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Does anyone know the technical differences between the Van Bitz Battery Master (about £70) and the CBE CSB-2 (about £23 as sold by CAK). They appear to do much the same thing however the costs are drastically different so I've tried to determine which one I need.
From the sketchy technical information available I find that:
Battery Master (BM for short)- when leisure battery voltage exceeds that of vehicle battery by x volts, current up to 1.1 amp flows from the leisure battery to the vehicle battery regardless of whether the leisure battery is being charged.
CBE CSB-2 (CB for short) - when the leisure battery voltage is 13.6 or higher (i.e. a charger is connected), charge between 0.1 and 4 amp is diverted to vehicle battery.
My understanding from this is that as the vehicle battery voltage falls (because of use of the vehicle radio, cigar lighter socket or just self-discharge etc.) the BM will automatically transfer power from the leisure battery to compensate. For a van that is standing idle with no charger attached this increases the time before the vehicle battery becomes so discharged that it cannot start the engine.
The CB on the other hand will only send power to the vehicle battery if the leisure battery is connected to a charger (mains or solar).
Since I plan to fit a solar panel and the van can also be on EHU when at home and idle, it seems to me that I'm better off saving some cash and fitting the CB rather than the BM.
I realise that I may not really know what I'm talking about here so I'd appreciate any useful comments.
Hi rumik
Yes you are right, we have the CBE CSB-2 fitted and with the soler panels as soon as the liesure battery is full it diverts it to the engine battery green light comes on wilst diverting it has been fitted 5 years roughly and never had a flat liesure or engine battery.
Big diference in price though as you say
hope this helps you decied.
veralin
They are different products really. Battery Master is 100% waterproof and has internal fusing so it can be safely short circuited, as we intended it for DIY installation as well as selling it to dealers so it really had to be simple and bullet proof
Hard for me to say which will work better with a solar panel as I wouldn't waste my money on a solar panel to be honest, but like every thing else in life that is my opinion based on the way I use power in my van, which is like everything else in my life...excessive!
Both will do the job you want, Battery Master will help in a few more ways I guess (given my understandin of the CAK unit (fine Company BYW)
Hope that helps a bit!
BTW We often donate Battery Masters to MHFacts for auction for rallies and various good causes, why not wait a while and bag a bargain
CBE are an Italian company with a large customer base in the leisure vehicle industry. You will find their kit on top of the range motorhomes like Niesmann Bishcoff etc
I was about to buy the batterymaster but hesitated at the high cost. Lets face it, you can end up spending a small fortune on things like, HandBrake Extenders, SOG's and Batterymasters.
So I looked around and found the CBE unit as recomended on here by another user. Not bought one yet but Cak Tanks do have them.
CSB2 is now known as a BCM12 (exactly the same item) - cost £22.98 inc VAT
I now appreciate that the Battery Master has particular advantages as described by eddievanbitz and so maybe justifies its cost for particular users/applications.
In my case I think that the CBE CSB-2 will meet my requirements.
I now appreciate that the Battery Master has particular advantages as described by eddievanbitz and so maybe justifies its cost for particular users/applications.
In my case I think that the CBE CSB-2 will meet my requirements.
I now appreciate that the Battery Master has particular advantages as described by eddievanbitz and so maybe justifies its cost for particular users/applications.
In my case I think that the CBE CSB-2 will meet my requirements.
That is now a BCM12!
Trev.
Indeed that is the designation used by CAK in their catalogue but I think that the unit is actually designated CSB-2 by the manufacturers CBE. However since I haven't found anyone else selling the item to the public I'll be buying from CAK (if I can get through on the phone ) and it'll certainly then be a BCM12
Thanks Clive for that one I may well get around to doing it,especialy as I have some spare fuses that pop out instead of blowing so you just pop them back and hey presto
terry
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France
as well as selling it to dealers so it really had to be simple and bullet proof 
) and it'll certainly then be a BCM12 
