# Can anyone recommend Leisure Batteries that last well?



## Deleted member 13543 (Dec 12, 2011)

I think our 2 85AH leisure batteries may be reaching the end of their lives, as I've noticed they are discharging really fast now.  They weren't too bad while we did our Scotland trip, but have gone downhill since then.  We inherited 2 largish solar panels on the roof of our current MH, and we would like to be off hookup in the summer.

I know there are leisure batteries out there that aren't man enough for the job, but can anyone recommend ones that they know are up to it?  We will probably be using 110AH ones this time round.

Thanks!

KP x x x


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## oldish hippy (Dec 12, 2011)

wel igot a elcolsol carbon  fibre 5 year warranty  will start car as well as run van Elecsol Batteries - Battery & Battery Charger & Corporate Wear Products not had problem five warranty helps


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## vwalan (Dec 12, 2011)

hi. get yourselves over to threemilstone industrial estate . cornwall batteries are there . explain what yo want they are very good on prices and the quality isnt too bad. many of the commercial lads use them . in by the big landrover place .


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## Amethyst (Dec 12, 2011)

kernowprickles said:


> I think our 2 85AH leisure batteries may be reaching the end of their lives, as I've noticed they are discharging really fast now.  They weren't too bad while we did our Scotland trip, but have gone downhill since then.  We inherited 2 largish solar panels on the roof of our current MH, and we would like to be off hookup in the summer.
> 
> I know there are leisure batteries out there that aren't man enough for the job, but can anyone recommend ones that they know are up to it?  We will probably be using 110AH ones this time round.
> 
> ...



Theres a seller on Fleabay....carbatteriesdirect selling them for £74.99 with 4 year warranty. 

We are in the same position as you with batteries not lasting very long on these long cold nights. I wonder how much longer the 110ah will last this time of year.

Rob


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## oldish hippy (Dec 12, 2011)

We are in the same position as you with batteries not lasting very long on these long cold nights. I wonder how much longer the 110ah will last this time of year.

Rob 
look back on my post for goatboys site there explaintion of what uses what and rough guide to usage length


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## Firefox (Dec 12, 2011)

My Elecsol 110Ah have lasted 2 years 6 months. They would probably do another 6 months but performance is pretty poor. They still hold some charge fine, just not very much of it!! I won't be getting Elecsol again. They are not very good at honouring guarantees by all accounts. You have to ship the batteries back to them at your expense where they test them to deem if they are faulty. People have done this and they then tell you that you weren't charging them properly or something so I never bothered filling in the guarantee cards. Plus I don't like dealing with their customer support guy who can be extremely rude and abrupt. For example it says 24/7 support on their website, so I phoned one night at 9.00pm to be met with a voice demanding "Why was I phoning at this time?" I told him it said 24/7 support on the web and he tells me "Well not tonight it isn't" and puts the phone down!!!  Part of their problem is I think it is a one man band distribution centre and the same guy does everything so he must get pretty fed up of calls. Anyway, their customer service is 3/10 for me and the batteries don't last as long as they say in my experience.

I've ordered two calcium Enduroline 110Ah from Tayna EXV110 Enduroline Calcium Leisure Battery 110Ah - Leisure Batteries - Enduroline Ca+ Leisure Batteries  Apparently Tayna have good customer support and no sooner had I ordered them, they guy phoned me back to confirm the dimensions and asked if I can accommodate 190mm high not 175mm which I could. They have a 4 year guarantee but are slightly more expensive than the Elecsol equivalent. I can't recommend them yet of course as I haven't tried them. 

If anyone is still dead set on Elecsol, Tayna can supply those as well as most other makes too.


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## Deleted member 5759 (Dec 13, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> Theres a seller on Fleabay....carbatteriesdirect selling them for £74.99 with 4 year warranty.
> 
> Rob




My advice is to buy batteries where you can easily return them should you have a problem, buying on line can be total hassle if you have a problem.

Peter


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## Canalsman (Dec 13, 2011)

MMM did a test on leisure batteries a while ago, and found that Banner Energy Bull batteries were 'best on test' ...

I see that Tayna can supply these.


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## Firefox (Dec 13, 2011)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> My advice is to buy batteries where you can easily return them should you have a problem, buying on line can be total hassle if you have a problem.
> 
> Peter



Fine in concept... I used to buy stuff from Amber Leisure, Hitchin Caravan centre till that closed down. Even though they put a huge premium on some stuff eg Sikaflex 512 £12.90 a tube when it should be much less than £10.00!

I find most specialist centres seem to operate hours like 9.30-5.00 and Sat morning only, closed Sunday. As I have to work long hours, the times these places see fit to open don't suit my lifestyle. Some of them are living in the 1950's still!!  Hence buying online is sometimes the only option.


