new leisure battery

2CRAZYCAMPERS

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Can anyone help the leisure battery (85AH) we got with our M H (2008) is only lasting about one hour now it came with van so say no more!
I will buy the largest battery (110AH) that will fit the compartment. but i am sure someone said they run with two batteries side by side less strain on them and last longer, good point.
What I would like to know is, how is this done and is it a diy job?
 
This is a fairly simple task, it must be I did it:D

The only problem I had was that our locker would not take to batteries so I had to move them under the seating inside the van. (used locker to store hookup cable).

If you have 2 110ah 12V batteries then you connect them in parallel to gain 220ah as 12V. If you wire in serial then you will get 110ah at 24V which could do damage to your 12V items.

Take a look at the diagram at Wandering Free.com Blog Archive How to install/Repair an extra 12 volt battery in parallel to your RV or Motorhomes solar system to see how to connect in parallel. I have not read the article but the diagram shows the way to connect 2 batteries.

Oh and use two batteries that are the same size. If your battery is on the way out, then you would be best to use two new batteries.
 
Hi, just had a lot of trouble with my two new leisure batteries. Had a new M/home last October and from day one the didn't hold the charge. Had the system checked out and found three loose connections. But the auto electrician said the batteries were at fault. They lasted from 5 min's to 25 min's, which was poor. Didn't want to take them back to dealer as its a £500 mile trip. In the end I took them to Banner batteries at Rugeley, who gave them every test they could for over an hour, with deep discharge tests etc. They said they would gladly change them if necessary, but found nothing wrong. Next day I went to the Newark show to find Banner batteries had a pitch there, run buy one of the guy's that tested my batteries. After moaning that they were still no good he asked me to try two new ones, which I gladly did. The difference was amazing, and they recently were still going after four days using the Lights and TV a lot. So my advise is check all your connections first. Then try another one if possible, to see if its cured the problem. As their very expensive hand computer and printout reader, is not that accurate. Keep us pitched on your solution, and hope this is of help.
Rgds' Graham.
 
BedfordMJ said:
That would depend on how much drain on it, my two 110 a/hr would last longer than 4-5 days in the summer but not in the winter.
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You need to make a list of everything that you are trying to run of the battery and note the wattage consumption. This will give you a better idea of how much battery capacity you are going to need
You can do a lot save "power": Changing your lights for LEDs makes for a heck of a saving
 
Thank you all for the advice will av a look into it .

Not sure how long guarantee is.

The tv is 19" LCD so uses quite a lot of power i guess, do use both types of light spots and roof, but dont leave em on with tv?

Will look at connections and view parrallel battery advice.

Thanks again Paul.
 
I have experienced almost exactly the findings of Tidrus@ 0915,which begs the question-how can you get an accurate assesment of a batteries condition/longevity? Have tried 3 dealer/garage outlets and all have insisted that my 2x110ah*s are fine.But despite polishing all my connections and checking charging equipment they still last for barely 1 night.Any thoughts?
 
midgeteler said:
I have experienced almost exactly the findings of Tidrus@ 0915,which begs the question-how can you get an accurate assesment of a batteries condition/longevity? Have tried 3 dealer/garage outlets and all have insisted that my 2x110ah*s are fine.But despite polishing all my connections and checking charging equipment they still last for barely 1 night.Any thoughts?
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Greeting midgeteler, With all the experienced electrical engineers telling me my batteries are good, and proving it with a set of the latest "Tech" print out results results. What else can you do but try another set, or even one to prove it. They have sent my ones back to be examined at their lab abroad. An unusual fault, but rare ones do happen. Years ago I acquired a nearly new lorry battery for my boat. I left it uncharged for five and a half weeks when a friend warned me that it may have ruined it, as six weeks uncharged was the limit. Sure enough it was not accepting the charge, so I scrapped it. I am told that leisure batteries should not be left more than 6 months uncharged. So I'm very careful to stick to these figures. Now of course some lucky people will get away with their's much longer, and the best of luck to them. Good materials and a good build quality helps. But its a good rule of thumb to remember. I was told later that had I shorted the battery out, and discharged it. This would clean the plates off, then recharge slowly may have resurrected it. Not sure but would have had nothing to loose
If you did this with a leisure battery it would wreck it, as its made to discharge slowly, That's why you should not fit them to cars because of the starting load. I found out to my peril, but accept that maybe some have got away with it. There's never any set rules guaranteed, that's why peoples differing experiences often helps. Rgd's Graham.
 
Greetings Tiderus. Completely agree with your analaysis-have been told or experienced all the points you speak of plus more,like banging 50 amps through them until they "boil" in order to bring them back to life.
 
midgeteler said:
I have experienced almost exactly the findings of Tidrus@ 0915,which begs the question-how can you get an accurate assesment of a batteries condition/longevity? Have tried 3 dealer/garage outlets and all have insisted that my 2x110ah*s are fine.But despite polishing all my connections and checking charging equipment they still last for barely 1 night.Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Regular garage visits are a waste of time in some cases, as the method's used are somewhat robust in some cases.
A good local Battery Specialist (not a car or motorhome dealer, can be found on say Yell.com/Yellow Pages) will have the necessary equipment to help, but a simple test can be carried out before visiting such a specialist.

Good Batteries when fully charged will have a normal threshold voltage of say 12.9v. Now, based on having the batteries on charge to take them to full capacity, disconnect anything which can have an influence on the battery (charge or discharge) and monitor over a 12 hour period. The reading then taken after this time should drop no less than say 12.7v (this is est 25% drop). Any more than this figure is a good indication of battery failure. If you are battery banking, perform this check individually to narrow out the suspect battery as it is well known for 1 battery to cripple an entire bank.
The team on "The Mathew" (a vessel moored next to the SS Great Britain) pulled down an entire row of 8 AGM batteries as a result of just 2 being faulty. Lucky for them we took our very expensive Battery Computer with us to fizzle out the duff units (the same Z piece of equipment that is found at a Battery Specialist).

It is also worth knowing that some MH distribution equipment (such as Sargent Panels and Electroblok's on European vans) have a minor drain of approx 0.8 up to 1.3A (Carthago's average is 1.1A with just the display switched on!!), so it's worth turning them off when leaving the van unattended and no EHU (this will also help the guys n gals with solar panels as you are not loosing this juice you are trying to put in when leaving the van).

Hope some of this helps. :)
 
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