bigal
Guest
It's a B544.
maingate
Full Member
- Posts
- 12,787
- Likes
- 18,654
If your present battery is an old one, you do not get much benefit pairing it up with a new one as the old one will limit the new one. There should be a date mark on your old one (year/month of manufacture).
Batteries should be the same type and amp hours to get the maximum benefit. That way, they should double your stay off hookup. It is not good to repeatedly drain your batteries past 50%. That equates to a voltage reading of 12.1 volts.
Lots of people criticise leisure batteries for the wrong reasons. They run them flat and then hammer the charge back into them as quickly as they can. It works well for a short time but kills a battery off quite quickly.
Batteries should be the same type and amp hours to get the maximum benefit. That way, they should double your stay off hookup. It is not good to repeatedly drain your batteries past 50%. That equates to a voltage reading of 12.1 volts.
Lots of people criticise leisure batteries for the wrong reasons. They run them flat and then hammer the charge back into them as quickly as they can. It works well for a short time but kills a battery off quite quickly.
Deleted member 207
Guest
There's quite a few threads on here about leisure batteries/solar panels, have a quick search for anything less than about 18 months old - older than that and technology has moved on quite a bit.
Do some basic calculations on what your electric consumption will likely to be - its a big waste of money to have 200% more than you need for a "rainy day". There are plenty of websites that have power consumption calculators used for solar panel sizing that can be used to size your leisure battery.
Since the advent of gel filled batteries you can often get a much larger (size and capacity) to fit in the same spot as they can now be laid on their ends, sides, upside down if necessary.
Do some basic calculations on what your electric consumption will likely to be - its a big waste of money to have 200% more than you need for a "rainy day". There are plenty of websites that have power consumption calculators used for solar panel sizing that can be used to size your leisure battery.
Since the advent of gel filled batteries you can often get a much larger (size and capacity) to fit in the same spot as they can now be laid on their ends, sides, upside down if necessary.
David & Ann
Full Member
- Posts
- 2,561
- Likes
- 629
Maingate's post makes sense. If I were you, get new 2 X 110AH batterries, hook up the second one as close as you can to where your first battery was, if possible, side by side. I know it costs a few Quid, but you should be okay for a 3 years or so. And YES it would double the length of usage.
caspar
Guest
Yep! I agree. Buy two new batteries (ideally 110, but 80 does the job). Place them as near together as possible and in answer to your question how? Buy the proper wire (VERY important in order to avoid fire) - your motorfactors will advise you if you explain what it is for - buy the appropriate terminals (2 to connect to the replaced existing battery and two to connect to the new battery). Just join +ve to+ve and -ve to-ve and you're done. Simple as.
Don't mix an old and a new battery, it really isn't worth it. If the existing battery is only a few months old, fair enough, but otherwise replace both.
Don't mix an old and a new battery, it really isn't worth it. If the existing battery is only a few months old, fair enough, but otherwise replace both.
The Grand Wanderer
Guest
Q You ask where
A Under one of the front seats. you have to remove the seat turntable but there is just room to get a battery in. Make sure that you measure carefully the space and get a battery that will fit.
Q You ask how
A Connect positive terminal on new battery to positive terminal of existing leisure battery terminal using a good quality multistrand copper wire with a minimum thickness of 3mm placing an in line fuse rated at 15 amps in it. Connect the negative terminal either to the motorhome body or to the existing negative terminal of the leisure battery using the same quality wire.
Be Sure to get batteries that have a vent pipe and that the pipe vents to the outside of the van. they can be joined together using a T peice.
Q Will it double the length of 12v usage.
A Yes
As has already been stated when you do this it is best to use new batteries and that they both are exactly the same.
Last edited:
bigal
Guest
Thank you all very much for your replies, I'm in the process of negotiating the steep learning curve that is newbie motorhome ownership and am compiling a to-do and to buy-list in order to have a stressfree few months touring around Europe next year, its a matter of getting to know the van and what it can do, limitations ,etc, all good fun..............I'm currently sleeping in it outside my house until I can get it onto my property around the back.......another story. Anyway looks like 2 batteries will be the way to go, don't want to run out of juice whilst wildcamping.
peterandlinda
Guest
Hi
Your first trip abroad is unlikely to be trouble free, but, hey, that is all part of the fun. You should, with 220Ah, be OK wild camping but not for more than a night or two without additional power or driving a fair distance, depending on how much power you will use. As part of your preparation consider:
replacing your halogen lights with LED fittings;
fitting a Sterling battery to battery charger (which will recharge the leisure batteries quicker on the move);
for summer use, fitting a solar panel or two;
is a generator an option?
