Sealed or standard battery?

[porthyt]

This is my leisure battery. It was pretty much flat when I bought the van although the interior lights had a teeny bit of power to work with so not completely dead. I have a halfords charger that tells me to select standard or sealed. Which is this? Do I unscrew the little cross head caps? The multimeter is register 10.43V am I likely to get this back up to full? Cheers Josh

[lloydy]

10v it'll be knackered, may well charge back up but i wouldn't trust it to last

[Oldiebut goodie]

Replace!

[ghost123uk]

I know I too am one for going on about damaging lead acid (or the later calcium type) by running them too low, but it is worth charging it and seeing what happens. A lot depends on how long it was left in a low state of charge.

Many "smart chargers" have a cycle that recognises a very low state of charge and sends strong pulses of current that apparently helps restore them to a reasonable state of health (summat to do with de-sulphating the plates).

Stick a smart charger on it and see how it goes. If you don't have one, borrow or buy one (8 or 10 amp(ish) = about £35 from MotorWorld or often at Aldi/Lidle). It's always worth owning one.

[WLC]

...................................

[California Dreamin]

As the others have said Josh....the battery is very unlikely to recover from being so flat unless it was 'discharged' very recently.

Couple of notes* most of these SMART charges fail to recognise a flat battery, so it is common to have to 'start them off' with an old fashioned unit before the Smart charger is capable of working out what to do lol. Standard Lead/Acid battery settings.

Absolutely: to you question about removing the tops....always top-up with de-mineralized water before commencing a charge....if the electrolyte (water/acid mix) drops below the plates the cell cannot function as intended and damage can occur.

Fingers crossed.

Martin

[porthyt]

Thanks everyone. I've got it charging away to see if it will help. If not then looks like I'm buying another. Any places good/cheap to buy from? What price am I looking at?

Cheerd

[California Dreamin]

A very cheap option with 4 years warranty.....not a dedicated deep cycle leisure battery but as long as you keep it charged it should serve you well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Genuine-O ... 19e5f76f66" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Martin

[CovKid]

Yep, I think I was the first to recommend those. Very good batteries.

[porthyt]

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Honda ... &0&cc5_990" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any good?

[CovKid]

Said this often lately but if you relocate leisure in a cupboard, dimensions don't matter then and you can source a whopping leisure battery from wherever suits and get a good price on one. Pain in the neck if you have to hunt for one to fit a battery slot as they tend to cost more then. If size doesn't matter, the world is your oyster. Mine is 110ah and was only used for two weeks by guy I bought it from - £50.

I made some sliding clamps to hold battery in - they will clamp down on whatever size battery I shove in there. Works a treat.

Alternatively, make a couple of holes in the bottom of the cupboard and just buy a wingnut clamp:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Bat ... 43be033e2c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheap enough. What you might lose in cupboard space you regain in battery box. Once you've made the conversion its a whole lot less stress when it comes to buying a replacement battery thats for sure.

This kind of approach is why I went from 14" to 15" wheels - suddenly the choice opens up tyres.

[porthyt]

Hi,

Well it's already located in a cupboard so o don't have to worry about size. It's more of a cost vs quality debate. I literally have no ideas about batteries. I'd like one that won't need to be removed and charged up everything I park the van up for a few days. What does deep cycle mean? If I need to power fridge, heater, lights, sockets and potential tv what amp should I look at? All that sort of stuff.

The ECP is reduced down so much I thought it may be good?

Josh

[CovKid]

Well, I've never used hookup in my life. I decided from the outset to establish an independent (as far as possible) power supply so I can camp off the grid for days. To do that I switched to LED lighting. I don't have a telly (or feel a need to get one) nor do I ever use the stereo wild camping but I do have a Hudl which I can load up with movies etc if I do need something to pass away a wet day. It draws little and takes little to charge it. The battery is mostly for the Propex so that I'm warm at night and I only have it on a very low setting once I'm in bed. 110ah battery is a good size (in my view).

Some argue theres no difference between starter and leisure batteries. All I can say is mine has far more stamina than the good car battery I had before. In the end it depends what you intend to do in your camper I think. Don't assume that a battery priced at £100 is better than one that costs £50 but do try to get the biggest you can for your money. Don't rush to buy one either. Take your time and you should get just what you want at a good price.

[ghost123uk]

What does deep cycle mean? If I need to power fridge, heater, lights, sockets and potential tv what amp should I look at? All that sort of stuff

Hi Josh,

There is a lot about leisure batteries in our wiki (link to it near the top left of every page on here) but here is some info for you.

Firstly you cannot run your (normal type) camping fridge off a battery. They pull 7 to 8 amps which is similar to leaving your headlights on. The battery would be flat in a very few hours. Use the fridge on gas when parked up and 12 Volts when driving around (when it is then powered by the alternator, not the battery direct).

What sort of heater are you referring to ?

The rest, lights, TV, radio, charging phones etc, is standard stuff and no worry.

A 110 Ahr battery would be nice, but many folk are happy with a 90 Ahr. A 110 Ahr will just last longer.

Deep cycle = normal starter batteries are designed internally to provide huge power to operate the starter motor, then, as soon as the engine is running, they do nowt as the alternator then provides power for all the electrics and to replace into the battery what was used operating the starter. So in effect they never run down. However, your leisure battery works differently as it is designed to provide power for all your "stuff" for hours on end, and then only get charged when you fire up the motor the next day, so they do go flat to some extent, but read on.

IMPORTANT = Although they are referred to as "Deep Cycle" this is a bit of a misnomer as they cannot be run "deeply flat" without damage. Any normal lead acid battery, (starter or leisure type) will be somewhat damaged if it allowed to go below 11.5 Volts, a voltage which is considered to indicate "flat" and no more useful power can be taken from it. The "Deep Cycle" bit just means you can run it down to about 11.5 volts lots and lots of times. Really it should be called "many cycles" type imho. It is SO easy to go to sleep leaving the lights, TV, Laptop on and flatten your battery though, so many folks fit a thing called an "LVD" = Low Voltage Disconnect, which disconnects the battery if it's voltage falls too low, to protect it. Here are some on Ebay = Click here. The cheap ones are fine but you need to put them in a plastic project case or summat really. Many camping type Solar Panel controllers have an LVD built in and they can be very cheap, see LINK. You may even be thinking of solar charging as an option, many do, including myself, but it is not a cheap option as a decent panel is over £100.

Are you basically familiar with the normal way of charging your leisure battery via a "split charge" relay. There is plenty in our wiki about that too

[R0B]

John.That first eBay link is handy should you want a thong or some denim under crackers.