BATTERY CHARGER;

justcruisin01 · Guru

BATTERY CHARGER;

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

No connection justcruisin01, but Redarc manufacture in Adelaide, make good stuff and provide excellent service. If you have any questions, simply give them a call. They will give good advise.
I use one of their 200A 2 way "Smartstart" relays.

Cheers,
Peter

jimricho · Guru

Not quite an answer to your question but the following links may have some useful information on DC to DC battery charging.....

http://www.projecta.com.au/dc20/

http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/shop/product/9602/dc20.html

http://www.bainbridgetechnologies.com/chargers/ctek-d250s-dc-dc-20a-battery-charger

http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/shop/product/10524/d250s.html

http://www.ranox.com.au/401.html

http://redarc.com.au/products-and-services/battery-management-system

http://redarc.com.au/products-and-services/dc-battery-chargers/bcdc1206

http://redarc.com.au/products-and-services/dc-battery-chargers/smart-start-bcdc

http://www.waeco.com.au/products4.asp?id=487&catId=&subCatId=&subCatId2=

You may have already checked these links but I put them there for the benefit of all.

I have a "Hybralec PB1120" 20 amp voltage booster that can be used for battery charging. (I use it as a voltage booster for a 3 way fridge). Hybralec is located in Melbourne (1300 668 285). Neither the Hybralec nor the Waeco unit above are multi stage "smart" chargers but are an economical solution for occasional use to recharge a second battery when on the move.

Jim

PS: The current issue of Caravan and Motorhome has a video clip on the accompaning DVD about the Projecta unit.

-- Edited by jimricho on Thursday 6th of May 2010 08:10:47 AM

justcruisin01 · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

No connection justcruisin01, but Redarc manufacture in Adelaide, make good stuff and provide excellent service. If you have any questions, simply give them a call. They will give good advise.
I use one of their 200A 2 way "Smartstart" relays.

Cheers,
Peter

Thanks Peter, their service seems to be good as I have exchanged some emails with them today & they do answer the questions.

Looks like the type of unit that I am looking for.

Cheers,

Jim.

justcruisin01 · Guru

Thanks jimricho, I will look at these as well.

jimricho · Guru

justcruisin01 wrote:

Does any one use the Redarc BCDC 1220 battery charger, this is a 12volt to 12volt system for 2nd battery.

How much does one of these units cost?

PS: Another interesting link I found.... http://www.campertrailers.org/redarc_bc-cd1220.htm

-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 7th of May 2010 08:32:47 AM

justcruisin01 · Guru

Hello jim , this is a bit late but have not been on here for a few days ,they are $500.

PeterD · Guru

justcruisin01 wrote:

Hello jim , this is a bit late but have not been on here for a few days ,they are $500.

That's damn expensive. I have been using a similar one built in Victoria by RanOx. These have been in production long before Redarc produced theirs. Last price I have had for these was $380.

They have a 25 A maximum output (Redarc 20 A.) The output can be varied from 5 - 35 A in 1 A steps. The output voltages can be varied in 0.1 V increments so they will suit any existing or future style of battery. If you specify your battery when ordering then they will instruct you on the settings (or probably even set it up for you.)

The input of the RanOx battery booster detectswhether the alternator is charging or not, so you do not need a separate isolator. It has a relay controller so that if you are running a fridge off the battery you are charging it can be switched to run off the cable from the alternator (this means that you are not wasting any current from the charger to supply your fridge.)

The link for contacting RanOx is in the middle of the links Jim provided. Contact them and tel them PeterD recommend that you deal with them.

justcruisin01 · Guru

This unit is now $465 plus $20 P&H. sounds like a good system as well.
In there specs I didnt see any thing on the voltage window needed to active & deactive the charge mode.
C-Tech do one as well, $385 with a very small window, approx point 7 of a volt.
The Redarc works from 9v to 32v
If we could go back to the old remote adjustable regulators we may not have to look at these units.

jimricho · Guru

Thanks Jim (jc01) for providing the info.

At this stage I'm just getting a bit of info together in case I decide to "go down this path". I mainly stay in caravan parks on powered sites so my need for "on the road" charging of the camper's battery is only occasional and not critical. Also there is not a lot of draw-down on the van's battery when I do free camp or bush camp. The van is fitted with a 10amp Xantrex charger. I can also use my Hybralec (20 amp) voltage booster as a 12v-12v charger if the need arises. The booster is set to 14 volts and this can be re-set with an internal trimpot.

If I start doing more extended bush camping I would re-think this arrangement, hence my interest in this topic.

I have a dual battery system in the tug (Rotronics) for the (Bushman) fridge. I also have a Ctek 7 amp charger (240v) installed in the tug that I plug in when I have power available. This ensures the fridge battery is "topped up" before setting out.

Re the Ctek 12v-12v unit, I think this is intended to replace the voltage sensitive relay in the dual battery system to provide "smart" multi-stage charging to the car's aux battery, rather than recover voltage drop on a long wiring run to a caravan battery. I could have "the bull by the tail" on this however.

-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 14th of May 2010 07:49:52 AM

justcruisin01 · Guru

Jim , we are like the bloke with the wheel barrow , its all in front of us.
I picked up a redarc today& will give it a go, I liked the wide window of voltage input, 9v to 32v.would suit a 24v vehicle as well.

Once I have this up & running I have another little theroy up my sleeve which I think should work as well but I will talk to the manufacturer first. More on this later.