Can you afford an Efoy?
P&L
Your first trip abroad is unlikely to be trouble free, but, hey, that is all part of the fun. You should, with 220Ah, be OK wild camping but not for more than a night or two without additional power or driving a fair distance, depending on how much power you will use. As part of your preparation consider:
replacing your halogen lights with LED fittings;
fitting a Sterling battery to battery charger (which will recharge the leisure batteries quicker on the move);
for summer use, fitting a solar panel or two;
is a generator an option?
Can you afford an Efoy?
P&L
millso
Guest
Quick question
Hi all,
I followed the advice on this thread and purchased 2 new 110ah leisure batteries. However, after fitting them today, I noticed the first one is showing 13.1v when the campers plugged in, whilst the other is showing 12.9. When they're both unplugged they're showing 12.9... Does this mean the second one's not charging and there's a problem in my set up?
Cheers J
Hi all,
I followed the advice on this thread and purchased 2 new 110ah leisure batteries. However, after fitting them today, I noticed the first one is showing 13.1v when the campers plugged in, whilst the other is showing 12.9. When they're both unplugged they're showing 12.9... Does this mean the second one's not charging and there's a problem in my set up?
Cheers J
The Grand Wanderer
Guest
Hi J,
I would expect both batteries to show the same voltage.
Possible faults could be,
1 Wire size too small causing resistance and thus a low reading from second battery.
2 Inline fuse on positive lead between the batteries not sturdy (heay duty) enough thus causing resistance and voltage drop.
3 Inline fuse not fitting in holder properley again causing resistance.
4 Earth connection not clean and tight to vehicle body if that's how you wired them, again causing resistance.
5 Are all conections clean and tight.
Wanderer
mrbigglesworth
Guest
battery conections
To reduce voltage differences it would be best to have to the veh. positive feed to one battery (before it continues to the second bat.) and the veh. negative cable to the other battery ( before it continues to the first bat.). This would prevent one battery from doing most of the discharging/ charging. This is even more significant if there was 3 batteries in series.
Mr B.
To reduce voltage differences it would be best to have to the veh. positive feed to one battery (before it continues to the second bat.) and the veh. negative cable to the other battery ( before it continues to the first bat.). This would prevent one battery from doing most of the discharging/ charging. This is even more significant if there was 3 batteries in series.
Mr B.
Deleted member 3011
Guest
3mm may not be up to the task depending on how the cable manufacturer does his ratings.
Connecting the new battery negative lead directly to the chassis may not be the best way to do it - and will certainly introduce differences in charging currents (and therefore charging voltages) between the two batteries. This difference will disappear when the batteries are resting BUT will reappear when the batteries are discharging. End result may be one battery gets more of a hammering than the other, especially if charge and discharge currents are relatively high, and may reduce the life of one battery.
millso
Guest
Hi all,
I have connected the original battery connections to the first leisure battery, then the second battery to it so positive to positive with a heavy duty inline fuse, negative terminal to negative terminal.
I don't know what a veh is but can look into it... I'm pretty sure the cable is alright (paid a high price from my local motor factor who said it would do the job).
There may not be an issue? I just don't know whether its normal for the second battery to be of a lower charge? (Very new to all this!).
I have connected the original battery connections to the first leisure battery, then the second battery to it so positive to positive with a heavy duty inline fuse, negative terminal to negative terminal.
I don't know what a veh is but can look into it... I'm pretty sure the cable is alright (paid a high price from my local motor factor who said it would do the job).
There may not be an issue? I just don't know whether its normal for the second battery to be of a lower charge? (Very new to all this!).
Bigpeetee
Guest
Use a digital voltmeter to test for voltage differences.
Start on th 20 volt scale, put some equipment, lights etc on to put a gool load on the battery.
Now put the test leads on the positive on one battery and again on the positive of the other, you shouldn't get a reading, reduce the voltmeter down to 2v scale, still shouldnt get a reading and finally to the 200mV range, if you get a significant reading doing this test you have a high resistance between the battery terminals, (poor joint, connection or cable too small.)
Do this again on the negative terminals of the battery.
If you do this again from the negative terminals to the vehicle chassis, any voltage here indicates a resistance in the Earth return lead, mine had 0.75 volt drop.
