Hi, everyone, just wondering if you can help with a question?
When our caravan is parked at home in the ready to go mode( which could be several weeks) should we be running our compressor fridge etc. from the lithium battery and solar array or is this using the battery life and we should have the van plugged in to 240v from the house with suitable extension lead??
Unlike other battery technologies (like lead acid) the recommendation is to NOT constantly trickle charge Lithium batteries on float. So, I would suggest running the fridge on 240V and switching off the mains battery charger and the solar charging, and disconnecting the battery from your system by means of a battery disconnect switch to prevent it discharging through parasitic loads in the system.
I have mine full time on solar . Fridge is on all the time too . Every so often I connect 240 to or run In built generator to keep things going,Serviced .
I am inclined to favour the 240 option if using say glass mat batteries as a good status changing charger looks after the battery better. A friend had the same set up as me and his batteries were identical. They lasted 5 years on solar and mine on a charger are almost ten.
I know it is a moot point if comparing to lithium as they hold their charge differently I suppose. So my comment is just for info in general.
