about that" - perhaps the older gentleman was reacting to me being female & much younger than he. it seems to have a small fan but as the van is not here I can't give much more info). I presume that it should be turned off? Advice please
Bagmaker said
08:37 PM Dec 11, 2016
if its a good quality AGM battery and only 6 months then I would disconnect one terminal and not worry about it. Nothing going out, nothing going in.
Give it a little discharge and charge up every 6 months though.
leaving it connected to a (insert name of typical cheapo charger) is likely to do more damage than letting it sit
C00P said
12:37 AM Dec 12, 2016
The box is probably a charge controller for the solar panels. If so, its job is to keep the voltage from the panels at a level that suits the battery when the panels are generating power (ie, in the sun),
Probably a good idea to cover the panels before making battery disconnections so that they cannot put out any voltage.
If the box has a fan, then it might be a charger that comes on when you hook up to240V power. I've not seen too many charge controllers with cooling fans, but some may have them.
As Bagmaker says, there is no real need to remove the battery, just disconnect one terminal. Make sure all electrical services are turned off before doing so or you might get some small sparks as the lead comes off the terminal.
We have put our van in storage and have just purchased a cover. We are going to fit the cover tomorrow and will disconnect the battery & bring it home to maintain charge for the next 6 months. Q. Is there anything else we need to do with the solar ? Our handover was pathetic. I asked about a small box in the tunnel boot which I think has something to do with charging the battery from the solar and was told "you don't need to worry about that" - perhaps the older gentleman was reacting to me being female & much younger than he. it seems to have a small fan but as the van is not here I can't give much more info). I presume that it should be turned off? Advice please
Give it a little discharge and charge up every 6 months though.
leaving it connected to a (insert name of typical cheapo charger) is likely to do more damage than letting it sit
Probably a good idea to cover the panels before making battery disconnections so that they cannot put out any voltage.
If the box has a fan, then it might be a charger that comes on when you hook up to240V power. I've not seen too many charge controllers with cooling fans, but some may have them.
As Bagmaker says, there is no real need to remove the battery, just disconnect one terminal. Make sure all electrical services are turned off before doing so or you might get some small sparks as the lead comes off the terminal.
Cheers
C00P