Leisure Battery

[Colin59]

Hi, just bought a motorhome and in need of a new leisure battery .Found these on ebay :
2 X AGM LP100 100ah 12 volt Leisure Battery for £190.
Are these good value ?

 

[autorouter]

What if i fit one of these :
CTEK (40-155) 100A Off Road Charging System Package

As long as you realise this package does not have a mains charger. It only charges from the alternator or a solar panel.
You can easily fit a mains charger, but that's in addition to this package. There are instructions on how to do it.

 

[autorouter]

They'd better be. Before I bought them I specifically rang them and confirmed that they were 'Absorbent Glass Mat'.

If they fail, (and that's easy to prove if they won't work below 50% if they aren't) I will take appropriate action.

Maybe they are AGM starter batteries.

You can get starter, standby and traction batteries in flooded, sealed, AGM and Gel technologies.

The battery technology (flooded, sealed, AGM, Gel) is not the same as the plate construction. The usage (starter, standby, traction etc) determines the plate construction.

Starter batteries supply massive current for a few seconds, then get charged up very quickly. Standby sit for weeks or years doing nothing, then supply medium currents over a few hours. Traction supply medium currents for a day shift, then recharge overnight, day after day. Some batteries stand still in outbuildings for years, some are bounced around in powerboats and emergency vehicles. The plate construction is the most important factor in current, vibration resistance and depth of discharge.

'Leisure battery' usage varies widely. Some just supply lights, TV and phone charger for a few days off hookup. Some power inverters of 2 kW or more, which hammer a battery like a starter motor does. This variable usage is critical to battery choice, but rarely gets a mention. Some Motorhomers move on every day or every other day. Some drive to a favourite site and stay for months. Some do both. So your usage pattern will indicate what type of battery you need

 

[Emmit]

Should my purchase not

Maybe they are AGM starter batteries.

You can get starter, standby and traction batteries in flooded, sealed, AGM and Gel technologies.

The battery technology (flooded, sealed, AGM, Gel) is not the same as the plate construction. The usage (starter, standby, traction etc) determines the plate construction.

Starter batteries supply massive current for a few seconds, then get charged up very quickly. Standby sit for weeks or years doing nothing, then supply medium currents over a few hours. Traction supply medium currents for a day shift, then recharge overnight, day after day. Some batteries stand still in outbuildings for years, some are bounced around in powerboats and emergency vehicles. The plate construction is the most important factor in current, vibration resistance and depth of discharge.

'Leisure battery' usage varies widely. Some just supply lights, TV and phone charger for a few days off hookup. Some power inverters of 2 kW or more, which hammer a battery like a starter motor does. This variable usage is critical to battery choice, but rarely gets a mention. Some Motorhomers move on every day or every other day. Some drive to a favourite site and stay for months. Some do both. So your usage pattern will indicate what type of battery you need

So what you are saying is that this legitimate Company have advertised and sold a battery under the Banner (sic) of it being suitable for the Leisure market and further have advertised and confirmed it as AGM and suitable for the use I wish to put it to.

Should this battery(ies) fail to provide me with what I want, I will have the Consumer Act to fall back on. I can confirm that, following charging it would seem by voltage to be an AGM. It's level of voltage after charge(and allowing time) is over the 12.7volts I understand is the norm for a traditional Lead Acid battery.

 

[PhilandMena]

Should my purchase not


So what you are saying is that this legitimate Company have advertised and sold a battery under the Banner (sic) of it being suitable for the Leisure market and further have advertised and confirmed it as AGM and suitable for the use I wish to put it to.

Should this battery(ies) fail to provide me with what I want, I will have the Consumer Act to fall back on. I can confirm that, following charging it would seem by voltage to be an AGM. It's level of voltage after charge(and allowing time) is over the 12.7volts I understand is the norm for a traditional Lead Acid battery.

The supplier will ensure he is compliant with uk consumer law, as shure as eggs are eggs. What you may find is that not all your expectations are not met however as their appears to be little in the specigication about battery performance and battery warrenty is an even bigger minefield when making a claim for an aledged failed battery. Hopefully, all your expectations on performance are met with this battery, as it only has a 1 year warrenty you may be on a hiding to nothing. I hope not.

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[autorouter]

I can confirm that, following charging it would seem by voltage to be an AGM.

As far as I know, you cannot determine the battery technology by measuring the voltage. They are all based on lead-acid chemistry.

 

[Emmit]

The supplier will ensure he is compliant with uk consumer law, as shure as eggs are eggs. What you may find is that not all your expectations are not met however as their appears to be little in the specigication about battery performance and battery warrenty is an even bigger minefield when making a claim for an aledged failed battery. Hopefully, all your expectations on performance are met with this battery, as it only has a 1 year warrenty you may be on a hiding to nothing. I hope not.

Thank you for your hopes and good wishes.

I would say that I am in agreement with you as far as specification is concerned, however, I would suggest that there is a paucity of adverts out there available that do provide such specifications.
It has been suggested on this thread that I may have bought a battery that wasn't an AGM even though it states that it is. That was confirmed by the supplying Company. It has further been suggested that because it has a high Cold Cranking ability that it may not be much use for the purpose to which it has been bought.

There are batteries on the market that are highly thought of by some and at the same time derided by others. It seems to me that you pay your money and takes your choice. I have made my choice. I do not have a massive amount of weight available to fit a bank of batteries to enable me, (should I wish to do so,) to stay off grid for the duration.

