Which leisure battery?

barryd

barryd

Full Member
Posts
11,556
Likes
20,431
Back in September I posted about my 125ah leisure battery being on the way out towards the end of our trip. Of course I never replaced it as it was getting to the time to be on EHU anyway.

I did some tests yesterday and over 4 hours running 1.5 amps (TV and two lights) it dropped from fully charged to 12.3 under load to 12.4 after I switched off the load so I think its on its way out. Thats just six amp hours.

We have a big trip to do so I reckon its best to replace it now than on the road. Its seven years old.

I really want one of these from Alpha but if you read the link towards the bottom its likely my 2009 charger will not charge it to its full capacity although my MPPT controller might.


Any ideas what to go for? Not interested in expensive lithium. Just a maintenance free battery that will serve us as well as this one has for the past seven years.
 
From reading that article (which seems a very good explanation) just stick with a standard wet cell if you want the simplest solution or add and use solar or a dedicated AGM charger (mains or battery to battery) at least once a month to top up the charge.
 
Oddly there are two different "types" of AGM Lead Acid Battery, European and Far Eastern (I have no idea why that is the case!). The Far Eastern ones need a slightly higher absorption voltage, and that might be beyond your charger? (TBH, if it is a basic standard fitment Motorhome charger from 2008 it is possible NO batteries will be properly charged by it. When you put the charger on, what is the highest voltage you see when testing with a multimeter?).
Personally I would look at something like this for £35 more - https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/1...lead-carbon-deep-cycle-battery-slca-12130-dt/ . A better battery that requires a lower charge voltage, can be taken down to a deeper discharge with no problems and is happy being left partially discharged for periods of time (unlike standard Lead Acid). For that extra £35 you get a battery that is rated at twice the charge cycles and a longer warranty.

Interestingly, just read the article and it talks about the two AGM types and also has a link to the Lead Carbon one above. could have saved my typing :)
 
Thanks. I Doubt ill be keeping this van that long now so I suspect it will only have to last a year or two.

I do have solar and I have a MPPSOLAR PCM-2012 MPPT Controller. If you look at the top of the first page of this manual link it shows the voltage capabilities for the various settings. 14.3 seems to be the max although there is a Custom option 05 which I have never noticed or explored. Most of the charging this summer will be from the 100w solar panel.


I think I would also prefer 125ah min.
 
barryd said:
Thanks. I Doubt ill be keeping this van that long now so I suspect it will only have to last a year or two.

I do have solar and I have a MPPSOLAR PCM-2012 MPPT Controller. If you look at the top of the first page of this manual link it shows the voltage capabilities for the various settings. 14.3 seems to be the max although there is a Custom option 05 which I have never noticed or explored. Most of the charging this summer will be from the 100w solar panel.


I think I would also prefer 125ah min.
Click to expand...
the Lead Carbon I linked to and the Xplorer you linked to are essentially the same nominal capacity (130Ah@C100). The Xplorer has a regular usable capacity of around 65Ah. the Lead Carbon will be more like 90Ah usable as you can dischaarge lower without a problem.
 
wildebus said:
the Lead Carbon I linked to and the Xplorer you linked to are essentially the same nominal capacity (130Ah@C100). The Xplorer has a regular usable capacity of around 65Ah. the Lead Carbon will be more like 90Ah usable as you can dischaarge lower without a problem.
Click to expand...

I was hoping you would reply. :D I posted this on FACTS also and Graham suggested I posted on here so you would see it. so that battery then will be compatible with my Solar charger and despite it being 10ah less than my current one or the Xplorer it will have more usable amp hours as you can take it down lower. I notice they do a 150ah but its £300. Getting a bit steep as I wont be keeping the van that long I dont think (mind you ive been saying that for a decade) :D

Will speak to Alpha on Tuesday and probably order one of them.

Thanks very much.
 
Just checked and the battery I have is an Alphaline 125 ah DC31 bought in Canne in October 2014!! So its not done bad considering its been used pretty much up to half half the year most years apart from 2020.

new-firmware-vodafone-login-page.jpg


The measurements to the one Wildbus posted seem just about the same. Will have to check the terminal posts.
 
I have this agm 120ah that I bought about 12 months ago for a project that I never got around to using
That I probably never will so if any good to you I will let it go for £50 I have kept putting it on charge every 3 months or so, not that it ever needed it
If I remember rightly I think I paid £145 for it


9414D2B4-BD6E-4E5C-8C8C-1E9E5132258C.jpeg
9BD1987B-8335-434B-BCCF-882289D46B8F.jpeg
 
RichardHelen262 said:
I have this agm 120ah that I bought about 12 months ago for a project that I never got around to using
That I probably never will so if any good to you I will let it go for £50 I have kept putting it on charge every 3 months or so, not that it ever needed it
If I remember rightly I think I paid £145 for it


View attachment 107852View attachment 107853
Click to expand...

Thats a very kind offer thankyou. Might I have the same charging issues though with the original AGM battery I was looking at? I think this is the one. https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product/advanced-agm-lp120-leisure-battery/

It looks like its slightly longer than mine at 354mm whereas mine is 330mm I believe and there wasnt much room to spare but ill have a look. Would be be interested in @wildebus comments. Trev kind of has a point. If I part with the van in the next year or so not much point in spending a lot of money on a battery. However we are likely to be away six months this summer and mainly off grid so I need to make sure its up to the job.

