Different AH size batteries

[Kamperkev]

Hi, I have just fitted a lithium battery and have offered my lead acid battery which is just a year old to my son to fit in his VW camper, he has a 110 AH battery fitted and would like to fit my 95AH battery as well
I know it's best to fit the same size but will it make a lot of difference
Thanks kev

 

[bigtwin]

Personally, I wouldn’t worry about it but others will tell you that you won’t have an optimum setup, that they should be the same age and same brand, that one battery will discharge before the other, that the smaller one will drag down the larger one, etc. etc.

Ian

 

[CAB96]

It's not going to do any harm.

As its free for him, doesn't matter really if one does most of the work.

 

[fishplug]

Well bigtwin is right.

It won't be an optimum setup for all the reasons listed.

However, it will work just fine and the 'problem' is that it will probably fail earlier than an optimum setup would - but you'll still get many years of it working before that happens.

HOWEVER.... I would be mindful of the battery chemistry. Is his existing 110Ah lead acid too? AGM? Lithium?

 

[Hymerboy]

on a similar subject I have recently fitted a 300 ah lithium and now have two perfectly good 95 ah agm's.
Is there a way I can also use them in the van?

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[Lenny HB]

Age is more important than size, if the difference in age is much more than a year best not to connect them in parallel.

 

[tonka]

on a similar subject I have recently fitted a 300 ah lithium and now have two perfectly good 95 ah agm's.
Is there a way I can also use them in the van?

Why not sell them, camping season is coming up..
I recently sold my 2 x Varta 90amp lead acids on marketplace.
Sold and collected same day and i had 2 other people after them.
Cash could go towards further lithium or solar

I have also recycled my old solar panels off the van and another battery that i use on my shed to power some 12v lights, working via a timer..

 

[pappajohn]

AH makes no difference. The charger and 12v system only see's one large battery, not individual batteries.
Age, voltage (to an extent), and chemistry do.

 

[bigtwin]

Age, voltage (to an extent), and chemistry do.

While that may be ‘conventional wisdom’, there are many hundreds of narrowboaters who have been using a lead acid/LiFePO4 hybrid battery bank arrangement for years without any problems.

Ian