Leisure Battery

[grumpyoldgit]

Can I have some advice on what battery to get please. It needs to go under the passenger seat which restricts the dimensions to 280 x 175 x 175.
I have made enquiries and all the proper leisure batteries will not fit. The batteries quoted in the wiki do not seem to exist any more but from a couple of the comments there, I am not sure whether the models quoted were leisure anyway.
The two web sites, Tanya and Manbat have plenty of leisure choices but they are too big again.
I have seen a couple of comments here that people tend to just buy bog standard car batteries anyway.
Is this the case? In which case should I just try and get the most powerful battery that I can squeeze in the compartment?

[The Octave Doctor]

I have two of these - highly recommended - it fits nicely in the under seat passenger box - its 100aH

http://www.alternativeenergystore.co.uk ... e-Battery-(positive-on-the-right" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).htm

but NOTE I dont have a fancy lid for that battery box - only a piece of carpet - and the captains seat sometimes fouls that when you spin it round- but no hasssle to reposition a bit of carpet! These batteries seem to handle lot of deep discharge and re-charging. I keep second as a spare ( for backup ) under r&r bed.

I recall we are both going to Glasto - you can borrow my spare to check fit if you want no worries

[kevtherev]

I mainly use the Aux batt at weekends.
which means two nights of power for lights, radio and in the winter, a propex.

I have found that a starter battery (096 75 a/h) is more than adequate.

as a footnote I also use an inverter to run a TV for a couple of hours to watch a film .. with no issues.

with a two week stay I take another starter battery (096) for extra power, again with no issues.

[grumpyoldgit]

I have two of these - highly recommended - it fits nicely in the under seat passenger box - its 100aH

http://www.alternativeenergystore.co.uk ... e-Battery-(positive-on-the-right" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).htm

but NOTE I dont have a fancy lid for that battery box - only a piece of carpet - and the captains seat sometimes fouls that when you spin it round- but no hasssle to reposition a bit of carpet! These batteries seem to handle lot of deep discharge and re-charging. I keep second as a spare ( for backup ) under r&r bed.

I recall we are both going to Glasto - you can borrow my spare to check fit if you want no worries

Thanks for the advice. I phoned up this morning and bought one. It should arrive Monday.
I have a bit of carpet stuck to plywood on the passenger and driver sides. It looks as though it is original.
I only discovered that the passenger seat was a captain's when I was measuring the battery and wanted to move the seat as far forward as possible.
I assume I need to remove the large base plate to get the battery in and out. I can't see any other way.
I only use the battery for lights and the cd/radio so I am hoping that it will last me a couple of weeks in France this summer so I am sure five days at Glastonbury is not going to be a problem.
In any case, as we have survived with torches in a tent in the past, I cannot see that there would be a problem if the LB did get flat.
I have not found the splitter but I know there must be one as it was when the lights went out that I realised the LB was not keeping it's charge.
On both sides the cables just go into holes in the floor of the battery stores and I have not worked out where exactly they meet up.

I will keep an eye out for you.
You can't miss my van. It looks OK from about 100 yards away but looks crappier and rustier the closer you get.
You will have to come over for some Black Rat cider. I have instructions to go down the fruit farm in Bath on Tuesday and stock up with some farmhouse. In my opinion, £5 for four pints is better value than £3.70 for one pint.

[grumpyoldgit]

Battery arrived by courier this morning. Fitted in sweet as a nut. As you said, not much clearance but I really did want the most powerful I could get that would still squeeze under the passenger seat.
It dawned on my as I was figuring how to get the beast in that the only way was to slide off the passenger seat and then turn the base round. You can then slip the old battery out without having to dismantle the seat base itself.
I did take some photos of the whole process if anyone is interested.
The bit of carpet just sits on top of the battery but then that's all it did before.
Now all I need to do is do the rest of the packing and go and get the cider.
See you at Glasto.

[The Octave Doctor]

Small world - I actually visited the lads who sent you the battery today as they are in my town - I went to get another one as back up. One of them is going to Glasto as well with 2 batteries for his tent ! Yeah the battery take out thing - took me ages to figure it out - like you I was poised with spanners then tried spinning the seat and pushing back.Did you mean you slid the seat off? Mine slides back all the way ( facing backwards )and battery comes out fine. I have spent all day packing and unpacking..just hope after all this the camper gets all the way down there tomorrow!

[grumpyoldgit]

I was convinced that I would need to take apart the whole seat assembly.
I had my socket set and spanners all at the ready.
I slid the seat completely off.
It was only at that point that I realised that I had a captains chair! I'd never looked that close at it.
I was trying to work out which bolt to remove and in the process spun the base-plate round. Eureka!!!
I would have felt such a fool if I had spent half the morning demolishing the chair, only to find I didn't need to.
In fact, I have read your post again and now realise that if I had spun the seat round and slid it as far back as it would go, I didn't even need to slide the chair off.
I only feel a bit of a fool as I only wasted about five minutes.
I am out there at the moment trying to work out what else I can cram underneath the R&R with the awning. It is one of those long tube things and came with the van. Apart from putting it up in the back garden a couple of weeks ago to make sure I had all the bits, I have never used it.
I intend it to be the airlock between the van and the outside world.
If the weather gets bad, wellies and any really mucky kit will have to come off in the airlock before admittance to the van.
On the other hand, if we are sweltering in the heat, it will act as a gazebo.

[The Octave Doctor]

Ha - I just got in from trying to stuff things under the r&r bed too - have given up now. I will just throw things in tomorrow. That cider sounds good about now - very humid here. Debating what to take down in the fridge..got sausage and bacon - a wine bag too. its only small but v cold - so ice is a must as well with the heatwave coming up! Look out for the blue and white hi top - I may be flying the club flag too - found one in glovebox from previous owner - just got to figure out the flagpole thing...drink first tho..

[grumpyoldgit]

Sausages and bacon are a must. There is no nicer smell than a fryup in the morning when you are camping. I'm going to put the sausages in frozen to assist with keeping the fridge cool on the journey.
I'm off to sort out clothes and bedding now and create a "must do" list for tomorrow. My daughter is in London at the moment and at the last minute has a job interview tomorrow morning. She is supposed to be on a specific train out of Paddington in the afternoon on an Advance ticket but I can see potential problems. Apart from that it is just a matter of making sure that the van is full of petrol and starts!

[grumpyoldgit]

Just to demonstrate that a 278 x 175 x 190 battery will fit below the passenger seat but if you have a captains chair you need to swing it round to gain access. I slid mine off but I could have just have turned it round and slid the seat as far back as it goes.

[stiffler105]

hi mate iv just bought a leisure battery which fits under the passenger seat with the lid shut, its on website sales@alpha-batteries.co.uk the product code is (12v25) and it cost £54.99 which isnt bad by leisure battery prices have a look, stiffler out.