Are all leisure-batteries born equal?

[Mr Meenah]

I can imagine there aren't many manufacturers of leisure-batteries but plenty of companies ready to slap a label on the side and sell it as theirs. The more you pay just gets you a longer warranty..
Am I right? (Almost I suspect).
Anyway I want to put a leisure-battery in my van and have been looking online a lot trying to get the best 'bang for the buck'.
I'm thinking of a sealed one, due to it being inside the cab,around 110ah..
Question is.. would you go for a 115ah Halfords @ £105 or get two 110ah 'cheapies' for £130?

 

[Bailey58]

Reading with interest after my batteries packed up on me in Norway. Surviving on the one half decent battery, and the odd hook, up we survived until we got home yesterday after some good advice on Fun. I shall probably be daft and buy a pair of the best gel I can but will check my credit card bills first.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

I shall probably be daft and buy a pair of the best gel I can but will check my credit card bills first.

That’s what we did and after much recommendation decided on a pair of Sonnenschein Gels, took a deep breath and ordered online from Tayna, only to receive a reply that they are out of stock and won’t be back in stock for 20 weeks.
The Exide ES900 (G80) was in stock though, at another £30 a battery. Went for them in the end with further chest pain.

 

[Bailey58]

Look like cheap crap to me. Not worth skimping on cheap batteries buy decent branded ones. You could buy a couple of decent gels for just £300

Anything in particular Lennie, there's a couple of 80ah on the Tanya site but at £170 plus postage x2 it mounts up a bit. One states "for Hymer" and the other "marine and multifit". Is the difference in the wording to be taken literally?

 

[Lenny HB]

Anything in particular Lennie, there's a couple of 80ah on the Tanya site but at £170 plus postage x2 it mounts up a bit. One states "for Hymer" and the other "marine and multifit". Is the difference in the wording to be taken literally?

Sonnenschein SL75 (78a/h Tanya info incorrect) only £140, almost identical to the Exide, I have 3 of them in my van. Sonnenschein are an Exide company and make the Exide gels.
If you are going for gels do make sure your charger has a proper absorption stage for gels or they will only get 80% charged.

Ones labeled marine are always dearer, is there any difference I don't know but I suspect not.

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[Hettie's Crew]

Tayna are out of stock with the Sonnenschein SL75, they told me it would be 20 weeks before they would get further stocks. This was two weeks ago.

 

[Bailey58]

Wondered why I couldn't find them.

 

[Peter Beeston]

I agree with the others that say get 2. you will get a lot more than twice the life out of 2 batteries together.
Batteries last the longest with these simple rules:
1. Don't discharge below 50%
2. Don't charge at greater than the 20 hour rate.
3. Don't discharge at greater than the 20 hour rate.
4. Always fully charge as soon as possible.

For a 110 AH Battery
50% charge = 55AH
20 hour rate = 5.5 amps

50% Charge 20 hour rate
1 battery 55 AH (660 watt hours) 5.5 amps
2 batteries 110 AH (1320 watt hours) 11 amps

I have 2 125AH deep discharge batteries that are permanently connected (through an MPPT controller) to a 200w solar panel on the roof.

 

[Bailey58]

Tayna are now showing a Sonnenshein GF 12065Y 75ah at £142 plus delivery. The Tech spec states it's aka the SL75 so I assume this is the replacement. When I've sorted a new regulator and charger that seems to be the one for me (or two).

 

[Lenny HB]

Tayna are now showing a Sonnenshein GF 12065Y 75ah at £142 plus delivery. The Tech spec states it's aka the SL75 so I assume this is the replacement. When I've sorted a new regulator and charger that seems to be the one for me (or two).

They have been know by both numbers for a few years I always refer to them as SL75 for simplicity.

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[Amanda Lloyd]

Sorry to hijack this but hopefully someone can help.
How do I know what size battery I need as I'm in Sicily and my leisure battery has failed.
I have 2 80w solar panels and 1 battery which has worked fine til now. I can't find any info on the existing one and it came with the vehicle. If anyone can advise I'd appreciate it.
Especially if anyone can translate to Italian for me
TIA
Amanda

 

[NickandClair]

A handy video when it comes to what batteries to go for;

 

[funflair]

Sorry to hijack this but hopefully someone can help.
How do I know what size battery I need as I'm in Sicily and my leisure battery has failed.
I have 2 80w solar panels and 1 battery which has worked fine til now. I can't find any info on the existing one and it came with the vehicle. If anyone can advise I'd appreciate it.
Especially if anyone can translate to Italian for me
TIA
Amanda

Hi Amanda

A good start point would be the physical size of the battery you have as a lot only just fit in the space available, after that you need to look for a label showing the type and ah rating as getting the same will avoid having a mismatch with your charging sources.

