[neil100]

I have three 85amp lesiure Batterys. I have allways recharged them on trickle charge at 2.4 amps an hour. Once charged my Battery charger switches itself on and off so the battery does not overheat.

I have never drained the batterys right down, I use one till dinner then switch over to the other one. Today at 0ne pm We had used two batterys up, I had to go home to get the other one. I have been wfp for 8 months, Surley the batterys should have a longer life span then this?

How long does every one elses Batterys last?

I wonder if my Battery charger is not working properly? Though this was brand new when I set up 8 months ago.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Nel.

[EasyClean]

Install a high amperage, heavy duty leisure battery and have it wired up properly by a qualified vehicle electrician to a suitable split charge relay unit so that the battery remains topped up with charge whilst your driving and the battery performs at it's maximum efficiency. Saves the hassle of plugging in an extension lead & battery charger or taking the battery out every evening to charge overnight just to put back into your vehicle in the mornings. If the split charge unit is wired in properly you won't have the worry of having to carry a spare topped up battery in case your engine battery is drained through excessive WFP use simply because the engine battery is not being charged prior to the secondary leisure battery drawing all the amps. MAKE LIFE SIMPLE FOR YOURSELF and do it the easy way!

[JM123]

we still use our first leisure battery, a 110Ah, it gets charged 3 evenings a week on trickle charge and is still going strong 2 years later.

[neil100]

The problem with that is that I do not drive great distances for my work. The most distance I travel to work in a month is 9 miles, and when I am there I am stop start all day. Today I only travelled 2 miles to my work and when I was there I will only travel a mile at the most all day. So I would not get much benefit from a split relay.

Thanks, Nel.

[paul mather]

I was told that to fully charge a heavy duty leisure battery with an alternator takes a long distance so I agree I don't think thats an answer myself. Not sure why your battery has failed you.

One thing you could try is using a different charger, I had mine 4 3 weeks & it just stopped charging, bought it off Ebay & the guy comes back from holiday tomorrow so will be ringing him.

Borrow one from somebody & try that before you rush off & buy a new battery.

[neil100]

I did buy my Batterys from a local cravan company who gave a 2 year gaurantee. I dont know if they will honour it, They may say  the batterys still work, which they do, But we worked from 8 to 10.30 this morining and the flow rate dropped like a stone, Had to change the battery over and by one oclock that one had had it too.

I just thought is this normall?

But I will try to get hold of another b.charger tommorw and give it a go.

Nel.

[paul mather]

does your charger have a gauge on it to show how many amps its putting in?

[Easyclean Windows]

Mine is also on split charge rely still going strong 3 years later.

[Chris Cottrell]

I used to charge mine with trickle charger every night to keep it topped up ........ bought a split charge relay a week ago and have checked battery voltage every night so far, i dont go to far to work and didnt think it would stay charged enough but it still has kept around the 12.5volt mark even monday we worked all day in one place , drove 10 miles to the job and that was it at the end of the day the voltage in it was 12.3 volts .... so its all ok so far


I dont have a leisure battery though mine is a 11ah motorcycle battery cost £24.99 last november and guarenteed for twelve months

Chris

[jeff1]

I did buy my Batterys from a local cravan company who gave a 2 year gaurantee. I dont know if they will honour it, They may say  the batterys still work, which they do, But we worked from 8 to 10.30 this morining and the flow rate dropped like a stone, Had to change the battery over and by one oclock that one had had it too.

I just thought is this normall?

But I will try to get hold of another b.charger tommorw and give it a go.

Nel.

Nel for two batteries to go in a short time, points to one of two things.
1. your batteries are not getting a full charge in the first place or
2. you have a fault in your pump or wireing to pull two batteries down in a short period.

Do you have a multimeter???

[Ian_Giles]

I use an 'intelligent' leisure battery charger, my pump is often working 5 solid hours at a time, I've ocasionally gone a couple of days without recharging and have not noticed a drop in output.
Battery is an 85amp one and is over 12 months old.
It sounds as if you have not been fully charging your batteries, if you haven't and your output is falling that drastically then you may well have knackered them.

Ian

[JM123]

you do realise that a leisure battery must be fully charged when you buy it, if you don't then the battery's memory will be set at lower than peak capacity.

[JM123]

and also if you use the wrong charger or the charger is malfunctioning you can alter/reduce the memory capacity of the battery, people think batteries are simple little creatures but they're actually very intelligent.

[JM123]

true, very true.  As I always say - buy the best you can get/afford.  A top quality battery and top quality charger will last for years with no probs.  Reliability is key.

Neil100, if you are running 2 pumps from one battery at a time it may be draining too rapidly, also you should NEVER let a leisure battery become fully discharged.