If this is happening, you need to increase the earth, I took a lead from battery negative and bolted directly to the body.
You should also extend your voltmeter lead (any wire will do) to measure any voltage drop from the vehicle battery negative terminal to the leisure battery terminal.
The earth to the chassis is not always 100%
If you measure the voltage across the vehicle battery with the engine running and then across the leisure battery, they should be similar, any difference is caused by the losses of the cables and fuse. This is what you are trying to eradicate.
Remember, if you get losses in the leisure battery feed cable there isn't enough voltage to fully charge them. The flatter the leisure batteries, the greater the voltage loss on the cables as a result of the batteries trying to drawer more current, resulting in the leisure batteries not getting enough power to charge before the alternator has charged the vehicle start battery and reduces output.
I found this out over a couple of weeks tour, the leisure batts (2x110AH) got more and more discharged.
Hope this helps
Start on th 20 volt scale, put some equipment, lights etc on to put a gool load on the battery.
Now put the test leads on the positive on one battery and again on the positive of the other, you shouldn't get a reading, reduce the voltmeter down to 2v scale, still shouldnt get a reading and finally to the 200mV range, if you get a significant reading doing this test you have a high resistance between the battery terminals, (poor joint, connection or cable too small.)
Do this again on the negative terminals of the battery.
If you do this again from the negative terminals to the vehicle chassis, any voltage here indicates a resistance in the Earth return lead, mine had 0.75 volt drop.
If this is happening, you need to increase the earth, I took a lead from battery negative and bolted directly to the body.
You should also extend your voltmeter lead (any wire will do) to measure any voltage drop from the vehicle battery negative terminal to the leisure battery terminal.
The earth to the chassis is not always 100%
If you measure the voltage across the vehicle battery with the engine running and then across the leisure battery, they should be similar, any difference is caused by the losses of the cables and fuse. This is what you are trying to eradicate.
Remember, if you get losses in the leisure battery feed cable there isn't enough voltage to fully charge them. The flatter the leisure batteries, the greater the voltage loss on the cables as a result of the batteries trying to drawer more current, resulting in the leisure batteries not getting enough power to charge before the alternator has charged the vehicle start battery and reduces output.
I found this out over a couple of weeks tour, the leisure batts (2x110AH) got more and more discharged.
Hope this helps
maingate
Full Member
- Posts
- 12,787
- Likes
- 18,654
If you wire the batteries up as mrbigglesworth says, there should not be any real difference between the 2.
You need to remember that you charge them up to 13.8 to 14.4 volts. When you disconnect the charger, you need to wait a few hours to get an accurate reading of the battery true voltage.
12.9 volts means that the battery is fully charged. Anything above 12.6 volts is usually a fully charged battery. I say usually because things like ambient temperature can vary this a bit.
You need to remember that you charge them up to 13.8 to 14.4 volts. When you disconnect the charger, you need to wait a few hours to get an accurate reading of the battery true voltage.
12.9 volts means that the battery is fully charged. Anything above 12.6 volts is usually a fully charged battery. I say usually because things like ambient temperature can vary this a bit.
solarman
Guest
A reading of 12.6-7 volts is a fully charged battery,ignore readings any higher than this
as it's still coming down to it's resting voltage so it should settle at around 12.6-7 volts,
however voltage readings can be quite deceptive as there could be faulty cells within the battery,voltage readings should only be used as a general indicator,
Solarman.
as it's still coming down to it's resting voltage so it should settle at around 12.6-7 volts,
however voltage readings can be quite deceptive as there could be faulty cells within the battery,voltage readings should only be used as a general indicator,
Solarman.
millso
Guest
Hi all,
Thanks for your on going help
I have followed the advice and checked all the terminals and everything seems fine...
I checked the usage tonight by leaving two of the campers lights on for an hour (was more like 50 mins), the second battery didn't go down at all, whilst the 1st battery went from fully charges 12.9 to 12.4 in that short time... Is this normal?
Bit worried as we will be in the camper full time in 2 weeks and don't want to ruin the batteries or be without power.
John
Thanks for your on going help
I have followed the advice and checked all the terminals and everything seems fine...
I checked the usage tonight by leaving two of the campers lights on for an hour (was more like 50 mins), the second battery didn't go down at all, whilst the 1st battery went from fully charges 12.9 to 12.4 in that short time... Is this normal?
Bit worried as we will be in the camper full time in 2 weeks and don't want to ruin the batteries or be without power.
John