Tam, Jade and Franky's European Adventure

[Lenny HB]

Calm down you pair lol my new batteries only cost me £160 with 4 years warranty lol

I wisnae planning to spend that much on a solar regulator ....I know certain brands are the best etc but my budgets no wanting to go quite there at the minute


Don't have much space left on roof for a third panel and not sure I would need it to be fair as I'm not heavy on power

Cheapskate, you have been telling us how much you saved on the van and can afford to spend a bit on it

Seriously with the type of use you give your vans it is worth spending a bit on a decent solar regulator the difference in performance is well worth the dosh.

 

[Northernraider]

Cheapskate, you have been telling us how much you saved on the van and can afford to spend a bit on it

Seriously with the type of use you give your vans it is worth spending a bit on a decent solar regulator the difference in performance is well worth the dosh.

Lol I ken but I have spent a wee bit on it since getting it. I might splash out on a decent one I've just no decided yet.

 

[chrisinplymouth]

Hi Tam. Can I ask what batteries you got and from where? I am just about to replace my 2 and £160 with 4 years warranty for 2 batts sounds very good. Regards Chris

 

[Lenny HB]

Hi Tam. Can I ask what batteries you got and from where? I am just about to replace my 2 and £160 with 4 years warranty for 2 batts sounds very good. Regards Chris

Do bear in mind battery warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.

 

[Amandpa]

We had a battery replaced under warranty, they tested it, said it was kn....red and replaced it, was just coming up to warranty date!

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[Manic]

Do bear in mind battery warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Not strictly true, we had a problem with battery going down quickly, went to advanced batteries, who supplied them after 3years ( 4 year warranty) they replaced one which tested faulty.
So although your old batteries show a good voltage they could still be faulty and fail in service quickly.
As shrimp said, she bet me to it again.

 

[Northernraider]

Lol I ken but I have spent a wee bit on it since getting it. I might splash out on a decent one I've just no decided yet.

I bought them from battery megastore on eBay hankook deep cycle heavy duty 115ah
Pair of delivered next day for £160 they do have 4 years warranty but as I've just bought them I don't know how good that is.
At the price and my usage I'm just happy if I get a few years out them and replace to be honest but if they pack up I'll certainly try the warranty.

I'm aware there's lots of better ones out there but I'm also aware I've not owned a vehicle for more than 2 years before lol

 

[Northernraider]

Not strictly true, we had a problem with battery going down quickly, went to advanced batteries, who supplied them after 3years ( 4 year warranty) they replaced one which tested faulty.
So although your old batteries show a good voltage they could still be faulty and fail in service quickly.
As shrimp said, she bet me to it again.

Yeah I think the old ones were faulty as they have nothing connected to them and have dropped from 13.6v yesterday to 12.8 this morning

 

[mfw]

Eurocarparts have got 35% off at moment with end35 code there are always deals with different shops you might find them competitive on batteries pay your money take your choice

 

[Northernraider]

Eurocarparts have got 35% off at moment with end35 code there are always deals with different shops you might find them competitive on batteries pay your money take your choice

Already bought and fitted thanks

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[chrisinplymouth]

I bought them from battery megastore on eBay hankook deep cycle heavy duty 115ah
Pair of delivered next day for £160 they do have 4 years warranty but as I've just bought them I don't know how good that is.
At the price and my usage I'm just happy if I get a few years out them and replace to be honest but if they pack up I'll certainly try the warranty.

I'm aware there's lots of better ones out there but I'm also aware I've not owned a vehicle for more than 2 years before lol

Thanks Tam

 

[EssexBoy]

Yeah I think the old ones were faulty as they have nothing connected to them and have dropped from 13.6v yesterday to 12.8 this morning

Maybe someone else can give you the definitive answer, but isn't that drop from "Charging" down to "Fully Charged" voltages?

 

[Northernraider]

Maybe someone else can give you the definitive answer, but isn't that drop from "Charging" down to "Fully Charged" voltages?

No idea these ones are disconnected now and sat in the kitchen.

They were flat when I bought the van despite having solar and I then had them charging on Hook up for 3 or 4 days ...took them off Hook up and after 3 or 4 hours of the heating being on and a few lights the panel was flashing charge which is why I bought new ones.

They were fully charged on Hook up for 2 nights before I removed them and were at 13.6v for over 24 hours but that's now dropped to 12.8 with no load

New ones are fitted and vans hooked up now to give them a full charge and reset control panel etc.

 

[Teuchter]

Aye Tam - I think 12.8v is fine it signifies a fully charged 12v battery - if they were at 13.6v on completion of charging and are lead acid batteries then that drop (even with nothing connected) is OK - just losing their "surface charge"

 

[Just smiffy]

Now put a load on your old batteries that’ll tell you if their knackered...

