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Leisure battery recommendations please for an electrical idiot.

wonderer99

Member
Messages
31
Location
Rye
Hey all

So my leisure battery has finally died after 3 years and I find myself in a bit of a pickle in that when it comes to electrics I am.....er......not top of the class lets say. The battery I have had is a 115Ah Halfords job that has been running off a split relay in the van for 3 years. So, needing to swap her out I was looking for the best recommendation for my setup really. I have read as many threads here as possible but still cant wrap my head around Ah and all the rest and what they really mean real world............so

I have a power UP 3D reel, a Pure freedom pump and controller and also have a bilge pump in the tank to fill up my Gardiner backpack. As I say I have a proper split relay kit that works great and so I was looking at recommendations for a battery that will run all those flawlessly on days when im  not travelling far from home and the relay doesn't get much of a chance to do its job. Something robust.I am happy to get another Halfords 115Ah battery but wanted to know if there were better options out there. Do I need more Ah?

Help an electrical muppet before he blows himself up please!

Rich

 
Hey all

So my leisure battery has finally died after 3 years and I find myself in a bit of a pickle in that when it comes to electrics I am.....er......not top of the class lets say. The battery I have had is a 115Ah Halfords job that has been running off a split relay in the van for 3 years. So, needing to swap her out I was looking for the best recommendation for my setup really. I have read as many threads here as possible but still cant wrap my head around Ah and all the rest and what they really mean real world............so

I have a power UP 3D reel, a Pure freedom pump and controller and also have a bilge pump in the tank to fill up my Gardiner backpack. As I say I have a proper split relay kit that works great and so I was looking at recommendations for a battery that will run all those flawlessly on days when im  not travelling far from home and the relay doesn't get much of a chance to do its job. Something robust.I am happy to get another Halfords 115Ah battery but wanted to know if there were better options out there. Do I need more Ah?

Help an electrical muppet before he blows himself up please!

Rich
I'd stay away from Halfords, over inflated pricing on low end batteries.

Do you have a camping and caravan centre near you? They are the experts when it comes to Batteries.

I personally use these which work well and I've had no issues with them 

SuperBatt AGM1100 12V 120AH

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SuperBatt-Purpose-Starting-Auxiliary-Motorhome/dp/B0763NFGYN

 
I'd stay away from Halfords, over inflated pricing on low end batteries.

Do you have a camping and caravan centre near you? They are the experts when it comes to Batteries.

I personally use these which work well and I've had no issues with them 

SuperBatt AGM1100 12V 120AH

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SuperBatt-Purpose-Starting-Auxiliary-Motorhome/dp/B0763NFGYN
Did you not recommend Numax batteries somewhere else in this forum?

I am pretty sure that's why I saved the link to the site that sells it so it comes handy later on.

 
I'd stay away from Halfords, over inflated pricing on low end batteries.

Do you have a camping and caravan centre near you? They are the experts when it comes to Batteries.

I personally use these which work well and I've had no issues with them 

SuperBatt AGM1100 12V 120AH

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SuperBatt-Purpose-Starting-Auxiliary-Motorhome/dp/B0763NFGYN
Thanks appreciate it. Can I ask why (genuinely dont know about this stuff) that battery would be better than the Halfords ones? It is over £50 more than theirs and only 5Ah more? 

 
As they are used for window cleaning and not leisure use warranty is a bit iffy.

Basically the more Ah the more amps you can use. i.e. a 100Ah battery has 50 amps usable before you start to damage it. A 120Ah has 60 amps useable before you start to damage it. Cold cranking amps are not really relevant for window cleaning even with power reels. If you battery is in a battery box make sure any replacement fits ?

There are different types like AGM (absorbed glass mat) or normal lead acid (flooded ) batteries but personally I wouldn't pay extra for AGM. I used to have a motorhome and so many on forums had agm batteries not lasting long. Then there are Li-ion or LiFe PO4 batteries but they need different chargers, are very light weight and can be discharged to 20% but are expensive and saving a few kg isn't really going to make much difference when we carry 500kg of water round ?

