Simple Leisure Battery Setup

[stevlor]

Hi all - novice with all things cars and electrics - would just like to run this by you.

Was hoping to take my bongo abroad for a bit, very little has been modified (no kitchen etc) and I'm ok with that, but I would like to have a simple leisure battery setup so that I can charge phone, laptop, have a light and maybe boil a kettle! I understand that most people wire their batteries in, so that things like radios, internal lights etc are always run by the leisure battery, but as I'm quite novice I'd prefer not to bother with changing the internal wiring just yet, as I might not always want to have the leisure battery in the bongo due to the extra weight (or am I being silly worrying about that?). How does the following sound:

2 years ago I bought a leisure battery (12v / 88ah) which hasn't been used in all that time - I tested it today and the multimeter read 12.45, and halfords car charger said ready to go, so hopefully I'll be able to use it finally! My bongo hasn't got a leisure battery tray so I would buy http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-Bongo-F ... Sw7aBVBblX - seems expensive but I don't see any others around.

Then to charge it I was looking at buying a voltage sensitive relay: http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/voltage-s ... -140a.html as it seems easy enough for me to fit, and not too permanent so I can always take the battery out again.

Finally, I just need one or two 12v sockets put somewhere internally (just for a 12v light I have, and then usb chargers). Here I'm a bit stuck, there are the usual dog clip ones: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Auxiliary ... SwGYVXBfdh but they don't seem that secure - could I really just clip them on and put the wire to come out near the glove compartment? Are there any other alternatives?

Thanks in advance.

[Bob]

Running a kettle of the LB is a big ask, I'd use gas for that.

[wonkanoby]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... t&_sacat=0

loads

[cmm303]

Taking your last point first, the 12V socket with croc clips. It says it is "Fuse maximum power 75W". Not sure whether that means it is fused or not. The concept makes me nervous.

You say you will be connecting a VSR. You will also need to buy cables, terminations, fuses. So in my view the simplest and safest solution is to get a decent Leisure Battery kit/harness with VSR from a reputable source. Somebody has done all the leg work for you! It'll have all the right cables terminated to the right length with fuses in the right place and provide the necessary tails for transferring circuits. I have heard that those provided by Karl Chadwick (has a presence on a facebook bongo group) are easy to fit and good quality.

I understand that moving over existing circuits to the Leisure Battery may fill you with dread but it really is a doddle with a decent kit and fully reversible - it is the easiest part of the job! Less clutter because you can use the lights and sockets already installed in the Bongo, whether you've stopped for 10 mins, loading the van the evening before or camping.

[stevlor]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... t&_sacat=0

loads

Thanks, but how do you connect these to a leisure battery?

Taking your last point first, the 12V socket with croc clips. It says it is "Fuse maximum power 75W". Not sure whether that means it is fused or not. The concept makes me nervous.

You say you will be connecting a VSR. You will also need to buy cables, terminations, fuses. So in my view the simplest and safest solution is to get a decent Leisure Battery kit/harness with VSR from a reputable source. Somebody has done all the leg work for you! It'll have all the right cables terminated to the right length with fuses in the right place and provide the necessary tails for transferring circuits. I have heard that those provided by Karl Chadwick (has a presence on a facebook bongo group) are easy to fit and good quality.

I understand that moving over existing circuits to the Leisure Battery may fill you with dread but it really is a doddle with a decent kit and fully reversible - it is the easiest part of the job! Less clutter because you can use the lights and sockets already installed in the Bongo, whether you've stopped for 10 mins, loading the van the evening before or camping.

I take your point, I'll have a look for Karl Chadwick, and the website I was looking at do kits too: http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/split-cha ... asure.html

[stevlor]

In fact, looking around - this would be ideal: http://www.rayneautomotive.co.uk/mazda- ... y-kit.html

[Merlot man]

If you are looking to go a little further this kit might be for you
http://www.rayneautomotive.co.uk/home/1 ... n-kit.html
12v /240v with inverter and proper trip switch and all the bits properly made
Top advice though is that if your not confident doing auto electrical work GET IT DONE BY A PROFESSIONAL
Just my thought and please play safe !
Brian

[g8dhe]

If your looking at Split Charge Relay kits then please heed this post - and double check that there is a fuse for EACH battery, guess which design only uses one ..... http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=72607

[teenmal]

If you are looking for Karl "AKA Rooster" you can contact him at the Bongo Forum website or Ebay, he makes good kits and will give you all the advice you may require.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-Bongo-F ... Sw~bFWLUfS

[cmm303]

If you are looking for Karl "AKA Rooster" you can contact him at the Bongo Forum website or Ebay, he makes good kits and will give you all the advice you may require.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-Bongo-F ... Sw~bFWLUfS

That's him.

[Merlot man]

Thanks for the great advice g8dhe ,I only found the site and thought it looked like a good system
I've read your topic and it's very in lightening for people like me ......how know very little about auto electrics
Keep the good advice coming
Brian

[stevlor]

I've followed your advice, and ordered a kit from Karl/Rooster which should arrive next week sometime.

I wanted to know your guys opinions on DC - AC converters. Obviously most of my portable electrics have 3 pin plugs which could be put into a converter like: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... _i=desktop

But would that lose a lot of energy converting it? Would I be better off just buying 12v chargers for my laptop/phone etc ?

[cmm303]

I've followed your advice, and ordered a kit from Karl/Rooster which should arrive next week sometime.

I wanted to know your guys opinions on DC - AC converters. Obviously most of my portable electrics have 3 pin plugs which could be put into a converter like: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... _i=desktop

But would that lose a lot of energy converting it? Would I be better off just buying 12v chargers for my laptop/phone etc ?

It is generally more efficient to avoid an inverter and explore the 12v options.
Lots of stuff will charge or run off a USB socket and cigarette lighter / USB adapters are everywhere, even your local supermarket!
Laptop might be harder but still worth exploring 12v charger options.

For the van you might you'd be looking at either something like
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/universal-24a ... rger-n78ea
or
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/12-v-multi-so ... -usb-a06jh
You would need to check the current taken by any 12v (i.e. non-USB) devices and make sure that it/they keep within the spec of any multi-socket.

(the above links are just to show some options - I've not tried these specific products and there is loads out of choice there!)

[stevlor]

Thanks, I think I've found a 12v charger for my laptop. Was thinking of buying the AC converter anyway just in case - it's £25 and I'm sure it'll come in handy at some point - unless they're so inefficient they're not worth the money?

[g8dhe]

Its not that the inverters are inefficient normally around 80-90%, but that mains devices are generally inefficient in the way they use energy, especially any form of heating device, hence the demands rapidly outstrip the inverter itself or require so much power that the voltage drop from the very much higher current is a significant amount when dealing with 12 volts. The standard socket is only rated for 10Amps which means 120 Watts of power available at 80% efficiency means only about 100Watts are available to power the actual device at mains voltage.