Information for caravanners, motorhomers and campers. All you need to know about batteries, battery chargers, solar panels/battery chargers, towing/trailer/caravan electrics, inverters and how to work out the size of leisure battery you need
Jargon & Information about your starter battery, or your leisure battery.
What's the difference between an engine starter battery and a leisure battery?
A leisure battery is designed to deliver a lesser current over longer periods which is often referred to as 'Cycling', or 'Deep cycling'. Leisure batteries are constructed differently to starter batteries to withstand the many cycles of discharging and recharging. It used to be inadvisable to use a leisure battery for starting purposes, but many leisure batteries are now 'Dual purpose'. A starter/engine battery is designed to give a quick surge of maximum power when you turn the ignition key and is not suitable for 'Cycling' purposes.
What does the 'CCA' rating mean?
The power the battery can deliver for a given time under certain conditions is usually referred to as its CCA (cold cranking amps). There are various different methods of measuring the CCA, but the most popular standard in the UK is the SAE (Society of Automobile Engineers) method.
Ampere-hour ratings
The ampere-hour rating given to a battery (more relevant to leisure batteries than starter batteries these days) denotes the amount of energy that can be taken from the battery before the terminal voltage falls below 10.8 volts. This test is usually carried out over a 20 hour period (20 hour rate). Thus a 50 ampere-hour battery can be discharged at 2.5 amps for 20 hours before the voltage drops below 10.8 volts (i.e. 20 x 2.5 = 50). With leisure batteries ampere-hours is often abbreviated to amps (e.g. 85 amp leisure battery).
Tip!
Never leave either a starter battery or a leisure battery in a discharged (flat) condition as this will cause the battery plates to 'Sulphate' rendering the battery useless and also invalidate any warranty. Lead-acid batteries must be left in fully charged condition, ideally disconnected from the vehicle when left idle for long periods and a top-up charge performed periodically (the use of a fully automatic battery charger is recommended). These rules apply to all types of lead-acid batteries.
Battery fitting
The correct way to fit a 12 volt starter/leisure battery is to remove the negative (-) battery terminal first and the positive (+) terminal last. When refitting connect the positive (+) terminal first and the negative (-) terminal last.
To view our range of leisure batteries click here.
For more information about batteries, battery chargers and charging systems, inverters, voltage converters and fitting instructions click HERE.
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Information on how to select the correct battery charger for your requirements.
What's the difference between a basic battery charger, a standard battery charger and a smart battery charger?
The 'Ring Basic' range of 12 volt battery chargers are suitable for lead-acid batteries (not Gel), have LED display to show charge progress, but will require supervised charging, i.e. they are not automatic.
The 'Ring Standard' range of 6 & 12 volt battery chargers are suitable for most types of lead-acid batteries incuding Gel. All have LED display to show charge progress, are fully automatic and have fast/slow charge selection.
The 'Ring Smart Charger' range have all the features of the standard range, but with the additional features below:
To view our range of battery chargers click here.
Information on how solar panels/battery chargers work.
What if it's not sunny?
Our range of 'Sunsei' solar batter panels/batterychargers do not need bright sunlight to function - only daylight. The solar charger will maintain your battery/batteries effectively even on cloudy or rainy days.
Smaller panels, such as the 135mA and 400mA, supply a small trickle charge, cannot damage the battery and do not require a regulator.
Larger panels, such as the 1200mA, do require to be fitted in conjuction with suitable voltage regulator, such as the 'Sunsei' charge controller.
To view our range of solar panels/battery chargers click here.
How do I connect a 12N (black, roadlights), or a 12S (grey, supplimentary) plug/socket?
Due to complex nature of modern car electrics the fitting of towbars, or wiring any 12N/12S towing socket from scratch should be undertaken by a competent, reputable towbar fitting specialist. However, should you need to replace a worn or damaged plug/socket the connections are as follows:
12N - pin1 (yellow) = left indicator, pin 2 (blue) = caravan fog light, pin 3 (white) = earth, pin 4 (green) = right indicator, pin 5 (brown) = right hand tail light, pin 6 (red) = stoplights, pin 7 (black) = left hand tail light & number plate illumination.
12S (up to 31st August 1998 caravans) - pin 1 (yellow) = reversing lights, pin 2 (blue) = auxiliary battery charging, pin 3 (white) = earth, pin 4 (green) = permanent power supply from car battery, pin 5 (brown) = a sensing device, pin 6 (red) = fridge, pin 7 (black) = no allocation.
12S (after 31st August 1998 caravans) - pin 1 (yellow) = reversing lights, pin 2 (blue) = no allocation, pin 3 (white) = earth, pin 4 (green) = caravan lights etc. (engine not running) & auxiliary battery charging (engine running), pin 5 (brown) = a sensing device, pin 6 (red) = fridge, pin 7 (black) = fridge earth.
To view our range of towing accessories click here.
How do I work out the power consumption of my appliances?
The simplest method of working your power comsumption is as follows:
watts divided by volts = current in amps.
Thus on a 12 volt electrical system a 120w pump will take 10amps (i.e. 120 watts/12 volts = 10).
So what power battery do I need
Based on the above equation if you wanted to run the pump for 4 hours you would need at least a 40Ah battery. However, we would recommend allowing a 20% safety margin (i.e. 20% of 40 = 8), so we would recommend a battery of at least 48Ah.
And what Wattage inverter?
Obviously this depends on the wattage of the appliance you want to run off it, but again we would recommend a safety margin, i.e don't run a 300w appliance off of a 300w inverter, use a larger wattage inverter such as a 400w or 500w. Make sure the inverter is situated in a well ventilated area so that it doesn't overheat and remember that most quality inverters will have in-bulit battery protection, meaning that when the battery voltage falls beyond 10 volts the inverter will automatically cut out. This automatic cut-out system may shorten the theoretical running time the appliance, but the idea is that after using your appliance you will still be able to restart your vehicle.
How long will the inverter run for?
To view our range of inverters click here.
How to fit the AMT window stay repair kit
The most common problem with Polyplastic window stays is that the collars crack due either to over tightening, exposure to the sun, age or a combination of all three. The AMT window stay repair kit is the most economical way to repair this problem without replacing the complete window stay (hinges also vaialable).
Step 1. Remove the window stay using a Phillips screwdriver.
2. Remove the silver, inner tube.
3. Remove the old plastic collar from the larger, outer tube. This can either be done by pressing down firmly with your thumbs, or sometimes a tap with a small hammer may be required.
4. Press the new AMT collar onto the larger, outer tube and if neccessary drill a hole for the locating pin using a 3mm drill (this procedure will need to be carried out on certain types of window stay where a hole is not pre-drilled).
5. On some window stays the smaller, inner tube may be grooved in order for it to clear the locating pin. On others where there is no groove only push home the locating pin to fasten the collar to the outer tube once the collar is in place.
6. Wind the thumbscrew onto the threaded part of the collar until a slight resistance is felt.
7. Refit the window stay to the window.
Difficulty level = EASY
Buy the AMT window stay repair kit.