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## Amethyst (Dec 13, 2011)

oldish hippy said:


> We are in the same position as you with batteries not lasting very long on these long cold nights. I wonder how much longer the 110ah will last this time of year.
> 
> Rob
> look back on my post for goatboys site there explaintion of what uses what and rough guide to usage length



Hi oldish hippy

Have been on the site as you suggested but he seems to have taken the leisure battery part off!

Can you remember any relevant times please?

Rob


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## jamesmarshall (Dec 13, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> Theres a seller on Fleabay....carbatteriesdirect selling them for £74.99 with 4 year warranty.
> 
> We are in the same position as you with batteries not lasting very long on these long cold nights. I wonder how much longer the 110ah will last this time of year.
> 
> Rob



I bought an 110ah battery from this guy. I went to his warehouse in Gorton, Manchester and got a further 10% off. Battery is connected and working but I've only used LED lighting and water pump so can't offer any view on longevity.
I can say the seller is kosher, though if going to the warehouse phone him first.


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## oldish hippy (Dec 13, 2011)

So, you want to know how long your leisure battery will be able to run your appliances? Here are some calcs that might help.

Have a look at the transformer on the laptop (the box between the mains plug and the plug into the back of the laptop)

It'll have printed something like "Output 18v, 4A" Multiply the volts by the amps to give you a wattage figure - in this case 72. So you are drawing 72 watts, and then add 20% for inefficiency (it gets warm, for example", so call it 90 watts.

Your leisure battery is rated at 85Ah and is a 12 volt battery. At peak it has/had (when new) 85 x 12 watts (1000 give or take) total capacity. Take off 20% for age (assuming it's fully charged).

Are you using an invertor to give you 240v to plug in your laptop transformer? Take off another 10%.

So you have available say 700 watts - and you are drawing 90. Divide 700 by 90 - about 8, and that's the number of hours you should be able to run for. 

You can adapt these calcs for any device for which you know either the wattage or the current (A) draw.


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## Amethyst (Dec 14, 2011)

I suppose the main two are the water pump and lights as thr fire can be used without  so





oldish hippy said:


> So, you want to know how long your leisure battery will be able to run your appliances? Here are some calcs that might help.
> 
> Have a look at the transformer on the laptop (the box between the mains plug and the plug into the back of the laptop)
> 
> ...



Thanks for that. I do not know the figures though for our truma heater  fan and water pump. When wilding we only use leds for lighting and rarely use tv.

I suppose the main two are the pump and lights as the fire can be used on its own.

Rob










t


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## Amethyst (Dec 14, 2011)

jamesmarshall said:


> I bought an 110ah battery from this guy. I went to his warehouse in Gorton, Manchester and got a further 10% off. Battery is connected and working but I've only used LED lighting and water pump so can't offer any view on longevity.
> I can say the seller is kosher, though if going to the warehouse phone him first.



Thats interesting ....keep us posted on longevity . I thought he was legit and compared to a lot of places nearly half price!

Rob


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## Amethyst (Dec 14, 2011)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> My advice is to buy batteries where you can easily return them should you have a problem, buying on line can be total hassle if you have a problem.
> 
> Peter



I understand your sentiments Peter but at nearly half the cost and equally good guarantee it takes some beating.

Buying on line is getting to be the norm for price as well as choice for lots of things

Rob


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## solarman (Dec 14, 2011)

oldish hippy said:


> So, you want to know how long your leisure battery will be able to run your appliances? Here are some calcs that might help.
> 
> Have a look at the transformer on the laptop (the box between the mains plug and the plug into the back of the laptop)
> 
> ...


bear in mind that you should try to never go below 50% discharged so batteries can recover and have some longevity of use,may i suggest that you get a battery rated at twice the capacity you need solong as your charging system can fully charge the batteryto full efficiently,
solarman


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## Amethyst (Dec 14, 2011)

solarman said:


> bear in mind that you should try to never go below 50% discharged so batteries can recover and have some longevity of use,may i suggest that you get a battery rated at twice the capacity you need solong as your charging system can fully charge the batteryto full efficiently,
> solarman



In use how do you know that you have used 50%?
We noticed last week that it was getting difficult to read with the leds so knew we had a problem.

We then booked a site with hook up the following night with no problem

Rob


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## solarman (Dec 14, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> In use how do you know that you have used 50%?
> We noticed last week that it was getting difficult to read with the leds so knew we had a problem.
> 
> We then booked a site with hook up the following night with no problem
> ...


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## Amethyst (Dec 14, 2011)

solarman said:


> Amethyst said:
> 
> 
> > In use how do you know that you have used 50%?
> ...


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## Firefox (Dec 14, 2011)

12V is approx 50% discharged. I wouldn't let  it go much below 12V if you can help it and the sooner you can get it on charge, the better for the battery if it is in a low state.


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## Amethyst (Dec 14, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your help. Will keep an eye on the guage now

Rob


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