Advise on 'winterising' Sprinter camper van solar system and battery

[Dav0]

Hello, I have a Mercedes Sprinter camper van with solar panels, charge controller and battery and I am wondering what best practice is to 'winterise' this system whilst not in use over the winter months, should I leave everything switched on and connected? or turn everything off (trickle charge battery?), should I cover the solar panels?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hello, I have a Mercedes Sprinter camper van with solar panels, charge controller and battery and I am wondering what best practice is to 'winterise' this system whilst not in use over the winter months, should I leave everything switched on and connected? or turn everything off (trickle charge battery?), should I cover the solar panels?

Isolate all of your electrical consumers using a masterswitch. Charge your leisure battery and starter battery - use recond mode if it’s lead acid but not if it’s AGM - and disconnect once charged. Top up starter battery periodically in case of drain.

Drain fresh water, waster water, toilet flush and toilet cassette (if you have it). Purge taps and flush by running the pump (taps open) with no water in the tank. Wipe down all hard surfaces with antibacterial spray, and give the fridge and freezer a very thorough clean, leaving the doors ajar.

Take your bedding indoors if you can. Leave all interior doors and drawers ajar for circulation. Make sure all windows and vents are closed. Close the blinds. Lock the door. Plan where you’re off to next year. Sorted.

PS I wouldn’t leave it on trickle without regularly checking it, especially leisure batteries. If a cell fails then the heat and pressure can build up and the resulting acid leaks or high pressure evacuation is a bit of a nightmare.

 

[Dav0]

Isolate all of your electrical consumers using a masterswitch. Charge your leisure battery and starter battery - use recond mode if it’s lead acid but not if it’s AGM - and disconnect once charged. Top up starter battery periodically in case of drain.

Drain fresh water, waster water, toilet flush and toilet cassette (if you have it). Purge taps and flush by running the pump (taps open) with no water in the tank. Wipe down all hard surfaces with antibacterial spray, and give the fridge and freezer a very thorough clean, leaving the doors ajar.

Take your bedding indoors if you can. Leave all interior doors and drawers ajar for circulation. Make sure all windows and vents are closed. Close the blinds. Lock the door. Plan where you’re off to next year. Sorted.

PS I wouldn’t leave it on trickle without regularly checking it, especially leisure batteries. If a cell fails then the heat and pressure can build up and the resulting acid leaks or high pressure evacuation is a bit of a nightmare.

Thank you - all good advice

 

[BTB 500]

Note that you can't disconnect the battery/batteries if you have a Tracker fitted as loss of voltage to this will trigger an alarm. I have a caravan with a 100W solar panel on the roof and that keeps the battery continuously topped up during winter (the charge controller is permanently connected, even with the master power switch off). The only drain should be from the Tracker.

With the master power switch (accidentally) left on the battery slowly flattens as there's not enough solar power in winter to cover the parasitic drain from heating etc. units, even though they're turned off. This eventually results in a flurry of automated calls and SMS messages from Tracker!

 

[Dav0]

Note that you can't disconnect the battery/batteries if you have a Tracker fitted as loss of voltage to this will trigger an alarm. I have a caravan with a 100W solar panel on the roof and that keeps the battery continuously topped up during winter (the charge controller is permanently connected, even with the master power switch off). The only drain should be from the Tracker.

Thank you - to be honest, as I have 800W of solar and I am tempted to leave the solar system connected and turned on and just turn off fridge, etc., I have tracker and so that would be easier for me