A photo might help if you are stuck.

Martin

 

[Lenny HB]

Also if you can post make, model & year of your van we should be able to look up what the original battery fit was.

 

[PP Bear]

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[Pete5996]

Sorry to hijack this but hopefully someone can help.
How do I know what size battery I need as I'm in Sicily and my leisure battery has failed.
I have 2 80w solar panels and 1 battery which has worked fine til now. I can't find any info on the existing one and it came with the vehicle. If anyone can advise I'd appreciate it.
Especially if anyone can translate to Italian for me
TIA
Amanda

I think you'll be looking for a 'batterie di servizio'. Here's a link to a page on Amazon.it which will give you an idea of what to look for - as already suggested, note the dimensions and the pole positions on your existing battery - around 100A would suit most purposes: Amazon product ASIN

 

[Amanda Lloyd]

Also if you can post make, model & year of your van we should be able to look up what the original battery fit was.

Cher.
It's a fiat ducato riviera built by Rollerteam. 1999.
It's hard to get any info from the battery without taking the seat out and I don't have tools for that. The only info I can see is a sticker with the name
Tayna.co.uk

 

[John Mee]

I seem to make a habit of butting in on other threads, so here I go. I have a new Halfords 115ah lead acid and another battery, a Yuasa 100ah which was on the van when I bought it. The Halfords battery is connected on the van (Autocruise Vista 2001 Pug 1.9td) the Yuasa is older but kept on a trickle charger in my shed - and I took it with me charged, in case I ran out of juice when I went of grid recently
Can I connect the two together?
The battery compartment is at the rear ns. Can I fit the second battery under the passenger seat, or is that too far away (to save room in the storage compartment where the no1 battery lives)
Will my electrics cope with 2 batteries?

ps. I'd like to fit solar some time in the not too distant future.

 

[Lenny HB]

Cher.
It's a fiat ducato riviera built by Rollerteam. 1999.
It's hard to get any info from the battery without taking the seat out and I don't have tools for that. The only info I can see is a sticker with the name
Tayna.co.uk

A Rollerteam of that age fairly certain it will be a stand Flooded lead acid battery, you just need to get a decent quality one that will fit. Something like a Varta LDF90 if you can get one, it is a good battery and its low profile so it will fit most vans.
Tayna are just a battery retailer.

 

[funflair]

I seem to make a habit of butting in on other threads, so here I go. I have a new Halfords 115ah lead acid and another battery, a Yuasa 100ah which was on the van when I bought it. The Halfords battery is connected on the van (Autocruise Vista 2001 Pug 1.9td) the Yuasa is older but kept on a trickle charger in my shed - and I took it with me charged, in case I ran out of juice when I went of grid recently
Can I connect the two together?
The battery compartment is at the rear ns. Can I fit the second battery under the passenger seat, or is that too far away (to save room in the storage compartment where the no1 battery lives)
Will my electrics cope with 2 batteries?

ps. I'd like to fit solar some time in the not too distant future.

Personally I would fit the solar first, and stay with the one battery.

Martin

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[Amanda Lloyd]

A Rollerteam of that age fairly certain it will be a stand Flooded lead acid battery, you just need to get a decent quality one that will fit. Something like a Varta LDF90 if you can get one, it is a good battery and its low profile so it will fit most vans.
Tayna are just a battery retailer.

Thanks, all info is gratefully received as I'm a bit of a dud when it comes to the electrics.
Cheers for the info.

 

[BusyBuilder]

Any idea how to tell the age of a battery ? my Hymer B544 is nearly 6 years old and has Banner AGM batteries which could be original fitment.
I'm pretty sure the van battery is also original fitment.

 

[Lenny HB]

Some batteries have a date code label some don't so if it's not got one, no.
I find it hard to believe Banner AGM lasts 6 years in my last van mi e lasted 18 months.
However if you use EHU most of the time they could have failed years ago and you were unaware.
When was the last time you gave them a proper controlled test?

 

[John Mee]

Thanks funflair, perhaps that is the way to go, it's just that I have a spare battery kicking about and was wondering how I could us it.