Standard lead acid leisure batteries do have a rating of A, B or C. A is best C worst - it's basically related to charge discharge cycles. Look at the one you have from Halfords - it's probably a B. The A version is about £35 more in Halfords.

To be fair I would guess a warranty with Halfords is more likely to get you a replacement batt if necessary - as long as you don't tell them it's use ?  

 
Did you not recommend Numax batteries somewhere else in this forum?

I am pretty sure that's why I saved the link to the site that sells it so it comes handy later on.
Numax are a reputable brand which work and I've used with good results 

 
Numax XV35MF, is my recommendation. Even better when can you can afford it, put a second one with it.
What battery would be a good choice to run the water transfer pump (the one Gardiner sells, from tank to backpack setup)?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
What battery would be a good choice to run the water transfer pump (the one Gardiner sells)?
Sorry, Attila. I can't answer that as it's out of my experience and knowledge. Someone else on here will be able to advise you though I'm sure, when they've settled after tea. ?

 
What battery would be a good choice to run the water transfer pump (the one Gardiner sells, from tank to backpack setup)?
I would use any old car battery to start with and charge each night.

Actually thinking out of the box I would either buy an extra backpack battery at £23+vat and get an extra charging cable. Then you have a spare for your gardiner backpack ( do I remember correctly that's what you have?) plus it's same charger. 

As the transfer pump will probably be used for 10 min a day? (30 l per min x 10 barrels?) so I might even be tempted to make up an adapter to plug into backpack to power pump? 

 
Of course not mate. If you don't know, you don't know. I don't know either. It might be a leisure battery but neither of us knows.

I do know one thing, I used a lot of knows in my reply to you. Don't know why I did that. ?

 
I would use any old car battery to start with and charge each night.

Actually thinking out of the box I would either buy an extra backpack battery at £23+vat and get an extra charging cable. Then you have a spare for your gardiner backpack ( do I remember correctly that's what you have?) plus it's same charger. 

As the transfer pump will probably be used for 10 min a day? (30 l per min x 10 barrels?) so I might even be tempted to make up an adapter to plug into backpack to power pump? 
Thanks mate. I like the idea, however, I think it's beyond my DIY skills - unless it's fairly easy to do with only basic understanding of electric stuff.

 
Thanks mate. I like the idea, however, I think it's beyond my DIY skills - unless it's fairly easy to do with only basic understanding of electric stuff.
First thing if you have a multimeter then it helps. I would say a multimeter is a good thing to have in your tools anyway - any cheap one will do. Remember you have a battery in the backpack and if you switch to a van mount you still have battery etc so multimeter can help to identify faults.

The socket on the side of the gardiner back pack is a IEC socket. So you need an IEC plug from ebay (£2). Then you need to determine which pin  on the backpack charger socket is 0v and which 12v. If you have a multimeter this will help, lots of youtube vids on basic use. If not open up the bottom of the backpack you can see the back of the iec socket and there should be a red (12v) and black (0v) wires. Just note which pin is which and connect your transfer pump red and black wires to the corresponding pins on your iec plug.  Alternatively just connect the transfer pump one way round to the outer pins if it pumps all good if not reverse teh connections and all should be good. Job done!!! Ideally you should have a fuse in the 12v wire to the pump but it doesn't come with a fuse. If you follow the internal wiring on the backpack there is actually a fuse between the 0v on the battery and the charger socket so your transfer pump will have a fuse.

Hope that gives you an idea?

