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New battery advice
- Thread starter paul1
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https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/exide-leisure-er550-battery-115ah-444776790
Use the code VCBT52 and you'll get over 50% off, comes in at £112 and its a B rated battery by the caravan club. There are many many posts where @spruce recommends A & B rated batteries by the caravan club but this is the particular one I ended up getting.
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- 9,499
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If its just to run a couple of pumps then an A or B rated battery is good.
If @paul1 is also adding a diesel heater or electric hose reel then he would be better looking at a B rated battery that's a combo starter and leisure battery like the one you have linked to. They will have a CCA value.
Unfortunately these types of batteries aren't the best leisure or starter battery. The other thing that is becoming more apparent is the number of battery manufacturers and suppliers that refuse warranty on a battery used in wfp even if its a genuine warranty claim. Unfortunately, its the nature of the beast. We are abnormal battery users and battery abusers according to them.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/tutorials/battery-warranty-information
Under the wear and tear section;
Wear and Tear, and Deep Cycling
When a battery is charged and discharged, material from the battery plates (active mass) is in motion, through the electromechanical reaction that produces electricity. Every time a battery goes through a charge-discharge cycle, a small amount of this active mass is lost from the plates. Due to so many factors impacting on the life of a battery, it is impossible to stipulate a minimum or maximum life expectancy.
Every battery has a finite number of cycles that it can go through before it loses its active mass, and in turn, its capacity. Vehicles with high usage, such as busses, taxis and trucks, will often put a battery through this finite number of cycles over a much shorter amount of time, causing a battery to show the above symptoms after only a couple of years. This is not a manufacturing fault.
When a battery is subject to a deep discharge, and/or a rapid rate of recharge, the above process is accelerated. A battery that is deep discharged regularly, or is often discharged blow 50% (12.1v) in the case of leisure batteries, will rapidly lose its active mass, and capacity. An example of this is the use of a leisure battery for running window cleaning water pumps. The loss of active mass, and therefore capacity due to over/excessive cycling is not a manufacturing fault.
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£11 for delivery which makes it basically the same price. After making a successful and hassle free warranty claim with Euro I would use them every time ?
Rickadoo
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My battery is on its way out. Today only got 5hours work done before the controller started shutting my pump off with battery light flashing. Only bought it in April 2018. 110ah Lion 679 one from eurocarparts. It’s a shame. I thought it would have lasted longer. I read somewhere it’s not good for batteries to be stored in a discharged state so I thought the best policy was to recharge the battery at the end of every day if I’ve used the battery that day( regardless of the length of time used). Starting to wonder if that is the best course of action now. What do you guys think? I don’t know how to tell the battery level (wether it’s 12.5 or 12.7 or 50% or lower) there is no level indicator on my charger or on my controller. I only have 1 pump.
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That's the best thing to do to keep the battery in good condition, this is the battery I am using https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/numax/xv31mf/ it's a better battery if you are using an electric reel as it's half Deep Cycle & Starting only had it 11 months so can't vouch for it's longevity as yet.
I am no battery expert but I guess like most they are all of different qualities a Halfords battery would last me a year despite having a 2 year guarantee, I am using a Numax charger also, as overtime I discovered the Halfords one were a bit **** and only lasted 2-3 years
I am no battery expert but I guess like most they are all of different qualities a Halfords battery would last me a year despite having a 2 year guarantee, I am using a Numax charger also, as overtime I discovered the Halfords one were a bit **** and only lasted 2-3 years
Rickadoo
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Hi p4dstar. I’ve just bought one of these and it just arrived. But confused about the vent tube. Never had a battery with one before. What’s the story? Do you vent yours ? I’ve Just done a quick search and read that if kept in bonnet you don’t need to vent them but in passenger compartments you do (cos they give off gas while being charged). I’d imagine in the back of a van they’ll probably be ok but don’t want things corroding.
trevor peacock
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I normally go to my local shop and get an 85ah leisure battery for about £70.
I know nothing about batteries, is 85ah the right one?
I know nothing about batteries, is 85ah the right one?
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They put provision for a vent tube as a safety feature. The gas batteries can give off is poisonous and also explosive. So Its a good idea to drill a hole in the floor of the van and put the vent tube through that to outside the van. Any gas will then be sent to atmosphere.
Rickadoo
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dazmond
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I use two of them batteries to run my system(9kw diesel heater,electric reel and 1 pump).....my last 2 lasted 2 years.....I charge them up every night with a numax 20amp charger and I also have a smart split charge relay.......
Most of my other leisure batteries I've used over the years have been knackered after 9-12 months
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I just use the pipe on it, never really thought much about it. I used to keep it under the passenger seat and I'm still alive haha. I imagine the small amount of gas produced would escape naturally from the back of the van if you're running a split charge but if you're worried you could do as Spruce suggests and have the vent tube outside the van.
If you got it from Euro then keep tight hold of your invoice, they will not quibble if you have an issue within 3 years, just take the battery back with the invoice and they will exchange it on the spot.
Rickadoo
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Cheers. Not using it for split charge so I won’t be charging while driving. Just plug charger in on a night. Got mine off Tayna. Wonder if I go back to ECP with my old one they’ll honour the guarantee. Was a lion one so I’ll have to check the warranty.
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Oddly enough I bought a Bosch one when I first started. I didn't have the invoice to hand so just bought the Exide one and had a little grumble at the woman behind the counter. She told me to find the invoice and she would still be able to do something. I found it and went back the next day, they refunded me the £110 I paid for the Bosch battery and said they will honour the 3 year warranty on the Exide one. Being the Bosch one was only £85 and 18 months old at the time that was an epic result. I now have an Exide battery with 2 years left on the warranty that I paid £85 back in 2017 for ?
By the sound of it you'll be alright. When you open the van doors in the morning the gases will escape before you head out. Just to make 100% sure I probably wouldn't do it with a f4g in your mouth though ?
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Lion didn't honour the warranty with my van's starter battery. They also didn't warranty the dozens of batteries that were sold by the same supplier I use for most of my parts requirements.. That supplier will not sell another Lion battery.
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A battery can gas with a faulty cell also when charging with an ordinary charger. There is probably more chance of an explosion with a battery charger than with a split charge relay.
There is a flow of air through the van when driving and this is when your split charger is working. When you charge your battery at night the vehicle is standing still so there is no flow of air in the cargo area.
With a split charge relay all your terminals and connector lugs are secure. So there is less chance of a spark than with a battery charger using crocodile clips.
Drill a hole in the floor and route a vent pipe outside. Just do it for safety's sake.
There is a Youtube video of an Australian sailing vessel called Catalpa. The family are sailing Indonesia atm.
Check what happened to their starter battery. Starts at 12.00. That battery wasn't working at all at the time. It's an internal short.
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