Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: ftp on April 01, 2009, 06:46:24 pm
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How do you guys get your leisure batteries to last for years?
My first one - nine months
My second one fourteen months.
Battery charged every night on a decent intelligent charger too.
Maybe it's because I turn the flow off between every window and the pump has to kick in more often via the varistream?
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Doing better than me then mate.
I've had 3 in two years and desperately need a 4th now.
I also use an excellent charger and don't use a high flow rate, so the pumps not turning that fast.
Baffles me too. ???
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I've just bought an AGM battery second hand from a customer - haven't a clue what it means, it's heavy though and as flat as can be. Hopefully once charged I can get some life out of it.
Its a sealed dual purpose Trojan 24 AGM anyone heard of it?
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I've just bought an AGM battery second hand from a customer - haven't a clue what it means, it's heavy though and as flat as can be. Hopefully once charged I can get some life out of it.
Its a sealed dual purpose Trojan 24 AGM anyone heard of it?
Hope it's not 24 Volt!
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Yeah it's 12V.
Just looked it up!
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£175 on one site! Hope it works - i paid £50 for it - he rekons he only used it once. We'll see. ::)
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i didnt think you should run a battery down to dead, otherwise they dont last that long
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i didnt think you should run a battery down to dead, otherwise they dont last that long
that is true
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That's what's different about a leisure battery.
They can be run down to 20%.
A car battery will get damaged below 30%.
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Why dont you just connect it to the van battery? My batteries 5 years old and still going strong.
As long as you put an in-line fuse on the positive side you'll never have a problem, and never need to charge again!
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Why dont you just connect it to the van battery? My batteries 5 years old and still going strong.
As long as you put an in-line fuse on the positive side you'll never have a problem, and never need to charge again!
Won't it knacker your alternator if it's having to charge two batteries?
I'm not sure how you mean it's set up. ???
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What charger do you use,i use a V-Tech i think it`s called and it cost £150.
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I use this one...
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_532907_langId_-1_categoryId_165629
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I use a split charge relay,.. only ever charge manually when I have a huge commercial job and not much driving in between. My battery is 18 months old,.. a standard car battery at that,.. still going strong!
:)
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I use this one:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_210939_langId_-1_categoryId_165629
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Dont use a home charger, put a split charge in your van and you wont need to charge anymore its all done for you and your battery will last for years ;D.
Home chargers are a complete waste of time.
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Why?
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my batteries seem to last till i drop them on the drive, or they fall out of my van :(
no drama's though, a quick trip down the recycling center and i drop off my old cracked battery and a " battery is recycled " ;) and back in my van
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Why?
why? why do you want to keep havin to manualy charge a battery when a split charge system is so easy to fit and doesnt cost anymore than £40.
The split charge system does all the work for you, who wants to get home every other evening and then have to either take the battery out to charge it or mess around connecting it up.
anyone who messes around in that way must be mad,why bother?
£40 and such an easy fit ?
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Dont use a home charger, put a split charge in your van and you wont need to charge anymore its all done for you and your battery will last for years ;D.
Home chargers are a complete waste of time.
Check your battery on a top quality charger and you`ll find it`s half charged at best,if your only running a pump or 2 you`ll get away with a split charger only if you run hot water aswell like me you`ll need a split charger and a top quality out of van 1 aswell.A split charger only gives a trickle back into the battery it dosen`t fully charge it back up,if you use a split charger only it will never be fully charged as that method won`t be enough to put the full life back into the battery.
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Why dont you just connect it to the van battery? My batteries 5 years old and still going strong.
As long as you put an in-line fuse on the positive side you'll never have a problem, and never need to charge again!
Won't it knacker your alternator if it's having to charge two batteries?
I'm not sure how you mean it's set up. ???
ROger
I have a toyota hiace and have 2 batteries (why I don't know) and the alternator handles them ok.
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Dont use a home charger, put a split charge in your van and you wont need to charge anymore its all done for you and your battery will last for years ;D.
Home chargers are a complete waste of time.
Check your battery on a top quality charger and you`ll find it`s half charged at best,if your only running a pump or 2 you`ll get away with a split charger only if you run hot water aswell like me you`ll need a split charger and a top quality out of van 1 aswell.A split charger only gives a trickle back into the battery it dosen`t fully charge it back up,if you use a split charger only it will never be fully charged as that method won`t be enough to put the full life back into the battery.
