Second battery

[travelling man]

First post,beware of the newbie....

I have just bought myself an 05 plate T230 LX TDCi,with the general idea of creating a 'stealth' camper.
I'm a little confused about how to connect a liesure battery for overnight use,in the past with boats I've used a split charge relay to isolate the 'start' battery from the 'domestic' but this smart charging system has me confused.

Looking at this gadget;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301544923367? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Will it be suitable,please?

[travelling man]

I emailed the supplier.
They say that the item above does not work with smart alternator's and I require this unit;

http://meadotech.shop/victron-energy-25 ... -640-p.asp

That's just about my entire budget!
I'm now thinking either no beer chiller or a seperate,solar powered system for 'behind the bulkhead'.

What have others done,please,I cannot possibly be the first to come across this issue!

[Boswell]

I've used one of these for the past 3 yrs charging a 110Ah leisure battery with no problems.

https://tinyurl.com/ChargeControl

[Piglet]

According to:
http://www.petercoopercarrepairs.co.uk/ ... arging.htm
We are only supposed to use Silver Calcium batteries with our Ford Smartcharge.
But I don't think mine is.
But I did have to replace the alternator last week!

[Boswell]

Not using a silver calcium battery as your main battery does not harm the alternator but does shorten the main battery life.
Using the charge controller I have linked to above, you can use any type of 2nd battery

[travelling man]

Thank you,I just knew there had to be a simple answer!