Leisure Battery

I am a convert so go with Lithium. Just bought a 120AH one that weighs 15Kg the battery that was in was 80AH Gel weight 28KG . To get the same output I would need 3 Gel batteries weighing 84KG to give a usable 120AH
 
wildebus said:
well, this is my take on the subject ...

Banner are budget batteries and getting 3 years out of one is actually not that bad in reality. But you can do a lot better!
Some folk rave about the Powerframe Varta/Bosch Batteries. Good for them ;) not for me :)

What options are there?
Lithium is obviously the most advanced choice and there are numerous advantages, of which Philip has touched on. But you do need to fork out for the initial investment and also likely add some advanced battery management/monitoring (a basic voltmeter won't cut it with Lithium) and maybe update your charging system.
If you go Lithium, I have not seen a better value product than the Poweroad Lithiums that Alpha-Batteries will have in before Christmas. You can get cheaper by building your own of course, but if someone was into that, they wouldn't be asking a "what battery" type question in the first place, so lets forget the DIY option!

An option which I personally think is very good is the one I have in my Campervan (and got from Geeky Philip as it happens) ...
Lead-Carbon. A variation on the Lead Acid AGM batteries and while they don't have the same life cycle count as Lithiums, they could well outlive many of us in normal use (Lead Carbon batteries tend to have a cycle count in the thousands).
Using Alpha Batteries as a example (I tend to look at their range as they manage to have the best prices around), they have a new Lead Carbon battery arriving soon - https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/1...ad-carbon-ultra-deep-cycle-battery-dc12-100c/
What I like about this battery is that you could use this genuinely as a drop-in replacement for a standard battery without the need for extra monitoring. It also has a lower charge voltage requirement than typical AGM batteries so may allow you to fit it without the absolute need to upgrade your chargers.


If you are tight on space and weight, Lithium is the way to go, but you do need to make sure it is installed right with suitable associated periphrals (chargers, monitors)
If you are ok for space and weight, I would be very tempted by the Lead-Carbons as - IMO - as a DIY install, they offer the least hassle at a significantly better initial cost than Lithiums.

My own plans are to install Lithiums in my Motorhome, but that is because of both space and weight limits. If I had the spare payload (like in my Camper), I would stay Lead-Carbon and save the money (even though I have chargers and monitoring suitable for either).


Final note. The best way to get the best service life from your batteries is to install more than you need!
If you think a 100Ah Battery will suit you fine, then installing 2 x 100Ah Batteries will stress the batteries a lot less, and they will last probably more than twice as long and also give you the extra power reserve on the occasions you could use it.
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All down to price and if worth the hastle, mine work very well for what i require at a fraction of above.
 
trevskoda said:
All down to price and if worth the hastle, mine work very well for what i require at a fraction of above.
Click to expand...

Same here.... The 3 x 100ah explorers that I fitted to the transit 4/5 years back are still serving in the Moho....
Starting to lose a bit of capacity now so replacement won't be far off...
BUT they were used with our 3000w inverter to power microwave/toaster/slow cooker/kettle so have been used well.

I can't say that I've had bad value from them to be honest...

Lithium sounds great (I'm wholly lithium powered cordless work tools wise and torch wise including the ones I use for exploring deep into old mines etc)
BUT needs to come down in price considerably before I'll be buying lithium for the Moho.
 
I dropped a Varta battery into my Motorhome earlier last week.
Can't wait to take that out again in the next week or so hopefully so I can actually use battery power for more than one day ;)
 
This looks like a good deal if you can afford the weight of them.

www.tayna.co.uk

Leoch Superior Lead Carbon AGM 130Ah Battery (SLCA-12130 DT)

The Leoch Superior Lead Carbon AGM 130Ah Battery (SLCA-12130 DT) is from the Leoch Batteries range of Industrial Batteries. We aim to sell all of our products at the LOWEST PRICES in the UK and offer nationwide next day delivery.
www.tayna.co.uk www.tayna.co.uk

Cheers

H
 
wildebus said:
I dropped a Varta battery into my Motorhome earlier last week.
Can't wait to take that out again in the next week or so hopefully so I can actually use battery power for more than one day ;)
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True you would want 2 0r 3 at the rate you go at. 😂 😂 bet you van is like blackpool on a sat night.😂😂
 
winks said:
This looks like a good deal if you can afford the weight of them.

www.tayna.co.uk

Leoch Superior Lead Carbon AGM 130Ah Battery (SLCA-12130 DT)

The Leoch Superior Lead Carbon AGM 130Ah Battery (SLCA-12130 DT) is from the Leoch Batteries range of Industrial Batteries. We aim to sell all of our products at the LOWEST PRICES in the UK and offer nationwide next day delivery.
www.tayna.co.uk www.tayna.co.uk

Cheers

H
Click to expand...

