Battery Makes

[tony_g]

Have you actually done a controlled discharge on the to check their capacity after a year or two's use?
The ones in my last van were giving 10a/h & 11a/h after 18 months

Well, no, Lenny HB. Apart from noting that I can run lights, pump, tv/dvd, heating, recharge devices etc for just as long now as two years ago. Or maybe that's not a fair test!?

 

[DL42846]

I run with a pair of these. https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/12v-110ah-leoch-powabloc-tubular-gel-battery/

I had one on my previous motorhome which worked out well. Guaranteed 6 years.

 

[thebriars]

IT means Depth of discharge. In essence, leisure battery life is measured by the amount of times it can be safely discharged and then recharged. Lead Acid batteries should not be discharged more than 50 % because it starts to degrade the battery and Ideally, a lead acid battery should not be discharged more than 20% to get the maximum performance/life from it. Battery manufactures often quote the life of batteries by the industry acceptable term of the number of cycles at a given discharge rate. So, 350 cycles at 50% D.O.D means this battery can be safety discharged by 50% and then fully recharged 350 times before it is dead. Sadly, the leisure battery industry is rotten to the core and many manufacturers make false claims about their so called Leisure Batteries because A, The majority are made in China then shipped over here and different performance and brand names are applied to the same battery and B, there is no national or international standard laid down as to what a Leisure battery is and the criteria it should meet. There is such a standard for a starter battery which performs differently from a leisure battery and many are sold as leisure batteries only to fail a little further down the road with no comeback for the poor sod who was conned into buying it as a leisure battery. I hope this makes sense, it's a complicated technical issue and has been done to death by various Motorhome Fun experts.

OMG! This sounds really worrying, until one realises that it is not all that often the average leisure battery gets discharged down to even 50%. Especially these days with solar panels. Even at one discharge to 50% every week of the year, that equates to 7 years use.

Frankly I'm happy to replace a cheapish leisure/car/whatever battery every 5/6 years, if I keep the van that long! Life's too short! I bought a new battery for my last new caravan. The caravan lasted less than 6 months before getting my money back. The battery sold locally for less than half price as it was too tall to fit in the moho.

 

[Deneb]

There are not that many battery manufacturers in the world. Lucas is nowdays just a brand name that has been bought by AtlasBX, one of the worlds largest battery makers in South Korea. They also label their batteries Numax, Hankook, and numerous other brand names, as well as supplying unlabelled batteries for bulk suppliers.

Varta and Bosch are manufactured by Johnson Controls, another big battery maker, although the two named companies have a commercial agreement with Johnsons and are involved in the factory where they are made.

Halfords premium range batteries are made by Yuasa.

 

[PhilandMena]

OMG! This sounds really worrying, until one realises that it is not all that often the average leisure battery gets discharged down to even 50%. Especially these days with solar panels. Even at one discharge to 50% every week of the year, that equates to 7 years use.

Frankly I'm happy to replace a cheapish leisure/car/whatever battery every 5/6 years, if I keep the van that long! Life's too short! I bought a new battery for my last new caravan. The caravan lasted less than 6 months before getting my money back. The battery sold locally for less than half price as it was too tall to fit in the moho.

In theory, you may well be right. However, in my experience most users will drag their batter/ies down to or below 50% and even if they don't discharge them that far, they will still be subject to cycling every time there used and re-charged. As the temperature drops battery performance is also affected and we get regular posts from members who suddenly find they need to replace their batteries. I agree those who are always on hook up or have shed loads of solar panels are going to a lot more life from their batteries than those who do not. If you are getting 5/6 years from a cheap battery you will have done better than many.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[thebriars]

If you are getting 5/6 years from a cheap battery you will have done better than many.

In reality how many times in a year do you discharge down to 50%? Certainly a lot less than the number of nights you spend in the van. I do know that over the winter, even without a solar panel the battery only needs topping up once or twice. I tries one of my specialist chargers on a battery one winter, where it actually measures the Ah it returns to the battery. In three months it was less than 10%. Loads of doom mongers out there that say you need to keep it on constant trickle charge over the winter.

 

[PhilandMena]

In reality how many times in a year do you discharge down to 50%? Certainly a lot less than the number of nights you spend in the van. I do know that over the winter, even without a solar panel the battery only needs topping up once or twice. I tries one of my specialist chargers on a battery one winter, where it actually measures the Ah it returns to the battery. In three months it was less than 10%. Loads of doom mongers out there that say you need to keep it on constant trickle charge over the winter.

The fact is, for each user it will be different, depending on there set up and the amount of energy they are consuming. It's a case of doing the math and working out how much is going out and how much is going in. Those who are wilding will need to be conservative even with Solar Panels and some will discharge their battery bank considerably, especially if they are running a fridge, using an inverter or heating for the van. When you say ' I do know that over the winter, even without a solar panel the battery only needs topping up once or twice' you are referring to motorhome/caravan that is on Hook Up! Otherwise your quote does not add up. You are wrong IMO to assume your situation equally applies to all other users.

 

[thebriars]

When you say ' I do know that over the winter, even without a solar panel the battery only needs topping up once or twice' you are referring to motorhome/caravan that is on Hook Up! Otherwise your quote does not add up. You are wrong IMO to assume your situation equally applies to all other users.

Firstly, I was not referring to our caravan being on hookup, it wasn't. The battery was completely disconnected, and after 3 months the charged capacity had only declined by 10%.

Secondly I have never said my situation applies to everyone, however that is not a point you made in your original post either. Indeed saying: "Lead Acid batteries should not be discharged more than 50 % because it starts to degrade the battery and Ideally, a lead acid battery should not be discharged more than 20% to get the maximum performance/life from it. " is misleading in itself. Firstly you state the battery starts to degrade above 50% discharge, then claim it should only be discharged to 20% for maximum life/performance. In reality all rechargeable batteries degrade every time they are charged and discharged, and even how they are stored.

Personally, as I said above I'm happy enough to average 5-6 years out of a cheap battery rather than pratting about how much I discharge it on any occasion.

 

[PhilandMena]

I guess this is down to how one interprets a post ? My whole point was directed at Batteries that were in use and not those that had been disconnected ! What benefit is it to members. or anyone else for that matter, to discuss the pro's and con's, including performance of Leisure Batteries if the battery is not in use ??? About as much use as discussing the merits of a chocolate teapot.
As for batteries ideally not being discharged below 20%. This is the recommendation of the'experts' not I, as clearly the lower you discharge a battery the more cycles you will obtain from them and therefore extend the life of the battery.