I now have my Triton parked in my drive with the luxury of 240v mains available.

Couple of questions, when the 'van was parked at a storage site I used to remove the battery and charge/maintain it with my Ctek charger, now that I can plug the 'van in to the mains, is it wise to rely on the BIP unit to charge the battery for what could be several months or should I disconnect it and charge with the Ctek? if I do this should I bypass the 'van consumer unit entirely and run another cable into the 'van? If I do continue to use the van consumer unit should I switch off the battery charge switch?

And another one, I know that running a dehumidifier is pointless but what about a small 600w oil heater?

Thanks

Personally I remove my battery, which I keep in my garage, which is internal and warm and dry in the winter, and charge it once a month with my ctec.

We remove the battery and keep it on trickle charge over the winter. The other thing that can get forgotten is the mover control (if you have one), the batteries in that suffer if left in the van over winter, so bring that inside too.

If you are able to isolate the fitted battery charger, I would keep the EHU connected and plug the CTek inside the van. Leave it connected to the battery all winter, that's how it's designed to work.

Hi Chris,

I have relied on the Bip for eight years now and you know the type of winters I get. Not had any problem. I also run a 500watt convector at low all winter with the windows on night latch. Again no problem.

Stewart

Thanks Guys.

Lots of opinions, but I see nobody has said “don’t do such and such because it caused a problem”!
So I suppose it’s a question of doing what seems right! I think it’s probably the same temperature in the van as in the lobby where I would charge the battery if I took it out so that’s not an issue. I think I’ll isolate the BIP charger and disconnect the battery then use the van consumer unit to feed the Ctek. My reasoning is that I don’t suppose the BIP was designed for what is almost continual use whereas the Ctek is. I also think I will try the heater with the windows on trickle can’t do any harm. Do you have a cover on yours Stewart?

Chris

I do, Chris.

Stewart

sorry for the dumb question: what is the BIP and how do you isolate it?

I don't remove the battery as it's too big and heavy, I have mine connected to an external plug, about every 3 weeks I turn on the power for about 3 days using the internal inbuilt charger. It's like simulating using the van during the winter months. I have done this for a few years ...

Just had Mover & Battery fitted, chap from Midland Movers suggested charging once a month rather than trickle charge. (as poptop suggests)

I pre-installed a Ultra Deep Cycle Battery 12V 115AH (110AH) ER550 EXIDE Leisure Marine Dual Range , once a month charge through the winer would be sufficient. (Richard ,Midland Motor movers)
I guess through the summer its also intermittent charging.