[Pete Thompson]

I finally got sick of draining the van's battery and just fitted a 115 amb hour leisure battery. 
So heavy I nearly broke by back lifting it.

Just wondering, how often do you fellas charge your battery?  I work on my own, use a standard ionics 100psi pump and don't have a split-charge relay.  I'll be charging it from the mains.

Once a week?  Once a fortnight?  Any advice appreciated.

This is it (before I fitted it)

[J.D]

Fit it up with a split relay & youll never have to charge it. Itll be charged as you drive.....

[Smudger]

Fit it up with a split relay & youll never have to charge it. Itll be charged as you drive.....

+1

Don't faff taking it out, charge it while driving around

Darran

[Paul Coleman]

For battery longevity, I would say charge it daily.  You may get two days use depending on how you use it but running it down shortens its life.
Relay is better though.

[Spruce]

For battery longevity, I would say charge it daily.  You may get two days use depending on how you use it but running it down shortens its life.
Relay is better though.

^^^^^^ as David says.

I have my 110 amph leisure battery on a split charge relay, but as we do minimal mileage I usually supplementary charge it every night. If I get lazy, like today, I haven't put it on charge, but will definitely do it tomorrow evening if we get out (bad weather expected).

The first leisure battery was a cheapie and lasted 3 years. This one has been in the van for just over 3 years and still going strong. They recommend you never let your leisure battery drop to below 50% of charge for longevity.

My pump draws about 4.5 amps with a 2LPM flow. My son used his back pack so the second pump ran very slowly filling a 25l plastic container which he uses to refill his backpack. It draws about an amp. We used about 400 litres today. We were out for 5 hours so the pumps ran for about 3.5 hours - about right as I did a conservatory roof clean.

So theoretically we used about 18.5 amps from a fully charged 110 amp battery leaving 91.5 amps. The alternator probably replenished about 4 amps when travelling back home so I believe I am at about 86% full charged. If we do the same again tomorrow, we will be down to about 75% of fully charged, so will put the charger on tomorrow evening.

[Fin Clearview]

If it's a gel battery don't use a relay. I charge my battery every night with an intelligent charger (ctek).

[SeanK]

I have a 85amp and do the same as Spruce, have a split relay but don't do enough miles
to keep the battery fully charged.
A smart charger is a must.

[H20cleaning]

It shouldn't really harm how often you put it on charge aslong as
You use a trickle type charger.
If your draining the battery very low, then charging back up your battery wont last aslong.
Then again if your charging it every night with a normal fast battery charger you can burn it out.

I personally charge it every other night with my trickle charge making sure it has at least 12 hours charge

[Pete Thompson]

Thanks guys.

I have a CTEK Multi xs3600 charger, this one:



Says it's for lead-acid batteries up to 120 amp hours, so I think it should be fine.

As for split relay, good advice thanks, I will probably pick one up tomorrow when I'm out.

Are they easy to fit?

[Griffus]

Thanks guys.

I have a CTEK Multi xs3600 charger, this one:



Says it's for lead-acid batteries up to 120 amp hours, so I think it should be fine.

As for split relay, good advice thanks, I will probably pick one up tomorrow when I'm out.

Are they easy to fit?

CTEK are great but cost wise for leisure battery charging you're better with one like this as it's 10A: -

http://www.tayna.co.uk/Numax-Leisure-Battery-Charger-10A-P6128.html

Also, this is excellent: -

http://www.tayna.co.uk/Numax-Deluxe-Battery-Box-Accubox-P7784.html

[Mike #1]

Pete you should get a full 8 days or so before needing to charge once reading gets down to 11.8 i whack mine on charge , Leisure batteries needing discharging about 90% to ensure longevity . Mike

[SeanK]

Pete you should get a full 8 days or so before needing to charge once reading gets down to 11.8 i whack mine on charge , Leisure batteries needing discharging about 90% to ensure longevity . Mike

No they don't, read up and you will find you shouldn't let them discharge below 30% plus leisure batteries
are designed to be charged and discharged on a daily basis that how they are used in caravans and leisure vehicles.
They are not designed to be drained and recharged.

[Carl2009]

If it's a gel battery don't use a relay. I charge my battery every night with an intelligent charger (ctek).

+1 and I have a split relay.

[firefly123]

charge every night split charge relay will only work if you do a fair few miles

[dave f]

ive had a split charger for the last  never had a minuets bother saves all the hassel of charging.

[dazmond]

i charge my 75ah leisure battery every night without fail.i just run an extension lead out through my letterbox to the van and leave it charging overnight after ive filled my tank.i use a halfords smart charger.

[david mark]

same as Daz charge every night.Still have the carbon fibre batteries after 4 years shame they went bust BEST batteries on the market Alex g recommended them. back then