battery

My Kombi sits in the shed for most of the year. All I do is disconnect the battery and leave it sit. So far haven't ever had to charge it. Just reconnect and start her up. There is always a battery drain somewhere if the terminals are connected to the car. When touring at work I can be gone for 35 days. I use the isolate connection in my 4by to isolate the battery so I don't have a drama when I am tired and ready to go have a drink at the end of the tour. Again no problems.
shane

I have just put a meter on my van whilst it is in storage and the calculations were,
The charger uses 182.5 Kw per year to maintain the battery which at 30 cents per kw hour works out to be $54.75 or roughly $1.00 per week to keep the battery on float and to my mind that is not much to always have a battery at float whilst the van is in storage.
What do others think.

A 10w panel can do pretty well for the trickle, particularly if you aren't close to a charge point. I saw a Ditchwitch last week that had a panel on the roof expressly for that issue.Kimberley Karavans have one on the multibox on the front to keep the batteries refreshed and have done for a few years.

I must be tight or in a different economic subgroup... but $54 to keep a battery charged.... wow! I reckon that's way too much.

It is free to disconnect the negative terminal!

Of course it is free guys, but if the battery is tucked away somewhere and you have to disconnect it is easy to keep it powered.

We have a low usage tractor here with a switch in the line. It is used every summer. Yes, the battery is hidden away under the a/c condensor. One turn of the switch and it's away. It beats telling employees to ferret away inside and reconnect or disconnect.

Sounds like Shane and Royce have never had to employ people. We can drive past and see if the switch is on or off or it may need a new battery. Employers minds have to cover for employees often.

So John... You also wouldn't pay $54 per annum to keep a battery charged. You instead sensibly have an isolation switch.
I'm not sure what that has to do with my employees and whether I have ever had them or not, or whether my mind is exercised by covering for them. Hmmm

I plead guilty to keeping the KK battery charged and I know not, what it cost Royce. LOL I had two 80 watt solar panels set to do the job there if the charger wasn't plugged in, I always knew the fridge was going then. I plead guilty too as there are more solar panels and a battery charger for the Bushtracker, and I don't know what the cost as the power is a backup.

The point about the employees was that you could never be sure they had done the connect or disconnect, and as an employer, you don't have the time often, to do it yourself as the battery is often buried somewhere difficult to get at. Hence the good use you can make of a permanent solar panel. Good to have a guarantee your battery starts your plant especially for remote starts like a generator.

You missed my point...
The $54 per year would be if the van was allways in storage so deduct the actual days or weeks off the $54 that you use the van as it is designed.

Okay... I'm confused.... but that's normal.

I'd have a solar panel keeping the battery charged up.

I'd also have an isolator switch, to make sure no unknown drain was on the battery.

I'd have my vassels and henchmen check regularly to make sure all is as it should be... and then check up on them to make sure they have done their job.

I'd buy a cheap $54 battery as a backup for when the first one was found to be flat.

If my plant was not used for most of the year I'd consider using a contractor instead of owning it.

And I'm just having a bit of fun, so don't take the bait.

I'd never bother with owning a caravan!

Cheers Royce

Not taking bait Royce, just that our contractors don't like hiring out a tractor to have effluent sprayed out over it for three months a year. We do as a principle of management use them and pay many tens of thousands to a three of four contractors annually, for silage, hay, spraying, fertilizer spreading and pond clearing the most recent.

The said battery isolated tractor has a WDV of less than $1000, but the value it still gives us as an irrigation anchor is great. The PTO and linkage still work, as does the power steering and the clutch operating all gears.

Like your source of $54 batteries suitable for tractors please ;-)) Yeh, I know it was a camper

Royce, are you still working as a science educator?