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UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: dave allen on October 16, 2008, 07:54:10 pm

Title: battery charging
Post by: dave allen on October 16, 2008, 07:54:10 pm
Is it a good idea to have leisure battery wired to the vehicle charging system,ive heard this could mess up charging vehicle battery.How much can i expect to pay for a leisure battery?might be good idea to have 2- so one always on charge!Dave A 8)
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: jeff1 on October 16, 2008, 08:00:27 pm
Is it a good idea to have leisure battery wired to the vehicle charging system,ive heard this could mess up charging vehicle battery.How much can i expect to pay for a leisure battery?might be good idea to have 2- so one always on charge!Dave A 8)
If you must wire into your vehicle then use a split charge relay, DO NOT wire directly to the vehicles own electrics unless your alternator has the capacity for charging 2 batteries.

A leisure battery is your best choice, they are  designed for deep discharges unlike a car battery, I bench charge mine every night, this helps keep the battery in tip top condition.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 16, 2008, 08:17:15 pm
A leisure battery is your best choice, they are  designed for deep discharges unlike a car battery...
Don't get caught out though and damage it.
It's only slightly better.

A normal battery shouldn't go below 30% charge.
A leisure battery no lower than 20%.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: prestigeclean on October 16, 2008, 08:21:16 pm
leisure batteries are not designed to be charged every night , if you do it will shorten the life of it , your beter off getting 2 batteries and when 1 runs out change them over and then charge it regards alan
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: jeff1 on October 16, 2008, 08:27:16 pm
leisure batteries are not designed to be charged every night , if you do it will shorten the life of it , your beter off getting 2 batteries and when 1 runs out change them over and then charge it regards alan
Alan I'm affraid you are so wrong on this one, a leisure battery is kept in good condition with constant charging and topped up.

I've been charging the same battery for years and its still used every day except sundays, its then left on charge all day and night, and if I go away on holiday its left on charge until I next use it. if you use the wrong charger on car or leisure batteries then yes you can damage any battery by constant charging.

Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: steven ainger on October 16, 2008, 08:38:44 pm
i bench charge my deep cycle leisure battery every night, after i use it.
18 months on and its still working perfectly.
i use a c-tek intelligent charger.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: jeff1 on October 16, 2008, 08:46:17 pm
A few facts about the difference between leisure and car batteries.

Both types of batteries are similar in construction. They normally have six cells containing sulphuric acid topped with distilled water and are housed in a polypropylene casing.Each cell has a set of lead plates. During recharging and discharging each plate expands and contracts. In doing so the plates lose some of their active material.

A separator between the plates helps to stop this. In a car battery the separator is not sufficient to prevent deterioration if constant deep cycling takes place.
A leisure battery has a second glass wool separator which helps contain the active materials and prolongs battery life.
Sulphuric acid fills the voids in the cells and is used as a conductor between the plates.
As the cell discharges the density of the acid decreases, reducing the ability of the plates to release the electric current. Charging reverses the process.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: AJ on October 16, 2008, 08:51:57 pm
Leisure battery about £50 ish. I get ours from a local camping and caravan site. they've always got them in stock.
I just keep 1 battery and charge it every night, no probs. if it does run down I keep a cable with a cigarette lighter plug in the van. ideally you have to keep the van running while its being used, but it gets you out of spot.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: dai on October 16, 2008, 08:53:14 pm
Ideally, a leisure battery should be charged when it is half discharged. A battery in good condition will still have half of it's charge when it gives a reading of 12.05 volts, this is the ideal time to charge it.
I just put mine on charge every other night, it's 85 amp hour and I use a digital Varistream on number 1 or number 2 setting. The battery will use a lot more juice if you are using a bypass.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: windowwashers on October 16, 2008, 08:53:50 pm
I now have a marine battery lasts a lot longer, 4 full days I had last week
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 16, 2008, 10:40:04 pm
leisure batteries are not designed to be charged every night , if you do it will shorten the life of it , your beter off getting 2 batteries and when 1 runs out change them over and then charge it regards alan
absolute opposite to what you should do ::)
deep cycle battery should be charged after evry use for a min of 8 hrs even if only used for half an hour
use a trickle charger preferably one that has less than 5 amp output
3amp is even better
that is the way to prolong a deep cycle batteries life
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: prestigeclean on October 17, 2008, 05:11:57 pm
i stand by what i,ve already said i used to work with a guy that imported them and thats what the manufacturer recommended regards alan
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 17, 2008, 08:27:18 pm
and i stand by what i say
i source my batteries fom a local mobility centre
they have been selling servicing and repairing electric mobility scooters since the things existed(before that they did the old light blue invalid carriages)
most scooters have two batteries
if one fails under warranty they replace both,even if the other one is perfect
i then buy these for £10
the first pair only lasted about six months
i would run one till the varistream started blinking,then swap to the fully charged one and recharge the flat one.When i went back for fresh ones they advised me on the best way totreat the battery to prolong its life.One year on and this time no problems,charged every night for over 12 hours usually,regardless of how much use it has had
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: prestigeclean on October 18, 2008, 09:56:34 am
i worked in the mobility industry for 7 years , and have sold hundreds of scooters , if you charge a leisure battery every night you will over time reduce its capacity regards alan
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: stevieg on October 18, 2008, 11:39:26 am
and so we have it ?????? the diffinitive answer.!!!!!!
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: karygate on October 18, 2008, 12:35:45 pm
i,m even more confused now ??? ??? ??? ??? :'(
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 18, 2008, 12:52:36 pm
i,m even more confused now ??? ??? ??? ??? :'(
What?
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 18, 2008, 12:52:53 pm
Where am I?
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 20, 2008, 11:02:03 am
same info from two suppliers
battery should never be fully discharged
battery should be recharged asap after every use
running a battery until pump slows/stops and then charging it is the best way to knacker it
they also recommend a certain kind of charger
a 3 stage iuou charger apparently ???
energy batteries 0844 800 0021
hill billy (the golf trolley people) 01795 413830

Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: prestigeclean on October 20, 2008, 07:32:26 pm
my information comes from electric mobility , karelma , shoprider , mobility markets , freerider , roma , etc these are all manufacturers or importers of mobility scooters or electric wheelchairs , and talking to there engineers direct , you are correct in saying they should not be fully discharged however you will do more harm by continually topping up the battery regards alan
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 20, 2008, 08:13:37 pm
so how are you supposed to recharge them then ???
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: dai on October 20, 2008, 08:45:39 pm
Ideally when they give a reading of 12.06 volts. I researched this years ago, if you want the optimum battery life you should recharge when it is half empty, and when it is half empty it will read 12.06 volts.
Log the hours that the battery is in use and keep testing it, once you know how much work it will do before it reads 12.06, you will have a good idea when it's due for a charge.
I would get about 3 days out of my 85amp battery before it would be due for a charge.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 20, 2008, 08:48:45 pm
I've noticed after using my flash new charger on the weekend to do a rejuvinating charge, that I had more power today.

I had the varistream set much lower so the pump was really slow, but water was blasting out!
Also when I put it back on charge later it still read 100%. :D
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 20, 2008, 09:01:23 pm
hello dai
the ones i use are only 17 to 20 ah
i used to get about 14 or so hours of use out of one before the lamp on the vari started showing low voltage
now i recharge every night regardless of whether i did 7hrs or 1hr
this has been working well so far
a proper purpose made charger would make em last even longer (so i have been told)
but they are around 50 quid
and as i speak i have one good battery on the van and two more equally good in the shed
what do you use to check the voltage on the battery
is it a voltmeter or am i being thick ???
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 20, 2008, 09:06:42 pm
squeaky
i know there seems to be differing opinions but i have found that charging daily helps the small batteries i use to perform better
i was told on the phone today that these type should never discharge to less than 20% of their capacity(whatever that actually means in laymans terms i aint a clue) so i dont know how you are supposed to go about charging up your disabilitry scooter if constantly recharging the battery knacks it ???
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: dai on October 20, 2008, 09:10:47 pm
I use an ordinary multi meter, about £7 from Aldi's
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: Bobs Window Cleaning on October 20, 2008, 09:11:21 pm
Im with Squeaky on this one (for once  :D)

Dont get caught out. I let my 110 one go flat once and it now takes up to 16 hours to fully charge, altho when fully charged, its last most of the week before I recharge it.    

And that is with a £60 intelligent charger  :-\ 



Bob
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 20, 2008, 09:14:12 pm
I use an ordinary multi meter, about £7 from Aldi's
cheers mate,will try one out at weekend :)
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: dai on October 20, 2008, 09:15:55 pm
hello dai
the ones i use are only 17 to 20 ah
i used to get about 14 or so hours of use out of one before the lamp on the vari started showing low voltage
now i recharge every night regardless of whether i did 7hrs or 1hr
this has been working well so far
a proper purpose made charger would make em last even longer (so i have been told)
but they are around 50 quid
and as i speak i have one good battery on the van and two more equally good in the shed
what do you use to check the voltage on the battery
is it a voltmeter or am i being thick ???

Yes a cheap aldi one £7.00. what you are doing now is spot on, you used to get 14 hours before it went flat, so it should be half full after a 7 hour day, charging it every night is right for that battery.
Title: Re: battery charging
Post by: L.J.Thorpe on October 20, 2008, 09:24:04 pm
oh yeah ;D
amazing how obvious something is after someone points it out to you
14 hrs runs it flat so only use for 7  hrs or so before recharge
doh ::)
at least the ones i ruined by running em flat only cost a few quid