Hello,
I have a 100ah Ritar GEL battery which has been in my caravan/in use for about 2 years 2 months.
Not including powered sites, we have done a total of approximately 60 free camping nights.
I have taken the battery out 3-4 times over the above period, to give it a charge on my Ctek MXS5.0.
We are planning a 4 night free camping ski trip in Threbo in about 2 months time (using our 2.2Kw diesel heater) and I have taken the battery out of the caravan, on the bench, to give it a run by connecting a 50w halogen light bulb (which uses 50w/12v=4.17amps/hour)
The last time it had a good charge, was the a 5 night powered site in April, then a 1 night un-powered site 2 weeks ago.
I have been searching the internet for Stage Of Charge graphs for Gel batteries with mixed results. It seems as though the battery is about 50% SOC. Would you agree 12.35v is about 50% SOC?
I ran the Halogen for 1 hour, another 1 hour, another 1 hour then 2 hours as shown by the below image, and the voltage when rested, was 12.36v.
I will now charge the battery with my Ctek charger and give it a constant run with the halogen bulb (maybe for 5 hours straight / 20ah) and check the voltage and see how the life of the battery is going.
My main reason for this thread is advice on the battery life and that I need to run my diesel heater whilst in the snow for approx 9 hours per night (5pm-8am) and hope the battery has good enough life and enough solar power during the day, to put charge back in the battery
- I have a standard 120w solar panel on my Jayco Starcraft 17-58-3 OB
- I believe the max it can product is 12a per hour (in perfect conditions)
- I plan to run the diesel heater on setting 2 of 4 which consumes 12w/hour which is 1 amp
- Not sure what is the lowest level voltage I should take this battery down to
- I need to check which Setec Jayco charger is in the van and how much of a charge it would give if I ran the car for 1 hour to charge the caravan battery as a worst case
My calculations are therefore using 9 amps for 9 hours of diesel heating per night (excluding lights etc). I hope I can therefore get enough charge back into the battery for 4 nights, if there are no constant overcast days.
I'm just after any feedback from others including how long your Jayco supplied batteries lasted.
It looks like my battery is still in good condition. If not I may consider buying a new Gel and take it with me charged up ready to swap out. Also considering lithium as an option if I need to buy a new one.
I have a 100ah Ritar GEL battery which has been in my caravan/in use for about 2 years 2 months.
Not including powered sites, we have done a total of approximately 60 free camping nights.
I have taken the battery out 3-4 times over the above period, to give it a charge on my Ctek MXS5.0.
We are planning a 4 night free camping ski trip in Threbo in about 2 months time (using our 2.2Kw diesel heater) and I have taken the battery out of the caravan, on the bench, to give it a run by connecting a 50w halogen light bulb (which uses 50w/12v=4.17amps/hour)
The last time it had a good charge, was the a 5 night powered site in April, then a 1 night un-powered site 2 weeks ago.
I have been searching the internet for Stage Of Charge graphs for Gel batteries with mixed results. It seems as though the battery is about 50% SOC. Would you agree 12.35v is about 50% SOC?
I ran the Halogen for 1 hour, another 1 hour, another 1 hour then 2 hours as shown by the below image, and the voltage when rested, was 12.36v.
I will now charge the battery with my Ctek charger and give it a constant run with the halogen bulb (maybe for 5 hours straight / 20ah) and check the voltage and see how the life of the battery is going.
My main reason for this thread is advice on the battery life and that I need to run my diesel heater whilst in the snow for approx 9 hours per night (5pm-8am) and hope the battery has good enough life and enough solar power during the day, to put charge back in the battery
- I have a standard 120w solar panel on my Jayco Starcraft 17-58-3 OB
- I believe the max it can product is 12a per hour (in perfect conditions)
- I plan to run the diesel heater on setting 2 of 4 which consumes 12w/hour which is 1 amp
- Not sure what is the lowest level voltage I should take this battery down to
- I need to check which Setec Jayco charger is in the van and how much of a charge it would give if I ran the car for 1 hour to charge the caravan battery as a worst case
My calculations are therefore using 9 amps for 9 hours of diesel heating per night (excluding lights etc). I hope I can therefore get enough charge back into the battery for 4 nights, if there are no constant overcast days.
I'm just after any feedback from others including how long your Jayco supplied batteries lasted.
It looks like my battery is still in good condition. If not I may consider buying a new Gel and take it with me charged up ready to swap out. Also considering lithium as an option if I need to buy a new one.