8 years of water fed pole and always using a split charge system, that should be all you need unless you buy cheap inferior lesiure battery's
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I haven't bothered with a split charger because most of my work is within a mile of my house, I figured I don't do the mileage to warrent one. I charge it every night and it's not a problem. Just don't understand why they don't last - maybe it's the number of charging cycles (300+ per year).
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I haven't bothered with a split charger because most of my work is within a mile of my house, I figured I don't do the mileage to warrent one. I charge it every night and it's not a problem. Just don't understand why they don't last - maybe it's the number of charging cycles (300+ per year).
your probably right there,but for £40 why dont you just fit one then you should be all sorted,sounds like you are over charging the battery and killing it.
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I have 2 leisure batterys at £100 each and both are reliable,plug yours into a charger out of the van and see for yourself you`ll be surprised.
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Im have just started my third battery in 4 years.
And i have a split charge relay but that won't stop them going flat when there knackered.
The good thing about the split charge relay is though that if it goes flat i can start the van and it will work fine again until i turn the van off.
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Wire in straight to the van battery.
IT WORKS !
No problems
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Its ok wiring straight to the van battery but if you are one place for a long time you will get a flat battery.
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hey cglassuk got a link or pic of your split charger mate
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For all those whose battery doesnt last a year, have you tried to take it back under the guarantee?
Could be worth a try.
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Why buy a leisure battery? I bought a car battery for £36 over a year ago now and its still going strong. Looks to me like it will go on for years. I recharge it every night.
When it goes wrong I won't worry too much about another £36 will I?
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I use a split relay, and put it on the home charger once a week to keep it nicely charged up. Haven't been wfp long enough though, only 8 months. :)
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Its ok wiring straight to the van battery but if you are one place for a long time you will get a flat battery.
No it wont.
It will work fine
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Run mine from van battery, replaced the original battery (6year old) 2 years ago with a cheap 35 quid one (65Ah). It's still going strong & I've never flattened it by using pump + varistream. just plug into cig' lighter & away you go.
Life doesn't have to be complicated. ;)
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One thing to point out though is on my van I need a key in the ignition for the 12v socket to work!
BUT, i have a key that doesn't start the van (not sure why, battery might have gone) so, this is the only key I use when running pump. ;)
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Quote from: Paul Griffin on Yesterday at 11:00:15pm
Its ok wiring straight to the van battery but if you are one place for a long time you will get a flat battery.
Dave morris @ st-ives said -
No it wont.
It will work fine
Thanks dave so why is it people say you need a leisure battery for a WFP.
I will change mine this weekend via the fuse box straight to the battery and see how we go.
If it runs flat i can always ring the RAC which i hope it won't.
Van batteries are cheaper than leisure batteries also.
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well, my super duper second hand battery wouldn't charge last night. I opened the van door to be greeted by gas fumes and a fizzing battery which was pretty hot too. :oThe charger still hadn't switched to maintaining mode either so obviously it hadn't charged.
Shot out and bought a car battery instead this morning so i'll see how that goes. Can't be much worse than leisure batteries surely?
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Quote from: Paul Griffin on Yesterday at 11:00:15pm
Its ok wiring straight to the van battery but if you are one place for a long time you will get a flat battery.
Dave morris @ st-ives said -
No it wont.
It will work fine
Thanks dave so why is it people say you need a leisure battery for a WFP.
I will change mine this weekend via the fuse box straight to the battery and see how we go.
If it runs flat i can always ring the RAC which i hope it won't.
Van batteries are cheaper than leisure batteries also.
Probably best to have one of those battery boosters that RAC/AA use if you are using the van battery. Especially as it gets older.
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Paul
I will tell you why, because everyone went along like sheep, what do suppliers sell ? Leisure batteries.
I have got 3 vans with twin pumps, we have some massive jobs where the pumps pump for 8 hours continueos with no problems.
I have fitted systems for all the local window cleaners the same way, yet again no problems.
The people who have took my advice on this forum, yet again no problem.
Its not what most people say, its the people who say the right thing that matter.
You dont need an extra battery and you dont need a split relay.
Take this advice or leave it, I aint bothered, just letting you know how it really is.
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well, my super duper second hand battery wouldn't charge last night. I opened the van door to be greeted by gas fumes and a fizzing battery which was pretty hot too. :oThe charger still hadn't switched to maintaining mode either so obviously it hadn't charged.
