[see clear lee]

got a 85 a leisure and waiting to get a split charge fitted next week but i only got 6 hrs continual use out of  it , is this about right,    what do you get out of yours ?

[jeff1]

What are you running from your battery?

[dai]

got a 85 a leisure and waiting to get a split charge fitted next week but i only got 6 hrs continual use out of  it , is this about right,    what do you get out of yours ?

Struth how many pumps are you running? My 85 amp hr battery is charged every other day, and my battery tester tells me it's fully charged before I charge it. I reckon it would last a week at a push. Do you use a Varistream? If not get one. Dai

[Jon-scwindows]

my 40ah batt lasts 3-4 days without charging..
maybe the water level is low?

[jeff1]

got a 85 a leisure and waiting to get a split charge fitted next week but i only got 6 hrs continual use out of  it , is this about right,    what do you get out of yours ?

If you are using one pump without a controller then you should get around 10hs continual use from it, but in the real world you don't use your pump continuously so you should get more from it.

If you keep, deep discharging it and never give it a full recharge then this may be your problem, don't assume a split charge relay is going to  fully charge your battery for you because it won't, you would have to travel for many miles for this to happen.
Take it from your van on a regular basses and give it a full charge

[Nathanael Jones]

I get 3 good days from mine,... sometimes all week without charging,...

[see clear lee]

only using one pole one pump and vairistream, was going to get a 115 a battery but looking at these posts i think ill get the 85 one checked   cheers  chaps

[frames to panes]

Jeff1, do you reckon you get what you pay for with a battery? I had a cheaper leisure battery - Numax and it didn't last a year, so i wonder why there are such varying prices about?

[jeff1]

Jeff1, do you reckon you get what you pay for with a battery? I had a cheaper leisure battery - Numax and it didn't last a year, so i wonder why there are such varying prices about?

I did a few battery topics and there on a couple of forums, saying how batteries are made, and there are some very good ones on the market but they cost mega bucks and yes they will last a long time, but they will only last a long time, if they are looked after, The cheap batteries will react the same way, Believe this or not my own battery is over 8 years old and still going stong, and I'll tell you why its still going strong and still giving me a full days work and that is because its kept fully charged and not allowed to run down.

If I go away on holiday for a week or two then its left on charge with the automatic battery charger, at the end of every working day, I bring it in and charge it over night, a pain in the a**e I know, but look at my reward, if my battery was to give up tomorrow I couldn't complain for my cheap battery passing away on me.

Keep your eye's open for a large topic I'm writing at the moment giving advice and diagrams regarding split charge relays, something I don't have, don't need and don't want, but a lot of guy's swear by them I swear at them so Just for those guy's I'm writing the topics.

[Captain Scarlet]

I get about 32 hours from mine, Luke

[steven ainger]

ive got an 85 ah battery and i always use it for 2 days, with no problems, before charging

[Captain Scarlet]

i usually use it for 3-4 days work before charging, Luke

[alanwilson]

USPower batteries on board, haven't got an 85Ah (ours are all over 110Ah) but would last 2 days each with 2 pumps going about 6 hrs per day.

we're in the process of fitting double battery banks in the vans with new batteries (2x US31TMX) per van - the batteries cost £540 for all 4 (yes expensive but worth it).  The reasoning for this is so that the batteries don't need to be charged every other night and should last all week.

I know we could easily fit a split relay charger but the vans don't do a lot of driving (about 5000miles per year each) so the batteries wouldn't get charged.

Batteries are like everything else - you get what you pay for

[jeff1]

USPower batteries on board, haven't got an 85Ah (ours are all over 110Ah) but would last 2 days each with 2 pumps going about 6 hrs per day.

we're in the process of fitting double battery banks in the vans with new batteries (2x US31TMX) per van - the batteries cost £540 for all 4 (yes expensive but worth it).  The reasoning for this is so that the batteries don't need to be charged every other night and should last all week.

I know we could easily fit a split relay charger but the vans don't do a lot of driving (about 5000miles per year each) so the batteries wouldn't get charged.

Batteries are like everything else - you get what you pay for

There the batteries that are coated with carbon fiber on there cells, the carbon helps reduce any build up on the cells, thus enableing them to be recharged and drained more often than a normal battery, this is why you pay a lot more for them, they are excellent batteries.

[alanwilson]

I didn't know that, I know you can buy carbon fibre batteries but didn't realise the US power were carbon fibre coated too.

The first one we bought is still used everyday, now nearly 5 years old and as good as new (almost)

[Pj]

Look forward to reading your thesis Jeff.

My 85ah leisure battery is set up on a split charge relay.  I've been using it every day since August 2005.
I give it a top up charge about once every 2 weeks - indicator on charger shows me when it is fully charged - rarely takes more than 20 minutes, so it stays pretty much fully charged.

So far so good

[alanwilson]

Pj

I wish I could do that but with 2 guys per van, very compact work and the fact that neither van does anymore than 20 miles a day means that a split relay is no use for us. 

Recently bought a ring smartcharge 16 amp and seems to be a good buy

[see clear lee]

so does anyone recomend having a earth strap connected to the van from the battery or is there no need?

[pjulk]

My battery is also connected to a split charge relay and its been on the van nearly 2 years and has never been taken off for a charge the van takes care of charging it.

Paul

[jeff1]

Look forward to reading your thesis Jeff.

My 85ah leisure battery is set up on a split charge relay.  I've been using it every day since August 2005.
I give it a top up charge about once every 2 weeks - indicator on charger shows me when it is fully charged - rarely takes more than 20 minutes, so it stays pretty much fully charged.

So far so good

PJ are you a member of the academy? if so its been on there since last night, I show it on there for about a week before I release it to another forum.
If not I'll put it on here next week if I don't forget
You do right by giving it a seperate charge, it will last much longer by keeping it charged.