How To: Install A Leisure Battery
Explaining the four options available when connecting your campervan leisure battery
Your batteries are the heart and soul of your electrical system. These magical black boxes allow you to drive wherever you want and still be able to work from your laptop or enjoy a cold beer. But when it comes to designing your electrical system, it can be hard to understand exactly how to install a leisure battery and how it should interact with the rest of your system.
We will discuss the various options available for connecting your batteries to your electrical system.
It’s worth noting here that connecting your batteries is very nearly the last thing you’ll do in your van conversion. If you hook them up while your van sits in the driveway being worked on for another two months, you’re sure to drain them accidentally. Plus, the less live equipment you have in your van while walking around with an electric drill, the better.
There are four ways to install a leisure battery to your electrical system, each with its pros and cons (click to jump to your section) :
Click to jump straight to our summary.
Suitable only for minor electrical systems, connecting directly to the battery terminals helps achieve a no-nonsense, streamlined system.
If you’re powering a few 12V appliances like USB chargers and lights and only have one method of charging (such as DC-DC charging / 230V hook-up), this could be your solution.
Typically only suitable for day/weekend van users.
This is the most straightforward solution to install a leisure battery from an installation perspective (but not the best, in our opinion). You will place the lugged wire ends of your charging and/or 12V output wires directly onto the battery terminals. Then make sure to screw the top back on the battery terminal tight, leaving a secure connection.
Install your leisure abttery by connecting your batteries to 2 busbars is a favourite method for DIY van converters.
This approach is suitable for many electrical systems and will suit everything from small, basic systems to the luxury all-bells-and-whistles model. However, the additional cable lengths and complexity in routing for fuses make this approach less favourable than combi fuse holders or Lynx Distributors for larger electrical systems.
Busbars are essentially an extension of your positive and negative battery terminals, providing several connection points where your batteries have just one.
Combi fuse holders are our most common connection method and essentially bring the positive busbar and MIDI fuses under one roof. Of course, you’ll still need a negative busbar which has been earthed, but all the cabling between the positive busbar and the individual fuses is removed and replaced with a simple, tidy fuse holder.
We usually recommend installing your leisure battery with this approach as it makes for a much more elegant electrical system design than using two busbars but without the added cost of a Victron Lynx Distributor.
Unfortunately, combi fuse holders are only rated to 200A, so they cannot be used with inverters larger than 1200VA. In this case, we recommend a Victron Lynx Distributor, which can handle a whopping 1000A.
The Combi Fuse Holder is a busbar with built-in terminals to attach your fuses. Your positive cable will connect from your battery’s positive terminal to the combi fuse holder. Your negative cable will connect from your negative battery terminal to your busbar.
Victron Energy have done it again with the king of battery connection methods, the Lynx Distributor. While adding an extra cost (approximately £80 extra) to your electrical system, the Lynx Distributor is essentially a positive busbar, negative busbar and fusebox under one roof. This makes it super easy to install your leisure battery to the rest of your system.
If anyone wants a fully decked campervan electrical system, then the Victron Energy Lynx Distributor is what you want! It provides the simplest, most elegant option for electrical system design, saving significant time during installation. If suitable for your system, it is by far the best approach.
If anyone wants a fully decked campervan electrical system, then the Victron Energy Lynx Distributor is what you want! It provides the simplest, most elegant option for electrical system design, saving significant time during installation. If suitable for your system, it is by far the best approach.
There’s no correct way to install your leisure battery. The optimum solution for your campervan conversion will depend on your electrical system and what’s important to you. These options can work effectively for various electrical system designs, so don’t stress too much about the absolute best choice.
Still unsure of how to connect to your batteries? Our Campervan Electrical System Builder automatically chooses for you based on what you want to include in your system. So why not give it a go today for a free wiring diagram and quote?
As always, if you want to speak to someone about your electrical system and get some advice from the experts, give one of our team a ring now!
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