Your profile says Huddersfield which is not that far away from me. (about 70 miles I think).

Thanks again.
 
barryd said:
Thats a very kind offer thankyou. Might I have the same charging issues though with the original AGM battery I was looking at? I think this is the one. https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product/advanced-agm-lp120-leisure-battery/

It looks like its slightly longer than mine at 354mm whereas mine is 330mm I believe and there wasnt much room to spare but ill have a look. Would be be interested in @wildebus comments. Trev kind of has a point. If I part with the van in the next year or so not much point in spending a lot of money on a battery. However we are likely to be away six months this summer and mainly off grid so I need to make sure its up to the job.

Your profile says Huddersfield which is not that far away from me. (about 70 miles I think).

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Yes I am in Huddersfield, I am also going to the Hereford meet at the end of the month so could take it to there if you are going or if there is someone who is at the meet that will be coming back past where you live I could pass to them
 
barryd said:
Thats a very kind offer thankyou. Might I have the same charging issues though with the original AGM battery I was looking at? I think this is the one. https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product/advanced-agm-lp120-leisure-battery/

It looks like its slightly longer than mine at 354mm whereas mine is 330mm I believe and there wasnt much room to spare but ill have a look. Would be be interested in @wildebus comments. Trev kind of has a point. If I part with the van in the next year or so not much point in spending a lot of money on a battery. However we are likely to be away six months this summer and mainly off grid so I need to make sure its up to the job.

Your profile says Huddersfield which is not that far away from me. (about 70 miles I think).

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
If I could fit an as-new 120AH battery for £50, I jump at it, especially if I planned on only needing it running for a year or so (y)

The effect of not charging at the full voltage is you do loose a bit of top-end voltage. But at the same time, if you need the battery to last 12 months rather than say 4 years, you can afford to hit it a bit harder in terms of depth of discharge, so that will make up for it :)

All down to will it fit I guess? something to check ... measure the battery at the bottom, not the middle - some batteries have the little protrusions sticking out for the clamps on a battery tray and they are not included in the width or length usually. (Had someone caught out with that a couple of years ago where he welded battery trays for a precise size then bought new batteries that wouldn't fit even though "identical" sizes).
 
Thanks again chaps. Its gonna be close! :D

My current battery is the following dimensions. (in mm)

Length 330
Width 172
Height 242

RichardHelens AGM appears to be from the link I found

Length 354
Width 172
Height 190

On the diagram on the site I found it looks like the lip on the photo of the battery at bottom goes all the way round but in the diagram the lip does not appear at either end and in RichardHelens photo you cant see a lip at either end but perhaps he can confirm or better still measure the length at the bottom to include any lip.
advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk

Advanced AGM LP120 Leisure Battery 120ah 12v | Advanced Battery Supplies

The Advanced AGM LP120 leisure battery is a low profile height 120ah dual purpose battery type. This absorbed mat technology sealed unit is popular for Motorhomes, Camper Vans and many other applications. AGM Leisure batteries can be drained using 70% of their capacity. They can also be charged...
advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk

You can see my problem from the photo below. I shoved the current 330mm battery as far as it would go up against the wheel arch. There is just about an inch to play with now, maybe a touch more so in theory it should fit providing with any lips at the bottom its no more than 354mm but yes, if it fits I think I should have it.

new-firmware-vodafone-login-page.jpg
 
RichardHelen262 said:
Yes I am in Huddersfield, I am also going to the Hereford meet at the end of the month so could take it to there if you are going or if there is someone who is at the meet that will be coming back past where you live I could pass to them
Click to expand...

Thanks. I would be delighted to have it if as requested above you could maybe measure it as accurately as possible along the length at the bottom to include any clamping lips or bits that stick out. I will also be going away in May but I wont be going to Hereford. If its a goer I can come and get it or if we are lucky maybe someone is coming up this way towards Richmond / Barnard Castle area. If not, it will be an afternoon out.
 
RichardHelen262 said:
Measurements bottom with clamping lugs length 360mm width 175mm height 190mm
Measurements not including clamping lugs length 350mm width 165mm
Click to expand...

Ok cheers for that. Thats 3 cm more than mine in length then. do the panel think that it will fit then looking at what space I have to the right of mine. I think it might but only just. Ill go out tomorrow and remeasure the gap. If these lugs are just plastic then do you think they could be ground down a bit or cut off?
 
barryd said:
Ok cheers for that. Thats 3 cm more than mine in length then. do the panel think that it will fit then looking at what space I have to the right of mine. I think it might but only just. Ill go out tomorrow and remeasure the gap. If these lugs are just plastic then do you think they could be ground down a bit or cut off?
Click to expand...
The way boxes are generally moulded, I would be wary about grinding them away. I have a few batteries due to get scrapped... I will look tomorrow if any of those have the clamp protrusions and if so will do some exploration to see if they are hollow or solid.
 
barryd said:
Ok cheers for that. Thats 3 cm more than mine in length then. do the panel think that it will fit then looking at what space I have to the right of mine. I think it might but only just. Ill go out tomorrow and remeasure the gap. If these lugs are just plastic then do you think they could be ground down a bit or cut off?
Click to expand...
They are plastic so should be able to trim them down
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top