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[Northernraider]

Aye Tam - I think 12.8v is fine it signifies a fully charged 12v battery - if they were at 13.6v on completion of charging and are lead acid batteries then that drop (even with nothing connected) is OK - just losing their "surface charge"

Cool well I'm keeping hold of them for now Any way in case I decide to fit an extra one in the van but I think 2 will do me fine for my useage especially as these solar panels seem to get better output than the ones I had on franky.

Don't want to be carrying extra weight I don't need again if I can avoid it I done too much of that last year

 

[Teuchter]

Now put a load on your old batteries that’ll tell you if their knackered...

I bought one of these some years ago - great bit of kit for testing lead acid batteries!

Silverline 282625 Battery and Charging System Tester 6 V and 12 V

 

[Northernraider]

DVLA are really doing my head in

Still haven't processed my paperwork so MH is still sorned and not taxed

You phone them and they can't even confirm if they've received the paperwork so I can't use the van and I could be sitting here waiting for a v5 and road tax and the original may well be lost in post somewhere.

It really is crap that one bloody office in Wales deals with this when I'm in Scotland

I didn't buy Toby as a garden ornament I'm supposed to be away in him this weekend

 

[Northernraider]

Aaaand while I'm in a bad mood I ordered a 2000w inverter of eBay which was 48 hour delivery

I expected it today ..I've just received an email from the seller saying they are out of stock and refunding me which can take up to 48 hours.
So I won't have that fitted in time either

Grrrrrrr

 

[Trixie]

Tam you did send it registered post so they had to sign for it, didn’t you ??

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[Trixie]

It can take 6 weeks to get a replacement V5.

 

[kelpie]

DVLA are really doing my head in

Still haven't processed my paperwork so MH is still sorned and not taxed

You phone them and they can't even confirm if they've received the paperwork so I can't use the van and I could be sitting here waiting for a v5 and road tax and the original may well be lost in post somewhere.

It really is crap that one bloody office in Wales deals with this when I'm in Scotland

I didn't buy Toby as a garden ornament I'm supposed to be away in him this weekend

Sorry to hear of Swansea delay, civil service I'm afraid and red tape.
While you're waiting for paper work I could run over and watch , I mean you could show me how to polish a motorhome. Make sure there's some crumble in the oven though.
It will all fall into place Tam.
John

 

[Northernraider]

Tam you did send it registered post so they had to sign for it, didn’t you ??

I didn't no I just sent it first class large letter.

 

[Northernraider]

It can take 6 weeks to get a replacement V5.

They quote 2 weeks now and the guy told me on the phone it would be taxed within 10 days.

I received the original v5 only 4 days after I bought the van. I don't know why they take so long it's not a big job

 

[Northernraider]

Sorry to hear of Swansea delay, civil service I'm afraid and red tape.
While you're waiting for paper work I could run over and watch , I mean you could show me how to polish a motorhome. Make sure there's some crumble in the oven though.
It will all fall into place Tam.
John

Ha ha your always welcome to come visit for a coffee and a blether John

And I'll happily watch you polishing your motorhome

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[Figaro]

I bought one of these some years ago - great bit of kit for testing lead acid batteries!

That's useful, does it allow you to put a known load on the battery ?

 

[Lenny HB]

Yeah I think the old ones were faulty as they have nothing connected to them and have dropped from 13.6v yesterday to 12.8 this morning

12.7 and above is fully charged, always higher when they first come of charge.
Only real test is to see what happens under load.

I bought one of these some years ago - great bit of kit for testing lead acid batteries!

Silverline 282625 Battery and Charging System Tester 6 V and 12 V

View attachment 264916

That just does a CCA test useless for testing a leisure battery.

 

[gus-lopez]

Tam you did send it registered post so they had to sign for it, didn’t you ??

Even if you did send it registered they do not sign for each individually but by the sackload.
When you have sent stuff registered , they've lost it & then use the excuse " when we opened the registered letter there was nothing in it" you know you are dealing with scum.

 

[Northernraider]

Well I bought another cheap car today as the Peugeot I bought a few weeks ago was a wee bucket still I sold it for £150 more than it cost me lol.

Bought a Nissan Almera today a 2006 with fsh and all the toys including satnav and mot till next June for £400
So that should do me till I bugger of travelling again.

Belonged to a lady doctor last but needs a good clean

How come when I sell a vehicle it's clean and every one I buy is filthy lol

 

[mfw]

Well I bought another cheap car today as the Peugeot I bought a few weeks ago was a wee bucket still I sold it for £150 more than it cost me lol.

Bought a Nissan Almera today a 2006 with fsh and all the toys including satnav and mot till next June for £400
So that should do me till I bugger of travelling again.

Belonged to a lady doctor last but needs a good clean

How come when I sell a vehicle it's clean and every one I buy is filthy lol

Think you like polishing profit in vehicles

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