2 Batteries or 1

oldpolicehouse

Guest
Hello
Which is best 2 x 110AH batteries or 1 x 220AH
I have the space and am aware that big batteries are heavy (around 50 Kgs)

Blue Skies
 
Horses for courses really.

I use 2 x 110ah deep cycle leisure batteries in the camper and 3 x 110ah in the RV (not including the starter batteries)

If you go for 2 batteries then just be aware that if one goes down it will drag the other one with it. However if you catch it in time you can still save one battery.

If you have one 220ah battery and it goes down you're left with nothing.

Personally I would just weigh up which is the most cost and space effective and go with that.
 
1x220A or 2x110A, no real difference apart from I don't like lugging 50 kg objects around so I'd probably go for the two smaller ones.

Batteries labelled "Dual use" are simply starter batteries with a different label on. "Deep cycle" leisure batteries are simply starter batteries with a different label on.

I purchased a couple of 110Ah Elecsol "leisure" batteries a couple of years ago, about £90 each. They are supposed to last 5 years. 2 years 3 months in they are just starting to fail. I think they may last about 3 years before they are useless. I am using the van all the time and they have been through a lot of cycles. I try not to deep cycle them. But all these two/three/five year guarantees are pretty meaningless. It is all about number of cycles and depth of discharge. Many of the time length guarantees are based on the fact that most will use them for 5 or 6 months of the year and then keep them nicely topped up in the winter months, not cycling at all. Of course they will last nearly twice as long on this regime.

My experience with other leisure batteries has been similar. To get a true deep cycle regular use battery you need to buy a heavy duty traction battery which will last for 1000 + or cycles. These are very expensive, not at all in the 70/80/90 pound range. If you get a battery in that price range, even if it is called a "deep cycle" leisure battery it will last a few hundred cycles at best and will start to fail after 2 years daily use.
 
Firefox said:
1x220A or 2x110A, no real difference apart from I don't like lugging 50 kg objects around so I'd probably go for the two smaller ones.

Batteries labelled "Dual use" are simply starter batteries with a different label on. "Deep cycle" leisure batteries are simply starter batteries with a different label on.

I purchased a couple of 110Ah Elecsol "leisure" batteries a couple of years ago, about £90 each. They are supposed to last 5 years. 2 years 3 months in they are just starting to fail. I think they may last about 3 years before they are useless. I am using the van all the time and they have been through a lot of cycles. I try not to deep cycle them. But all these two/three/five year guarantees are pretty meaningless. It is all about number of cycles and depth of discharge. Many of the time length guarantees are based on the fact that most will use them for 5 or 6 months of the year and then keep them nicely topped up in the winter months, not cycling at all. Of course they will last nearly twice as long on this regime.

My experience with other leisure batteries has been similar. To get a true deep cycle regular use battery you need to buy a heavy duty traction battery which will last for 1000 + or cycles. These are very expensive, not at all in the 70/80/90 pound range. If you get a battery in that price range, even if it is called a "deep cycle" leisure battery it will last a few hundred cycles at best and will start to fail after 2 years daily use.
Click to expand...

Hello
Thanks for this info.
How do you tell when a battery is starting to fail ?

Blue Skies
 
They wont hold so much charge. The plates get sulphated.

My 2 batteries gave four or five nights use when new. This went down to three to four. Now I get one or two nights. I guess I may be down to 30-40 Ah usable capacity. After 1 nights wilding at stonehenge this weekend, I had to to run my engine for 20 mins for the first time since I bought the batteries. I was running a lap top, music keyboard and some not too efficient lights but my batteries would have easily coped when newer.

Batteries like on the deal that Techno posted are quite a good bet. Slightly beefed up starter batteries in the 60 to 70 pound each range for 115 Ah. I don't think I would spend 90 to 100 pounds on an Elecsol again. The longevity of performance hasn't quite justified it.
 
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Firefox said:
I purchased a couple of 110Ah Elecsol "leisure" batteries a couple of years ago, about £90 each. They are supposed to last 5 years. 2 years 3 months in they are just starting to fail. I think they may last about 3 years before they are useless. I am using the van all the time and they have been through a lot of cycles. I try not to deep cycle them. But all these two/three/five year guarantees are pretty meaningless.
Click to expand...

There certainly worthless with Elecsol. I live down the road from their "headquarters" and if you saw the state of the place you wouldn't buy a torch battery from them - I genuinely thought the company had gone into administration and only realised they were still trading when the unit next door told me. Needless to say, when I took my 3 year old, solar panel maintained battery there to claim on the 5 year warranty I was given short shrift.
 
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So what do we learn from this?

  • Don't discharge batteries excessively (to increase their life significantly)
  • Do use a reasonably sophisticated charger/regulator
  • Use solar panel/s which will help prevent excessive discharge
  • Use LED lighting (again to prevent excessive discharge)
 
As far as I can make out Elecsol is run by one person in the UK. It's simply a distribution and marketing operation.

The guy in question is often extremely rude on the phone, and from what I have read they have a poor record at honouring time based guarantees. You'll get told that you haven't been charging the batteries properly or that you have let them discharge excessively.

I don't think they should be using time based guarantees in their marketing, certainly not as long as 5 years, Number of charge/discharge cycles to say 50% charge would be a more realistic. 5 years daily use would be 1825 cycles and there's no way these batteries would last anywhere near that in my experience.
 
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