leisure battery charging?

[BFG TERRANO]

I have a solar battery maintainer in the caravan in storage for obvious reasons.
Having invested in a top notch battery I want it to last. Now winter is coming I've got the battery in the boot (securely) connected to the lighter socket live to live neg to neg as if you were jump starting. All is good, no fuses blown. This is the same in my mind as when I'm pulling the caravan and its using the grey plug?
Will this maintain my battery? It's in my company car and I cover many miles?

[crankedup]

Its not how I would want to maintain my leisure battery, spend 30 or 40 pounds on a good 'battery conditioner' and keep it plugged in for the winter season to keep your battery in top notch order. I have just purchased a Optimate +3 very sophisticated bit of kit for 40 quid, you may need a heavier duty equivalent.

[blitzracing]

The car battery chargers that lidl and Aldi do on a fairly regular basis for around £12 are proper battery conditioners, as they cycle the battery to full charge to prevent sulphate build up, then back the voltage the voltage down to stop the battery gassing and then repeat the cycle. Only down side is if the mains goes off at any point the charger will need resetting as it defaults to "off"

[SixtySpeedTwin]

In my VW Camper i just leave the solar cell connected, it kept it topped up last winter when i parked it up.
if you have mains access a battery conditioner is the way forward, i have used these on bikes before and they work a treat

[Tunku]

I have my caravan on my driveway all year. I have a mains cable running into it permanently with an on board battery conditioner on all the time. I also have the heating on, so it doesn't get damp.
This seems to be enough to keep the caravan in 'hot' mode, so we can take off when we want.
When I am on site, I revert to using the caravan's on board charger, because it seems to keep the lights brighter when it is on, probably because it is more of a PSU than a charger.
Battery conditioner on during the day, caravan built in 'charger' on in the evening.

[volks al]

blitzracing said:

The car battery chargers that lidl and Aldi do on a fairly regular basis for around £12 are proper battery conditioners, as they cycle the battery to full charge to prevent sulphate build up, then back the voltage the voltage down to stop the battery gassing and then repeat the cycle. Only down side is if the mains goes off at any point the charger will need resetting as it defaults to "off"

Picked a gunson one up from tk maxx today for £7

[slf2012]

I am planning on fitting a battery conditioner to my motorhome to keep the vehicle battery topped up over winter, and at the same time hooking the mains socket up to keep the leisure battery charged.

As I keep the motorhome covered with a waterproof, breathable cover, I was just wondering if warnings about not charging batteries in an enclosed atmosphere are something I need to heed.

I don't think it will be a problem, but obviously don't want to create a dangerous situation.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Many thanks!

[Fishtigua]

Only if they are acid filled 'wet' batteries will gassing be a major problem. As long as they are ventilated to a good outside air source, not an issue to worry about. Gel and AGM leisure batteries are much more common as house sources of power these days.

[abbotsmike]

Is the lighter socket active when the engine is off? If it is, then there is a risk of discharging both batteries. Most cars or vans that run two batteries (effectively what you are doing) use a split charge relay to stop a drain on one battery draining the other.