Shot out and bought a car battery instead this morning so i'll see how that goes. Can't be much worse than leisure batteries surely?
thats a fine 50 quid spent
your a star you are ;) ;) ;)
i have a length of super super hose ( yes it looks like a normal bit of hose from wilko's, but its not ) its super de duper
yours for 75 quid ( give me a hour or so if you want to pick it up, i will have to pop to wilko's ;))
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well, my super duper second hand battery wouldn't charge last night. I opened the van door to be greeted by gas fumes and a fizzing battery which was pretty hot too. :oThe charger still hadn't switched to maintaining mode either so obviously it hadn't charged.
Shot out and bought a car battery instead this morning so i'll see how that goes. Can't be much worse than leisure batteries surely?
Car Batteries do not last either from what I have found I have killed 1 and also killed the leisure battery I got with the first system I had. fingers crossed the 110 marine I have now keeps going a little longer
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well, my super duper second hand battery wouldn't charge last night. I opened the van door to be greeted by gas fumes and a fizzing battery which was pretty hot too. :oThe charger still hadn't switched to maintaining mode either so obviously it hadn't charged.
Shot out and bought a car battery instead this morning so i'll see how that goes. Can't be much worse than leisure batteries surely?
thats a fine 50 quid spent
your a star you are ;) ;) ;)
i have a length of super super hose ( yes it looks like a normal bit of hose from wilko's, but its not ) its super de duper
yours for 75 quid ( give me a hour or so if you want to pick it up, i will have to pop to wilko's ;))
;D took it back to the custy this afternoon and got my money back and picked up his gutterclean too. Bought a 110 ah car battery as all the leisure ones were sold out. If guys are wiring their systems in to their vans batteries then it looks as if leisure batteries are not worth the extra cash?
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Paul
I will tell you why, because everyone went along like sheep, what do suppliers sell ? Leisure batteries.
I have got 3 vans with twin pumps, we have some massive jobs where the pumps pump for 8 hours continueos with no problems.
I have fitted systems for all the local window cleaners the same way, yet again no problems.
The people who have took my advice on this forum, yet again no problem.
Its not what most people say, its the people who say the right thing that matter.
You dont need an extra battery and you dont need a split relay.
Take this advice or leave it, I aint bothered, just letting you know how it really is.
Top post, very, very wise words! ;) You don't even need an expensive or heavy duty battery. as said mine was 35 quid! 2 years old & never let me down once.
Some suppliers need a supply of sheep though, so it works both ways ;D
Wfp is like fish-keeping, everyone has a different oppinion & 90% of them talk b****x!
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Thanks dave
I will forget the leisure batteries in the future my van battery is only about 6 months old cost me about £40 if i have to replace that each year its still cheaper than i have been spending on split charge relay and leisure batteries.
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Thanks dave
I will forget the leisure batteries in the future my van battery is only about 6 months old cost me about £40 if i have to replace that each year its still cheaper than i have been spending on split charge relay and leisure batteries.
I agree, but my worry is damaging the alternator.
It's not designed to charge two batteries at once.
That's why people with big audio installs with separate batteries have big upgraded alternators.
I'll will cost a lot more than 40 quid to replace if it stuffs it. :-\
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well, my super duper second hand battery wouldn't charge last night. I opened the van door to be greeted by gas fumes and a fizzing battery which was pretty hot too. :oThe charger still hadn't switched to maintaining mode either so obviously it hadn't charged.
Shot out and bought a car battery instead this morning so i'll see how that goes. Can't be much worse than leisure batteries surely?
thats a fine 50 quid spent
your a star you are ;) ;) ;)
i have a length of super super hose ( yes it looks like a normal bit of hose from wilko's, but its not ) its super de duper
yours for 75 quid ( give me a hour or so if you want to pick it up, i will have to pop to wilko's ;))
;D took it back to the custy this afternoon and got my money back and picked up his gutterclean too. Bought a 110 ah car battery as all the leisure ones were sold out. If guys are wiring their systems in to their vans batteries then it looks as if leisure batteries are not worth the extra cash?
so what about my duper de duper hose, yours for 75 quid ;)
its very light you know
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Nope it's still too cheap!
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Rog
You are not charging 2 batteries,
You wire your pump straight to your existing van battery.