If I have bought a lemon, (and other Acids are available,) I will report on here with humble pie all over my face.

 

[Emmit]

As far as I know, you cannot determine the battery technology by measuring the voltage. They are all based on lead-acid chemistry.

I did some investigation and I am led to believe that an AGM Battery 'floats' (can't think of the correct term) at a higher voltage than standard lead acid batteries. On being discharged down the percentages (90%, 80% etc|) an AGM also has different voltages to a comparatively discharged lead acid as well.

 

[PhilandMena]

Thank you for your hopes and good wishes.

I would say that I am in agreement with you as far as specification is concerned, however, I would suggest that there is a paucity of adverts out there available that do provide such specifications.
It has been suggested on this thread that I may have bought a battery that wasn't an AGM even though it states that it is. That was confirmed by the supplying Company. It has further been suggested that because it has a high Cold Cranking ability that it may not be much use for the purpose to which it has been bought.

There are batteries on the market that are highly thought of by some and at the same time derided by others. It seems to me that you pay your money and takes your choice. I have made my choice. I do not have a massive amount of weight available to fit a bank of batteries to enable me, (should I wish to do so,) to stay off grid for the duration.

If I have bought a lemon, (and other Acids are available,) I will report on here with humble pie all over my face.

It's a learning curve for many of us and not the fault of the end user. As I said previously the leisure battery industry is shoddy and until we get a national or international standing laying down specific requirements for what constitutes a leisure battery, manufacturers will take advantage of this lasp and determine themselves what a leisure battery means.. I too have seen a few manufacturers claiming they now have dual purpose starter and leisure batteries and I'm convinced they can do this because a leisure battery has yet to be legally defined, hence the standard I refer to. My advice is to look for the DOD and number of cycles. If this is not stated, walk away. My lead acid batteries are defined as 200 cycles at 50% discharge. This gives me a good indication of how they will perform and also how long they will last.
I spend a fair amount of time wilding but also have solar panels so my batteries will only discharge about 30% meaning I get a shed load more than 200 cycles. This equates to about 4 years life in practical terms, for my usage. Others will get more and some will get less. For me, I will stick with Lead Acid batteries. I know how they will perform and my charging system including my solar panels are set up to maintain them along with the cab battery which is also Lead Acid.
There will be many more members who purchase so called leisure batteries only to find they are in fact at best a starter battery. This is why I would recommend the NCC verified battery scheme, it takes all the guesswork out of battery selection. Surprisingly not many members on here have anything good......or bad to say about it. You pays your money and takes your chances I guess.

 

[Emmit]

Thank you @PhilandMena for the input.

It occurs to me that we are now at the bottom of Page 2 and with wildly contrary views as to the subject matter and yet, we are still having a grown up discussion without rancour.

It could only be MHF

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[PhilandMena]

Thank you @PhilandMena for the input.

It occurs to me that we are now at the bottom of Page 2 and with wildly contrary views as to the subject matter
It could only be MHF

You ain't seen nothin yet! Ask a question about Brexit, Gassing, Wild-Camping, Grey water discharging or why Wales think they have a decent Rugby team.

 

[Wildbill]

I have over the years had lod's of different battery's i all-way's after much experimentation just go back to a wet sell none seald battery fund that maintenance of you battery fluid levels hydrometer reading being able to keep a eye on theas things is far cheaper than buyin all singing all dancing this and that there is plenty of battery snobs on her and thay will all put there bit in me i ran with two normal starter battery's for almost five years thay wer out of the scrap yard
my last set i got from a very kind funster one passed away abut a month ago but one is still going strong
My next set off batters are getting fitted tomorrow thes are two deep cycle mobility scooter traction battery's brand new £160
a friend of mine has Ben using a bank of three for almost five years now with no problems.
They are wet sell with maintenance caps he charges them from time to time with a old batterery charger to de sulfate them.
he is a old time battery man was in the royal corps of signals where there lives depended on battery maintenance.
There are many opinions on battery's on her and my opinion not every thing work's for every one
Just make sure that your battery compartment is well vented if you use wet sell battery's the risk of explosion is very low but but worth keeping in mind
bill

 

[autorouter]

This is why I would recommend the NCC verified battery scheme, it takes all the guesswork out of battery selection. Surprisingly not many members on here have anything good......or bad to say about it.

The NCC Battery list may be OK as far as it goes, but why does it not include top-notch brands like Varta, Bosch, Victron and even Sonnenschein, who invented gel batteries? It surely can't be that they all failed all their tests. Narrow commercial interest, or not ambitious enough? There's no more information.

 

[PhilandMena]

The NCC Battery list may be OK as far as it goes, but why does it not include top-notch brands like Varta, Bosch, Victron and even Sonnenschein, who invented gel batteries? It surely can't be that they all failed all their tests. Narrow commercial interest, or not ambitious enough? There's no more information.

You raise an interesting point and I am unable to answer your question. I can only assume that the NCC requires permission from the battery manufacturer to randomly purchase one of it's batteries and subject it to test and then publish the findings, otherwise we would be seeing some if not all of the leisure batteries from the builders you mention in your post.
The current list does include some big names with some of their batteries, including Gel, AGM and Lead Acid with many being labeled as 'Class C' which IMO is no better than a starter battery and the only conclusion I can draw is that some manufacturers are reluctant to have their batteries tested by an independent test house and the results published. The list does grow but very slowly.