[neil100]

JM, I have never let the battery fully discharge itself, Thats why I have three batterys so I can switch over.

I do not know weather my first battery was fully charged up cos Facelift supplied the battery and They would of tested my van system to make sure it all worked, I can only hope they charged the battery before use. My other batterys that I bought I fully charged up before use, So memmory issue should not be an issue.

For the last two days I have been helping a freind out on his round since his car went to the scrap yard in the sky. Used his 110amp battery, First day it was magic,  Both Pumps working flat out all day, no problem. Today they were fine up untill the last 2 hours when you could tell the flow rate dropped a bit. But it was adequate, I did nor expect it to last all day today cos he only put it on trickle charge last night after yesterday, so the battery was not at full charge today but it lasted.

Got a new charger today but got a couple of questions?

1. This battery charger is only siutable for Lead Acid Batteries only, Is it ok for a Lesiure Battery.

2. The Largest capacity lead acid battery that should be charged is 70ah. Does that mean it will only charge an 85amp battery up to 70amp?

Thanks for the replys.  Nel.

[jeff1]

The battery’s I would recommend for the Trolley, Trailer, and van mounts are all the same and I would recommend the leisure battery for your equipment.

All batteries are manufactured to provide a certain number of deep discharge cycles.
The conventional leisure battery should give a cycling life of between 200-300 deep discharges.
A Gel battery will give between 400-500 cycles and an AGM battery 600-800 cycles.
There are manufacturers that sell leisure batteries that deep cycle up to and over 1000 deep discharge cycles

Batteries fail in cycling life due to a permanent encapsulation of PbS04 on the plates (lead sulphation)
The capacity loss is more rapid with these battery types, the deeper that the battery is discharged, the quicker lead sulphation builds up. Upon recharging the battery, not all of this sulphation is converted back to lead (PB0). The result is a gradual loss in capacity.

Another major reason for premature battery failure is due to the oxide shredding from the plates. Standard lead plates are bound only with acrylic and polyester fibres, they do not serve as reinforcement of the plate. The cycling life of the more expensive battery is much greater than all other battery types because they are built using carbon fibre and this eliminates lead sulphation of the plates permanently. Upon recharging all the original capacity will be replenished. Carbon fibre acts as a mechanical reinforcement fibre to the lead grid and paste reducing shredding.

[neil100]

By you know your onions Jeff.

I spoke to the caravan company were I bought my Batteries from, He told me to bring them in on Saturday fully charged. They wil then do a Discharge test. From that they will be able to determine if the battery is Faulty, If so they will replace them.

The test also should get rid of the lead sulphate if this is interfering with the chargeing process.

Whats the answer to my 2 questions Jeff. You will know.

Nel.

[jeff1]

By you know your onions Jeff.

I spoke to the caravan company were I bought my Batteries from, He told me to bring them in on Saturday fully charged. They wil then do a Discharge test. From that they will be able to determine if the battery is Faulty, If so they will replace them.

The test also should get rid of the lead sulphate if this is interfering with the chargeing process.

Whats the answer to my 2 questions Jeff. You will know.

Nel.

Nel
If lead sulphation has taken place then it can't be reveresed the damage has already been done. make sure you charge your batteries fully before taking it in for a discharge test. this test can be carried out while you wait, the test will also tell them if one single cell has been damaged,

Do you have a multi meter? if so charge your batteries to 14.4v

I Hope you told them you use a leisure battery charger if they find out you use a normal car battery charger they wont swop it free of charge.
Below I have added an extract like my last thread from a topic on batteries I wrote for another forum. it will tell you how to look after your batteries.

HOW CAN I AVOID OVER CHARGING A DEEP CYCLE LEISURE BATTERY?

Never leave your battery connected to a charger for more than the time required.
Over charging occurs when the battery remains on charge after it has reached full charge (14.40 volts). Like I have already mentioned overcharging causes excess heat that can cause the plates within the cells to buckle and shred their active material.

The battery will also react to the overcharge by producing excess hydrogen and oxygen as the water within the electrolyte breaks down. The water that is lost due to overcharging can be replaced in a non sealed battery. In a sealed battery the water loss is permanent and will negatively affect the battery service life.

[neil100]

You mention a car battery charger. They are the only ones you can buy from somewere like Halfords or a Motor accessories outlet.

I asked at the caravan shop if they sold a lesiure battery charger. They said NO.

My battery charger says on it that its ok for lesiure batteries

Nel.

[neil100]

Heres a couple of photos Jeff. 

The first is my current battery charger from Argos which they are still selling. The second is one I bought today still in its box but I do not know from what you have said if its suitable. Can you tell me what charger you would buy and from where and how much you would spend on one? 

Regards and thanks for the help.

Nel.