Mains hook up or also know as shore power comes from the shipping industry, when a ship uses a power connection on the shore.
You can use the same principle for your campervan as well. With a shore power or also call mains connection it is possible to charge your auxiliary battery through a 230V power outlet. So you can simply charge the auxiliary battery as at home – via the mains outlet!
1. How does shore power in your campervan work?
To use shore power you need a connection. An example is a mains inlet socket. There are also other types, but a mains inlet socket is used in most cases.
From the mains inlet socket, you mount a three core cable that goes via an RCD to a battery charger. See Electrical Wiring Diagram.
The battery charger converts 230 Volt into 12 Volt and charges the leisure battery.
Through a mains extension cord you connect to the mains inlet socket. So you have to think beforehand where you want to place it!
2. Ways to charge your campervan leisure battery
Battery chargers can be used to charge the leisure batteries of your campervan from 230-volt mains supply. They convert high voltage into the correct voltage needed to charge 12V (or sometimes 24V) batteries.
Chargers with higher amperage will charge faster. However, it is important to choose a current that suits the size and type of the battery. For most battery types, manufacturers recommend a maximum charging current of 0.2C (20% of the Ah capacity of the battery). For example, a 100Ah battery should be charged with no more than 20A.
Lithium batteries can handle higher charge currents. You can find the recommended charging currents in the battery’s user manual.
Victron battery charger
The Victron battery charger is available in 15A, 20A and 30A. It can be permanently installed in your camper and used to charge the leisure batteries using 230V. A great way to charge your batteries if you don’t want to install an inverter.
View the wiring diagram here.
Device
Hours to charge a 200Ah lithium battery
*Based on charging a lithium battery from 10% to 100% (160Ah usable capacity)
Victron MuliPlus
If you want to use appliances on 230V without a mains connection, you need an inverter. A Victron MultiPlus includes an inverter and battery charger, saving space, money and installation time.
When connected to mains supply, the MultiPlus charges the leisure battery and supplies power to the connected sockets. If you disconnect the mains supply again, the MultiPlus quickly switches to power from the leisure battery.
The Victron MultiPlus is available in several variants. These all have a different size battery charger including 20A, 35A, 50A, 70A & 80A.
View the wiring diagram here.
Device
Hours to charge a 200Ah lithium battery
*Based on charging a lithium battery from 10% to 100% (160Ah usable capacity)
Ective SSI
If you want to use appliances on 230V without a shore power connection, you need an inverter. An Ective SSI is equipped with an inverter, battery charger and MPPT charge controller (for your solar panels) this saves space, money and installation time.
When connected to mains supply, the Ective SSI charges the leisure battery and supplies power to the connected sockets. If you disconnect the mains supply again, the device quickly switches to power from the leisure battery.
The Ective SSI is available in several variants, however, the battery charger remains the same size: 20A.
View the wiring diagram here.
Device
Hours to charge a 200Ah lithium battery
*Based on charging a lithium battery from 10% to 100% (160Ah usable capacity)
3. Additional Information
This section explains what else you should consider before purchasing a battery charger.
Mounting
Do you choose a battery charger with an inverter model? Make sure that the (cable) connections are solid! Due to the high currents that these devices can generate, this is the most dangerous part of your electrics. If you are not sure, have a professional check it out!
Furthermore, it is important to use the right cable sizes and fuses. This blog post goes into more detail about that. The Electrical Wiring Diagram calculates cable thickness and fuse size.
How large (amps) should my battery charger be?
The charging current should preferably not exceed 20% of the battery capacity (20A for a 100 Ah battery). The temperature of a battery will increase by more than 10°C if the charging current exceeds this percentage and shorten its life. This concerns lead-acid batteries.
4. Making a choice
If you need mains hook up depends on a number of factors:
- Full-time/part-time: If you are traveling full-time in an campervan, you will probably need all the power you can get;
- High load appliances: Finally, you can look at the appliances you want to use in your campervan. For example, if you want to use a high demand roof top air conditioner, then it is a must;
- Installing a mains hook up is not very expensive and is ideal to fall back on if the sun is not shining;
5. Our choice
We bought a Proximus service van and it was already equipped with a mains inlet connection! All we had to do was mount a new inlet and pull a cable to our battery charger.
As a battery charger we chose an Ective SSI 15. This device has a built-in 20A MPPT charger, 20A battery charger (shore power), Inverter transfer switch and an 1500 Watt inverter.
We chose the Ective SSI because we could connect everything to this unit: solar panels, shore power and inverter. And the price is about 50% cheaper than a Victron system.
Battery charger placed neatly in a wiring diagram? You can! And to give you a hand, we have developed 3 files in which you can design your unique wiring diagram!
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