 
The simplest option is to fit like for like - it’s lasted 3 years, nothing wrong with that at all!!! Halfords are very good with warranty and some of them come with a 2-3 year warranty anyway. My first 4 years worth of batteries were Halfords. Like others have said ‘IF’ you do get an issue just return it and tell them it’s out of your caravan. You don’t mention if you charge your battery at home? I’ll assume you don’t for now - but that rules out adding another battery in my eyes as a split relay wont replenish that kind of drain during the day. 
To answer the last query you have - yes there are much better options out there, but if you don’t want to spend the money for the long term reliability and peace of mind then I wouldn’t bother. I personally wouldn’t use anything other than a high capacity gel battery - the ones I have (410aH) come with a 6 year warranty (for window cleaning as well!!) but need a much different charging set up - and a split relay isn’t really an option.  
Slap the same one in and hope you get the same service out of this one as you did the last!!

 
First thing if you have a multimeter then it helps. I would say a multimeter is a good thing to have in your tools anyway - any cheap one will do. Remember you have a battery in the backpack and if you switch to a van mount you still have battery etc so multimeter can help to identify faults.

The socket on the side of the gardiner back pack is a IEC socket. So you need an IEC plug from ebay (£2). Then you need to determine which pin  on the backpack charger socket is 0v and which 12v. If you have a multimeter this will help, lots of youtube vids on basic use. If not open up the bottom of the backpack you can see the back of the iec socket and there should be a red (12v) and black (0v) wires. Just note which pin is which and connect your transfer pump red and black wires to the corresponding pins on your iec plug.  Alternatively just connect the transfer pump one way round to the outer pins if it pumps all good if not reverse teh connections and all should be good. Job done!!! Ideally you should have a fuse in the 12v wire to the pump but it doesn't come with a fuse. If you follow the internal wiring on the backpack there is actually a fuse between the 0v on the battery and the charger socket so your transfer pump will have a fuse.

Hope that gives you an idea?
Yes, it sounds straightforward.

But then if I buy a extra backpack battery, I can just simply use that with the pump (clip it on poles) whilst the backpack remains intact and I can also charge both batteries easily without having a car battery and a car battery charger for that matter.

Is this correct? I think this is what you mentioned in your previous post anyway.

 
Yes, it sounds straightforward.

But then if I buy a extra backpack battery, I can just simply use that with the pump (clip it on poles) whilst the backpack remains intact and I can also charge both batteries easily without having a car battery and a car battery charger for that matter.

Is this correct? I think this is what you mentioned in your previous post anyway.
Yes a second battery will power your transfer pump no problem but you will need an adapter to go from the back pack charger to the second battery! For that you need an inline IEC female socket and connect wires from that to the battery to charger via charger. the wires will need to be correct way round!

Hope that makes scene?

 
Yes a second battery will power your transfer pump no problem but you will need an adapter to go from the back pack charger to the second battery! For that you need an inline IEC female socket and connect wires from that to the battery to charger via charger. the wires will need to be correct way round!

Hope that makes scene?
Yes it does. At first read, I didn't understand why I would need to have the second battery on charger to run the pump but then I realised that what you wrote is just the charging procedure of which has to be DIY. So I think I get it ?

Can I just use this as female?

backpack battery charge.jpg

 
Yes it does. At first read, I didn't understand why I would need to have the second battery on charger to run the pump but then I realised that what you wrote is just the charging procedure of which has to be DIY. So I think I get it ?

Can I just use this as female?

View attachment 22062
Yes that would be perfect and should have correct colour code on. I forgot about the spare charger socket. 

You only need the socket shown above to be able to charge your second battery. You might have to make up a connector to be able to plug it onto the new battery terminals or you could just use the transfer pump clips to hold the charger wires (from socket you pictured)  onto the new/spare battery while charging.

 
Yes that would be perfect and should have correct colour code on. I forgot about the spare charger socket. 

You only need the socket shown above to be able to charge your second battery. You might have to make up a connector to be able to plug it onto the new battery terminals or you could just use the transfer pump clips to hold the charger wires (from socket you pictured)  onto the new/spare battery while charging.
Maybe this on the end of the wires?

spade crimp.jpg

 
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