These are good batteries.

£200.36 with delivery from Tayna.
£194.98 with delivery from Alpha Batteries.

Only £180.36 with our discount code!

www.alpha-batteries.co.uk

12V 115AH Leoch AGM Lead Carbon Deep Cycle Battery (LDC12-115-G31-DT) (SLCA-12130 DT) - Alpha Batteries

12V 115AH Leoch AGM Lead Carbon deep cycle battery – LDC12-115-G31DT What Makes Lead Carbon AGM Superior to other AGMs? […]
www.alpha-batteries.co.uk www.alpha-batteries.co.uk
 
Thanks to all for advice. We were going to go for lithium but in the end settled on a lead carbon battery with 135ah and 500 cycles (194 before discount) from alpha. Our campervan is 9 years old and sassuming she keeps going, likely we may change in ca 10 years when we retire, although will be hard thing to do, so lithium didn't make sense. Thanks again
 
fiona b said:
Thanks to all for advice. We were going to go for lithium but in the end settled on a lead carbon battery with 135ah and 500 cycles (194 before discount) from alpha. Our campervan is 9 years old and sassuming she keeps going, likely we may change in ca 10 years when we retire, although will be hard thing to do, so lithium didn't make sense. Thanks again
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That Leoch battery looks very good. Excellent choice :)
 
Mike24 said:
Agm battery's I would recommend
I have 2 110amp agm but I do have solar topping up the charge all the time so I never have to plug into mains supply
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Hi. Just wondering how this works in practice as I'm thinking of getting a solar panel to fit on the dashboard. Do you connect to your cigar lighter which would charge the SB and then trickle charge the LB when it's fully charged, or do use crocodile clips straight to LB? TIA.
 
Ferris day off said:
Hi. Just wondering how this works in practice as I'm thinking of getting a solar panel to fit on the dashboard. Do you connect to your cigar lighter which would charge the SB and then trickle charge the LB when it's fully charged, or do use crocodile clips straight to LB? TIA.
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A lot of cigar lighters are only active when the ignition is on
 
I use 4 x Numax XDT30MF class A Batteries, 2000 recharge cycles and 5years warranty
 
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I was unaware of the lead carbon type of battery, looks very interesting.
I've had a couple of Banner 90AH for about 3 years, they've been OK but as has been said they do require the electrolyte level to be monitored and topped up, they're not a sealed battery. I'm guessing that they are nearing the end of their useful life as the multi stage smart charger which I fitted at the beginning of the year always goes to the "recondition" phase when hooked up, before eventually going to "float". The high voltage of the "recondition" stage makes the batteries gas quite a lot (they are well vented!), resulting in even more frequent topping up.

Having read that the lead carbon batteries charge 8 times faster than normal lead acid batteries, I'm wondering whether I could manage with just the one 130AH lead carbon battery with my 150 watt solar panel to keep it topped up. Would the faster charging time compensate to an extent for the lower light levels at this time of year?
 
Ferris day off said:
Hi. Just wondering how this works in practice as I'm thinking of getting a solar panel to fit on the dashboard. Do you connect to your cigar lighter which would charge the SB and then trickle charge the LB when it's fully charged, or do use crocodile clips straight to LB? TIA.
Click to expand...


I have 230W of solar feeding 230Ah of lead cid batteries via an epever MPPT solar controller. With the prospect of long lay ups this year I have fitted a Victron Cyrix battery combiner which looks after the starter battery by linking it with the leisure battery through a controlled relay. So far it seems to be working fine, although if I was setting up from scratch I would probably have gone for something like the Votronic solar controller which has an out put to maintain the starter battery.

Cheers

H
 
bartman said:
I was unaware of the lead carbon type of battery, looks very interesting.
I've had a couple of Banner 90AH for about 3 years, they've been OK but as has been said they do require the electrolyte level to be monitored and topped up, they're not a sealed battery. I'm guessing that they are nearing the end of their useful life as the multi stage smart charger which I fitted at the beginning of the year always goes to the "recondition" phase when hooked up, before eventually going to "float". The high voltage of the "recondition" stage makes the batteries gas quite a lot (they are well vented!), resulting in even more frequent topping up.

Having read that the lead carbon batteries charge 8 times faster than normal lead acid batteries, I'm wondering whether I could manage with just the one 130AH lead carbon battery with my 150 watt solar panel to keep it topped up. Would the faster charging time compensate to an extent for the lower light levels at this time of year?
Click to expand...
Power going into a battery or bank is power going in. Put a pint in a gallon container and put a pint in a five gallon container and you have still only put a pint in.
Remember with a lead acid battery, that last 10% of capacity is hard work to put in.
 
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