Upgrading but sticking with lead acid batteries.

[Thornebt]

I've got two Yuasa XBX Active L36-100 leisure batteries with a 100w solar panel plugged into a Sargent EC325 controller. The batteries have a small sticker on them saying they are category C and suitable for hook up and minimal off grid use.

I want to stay off grid more these days and my batteries are going down to around 11 volts.

I would like to upgrade them to the best lead acid batteries I can. I want to stick with lead acid as there has been some debate on this forum about the suitability of the EC325 to charge AGM and Lithium batteries.

What could I upgrade my 100Ah batteries to? Could I go to as much as 300Ah? Would they take much longer to charge but also last much longer?

My motorhome dealer said he can supply Class A batteries for £350 each. I emailed him to ask what Ah rating they are but he hasn't replied yet. He doesn't seem very keen to give me much info on the battery specification - probably as he thinks I will then buy them cheaper elsewhere.

 

[Tombola]

And no doubt you will be able to buy them cheaper.

I think there are or used to be funster discounts too , for tayna batteries ? Someone else will confirm.
Also offgridpowersolutions a member on here RogerIvy have funster discounts, but i think they may only deal with lithium, but they can help in other areas/product https://offgridpower.solutions/

Does the ec325 have a 20-25 amp charger ? If so then this is OK for 300ah....not the best but is ok. Remember the power it puts in the battery will be minus whatever power the van is using at the time.

 

[berni109]

Get a couple of gel batteries and U really need more solar.

 

[Tombola]

Get a couple of gel batteries and U really need more solar.

Its recommended that you don't fit Gel or agm with the ec325...it can blast up to 18 volts when battery is low.
Same reason as you shouldnt fit a starterbattery trickle device type thing.

And max solar through it is 200w

 

[Thornebt]

Its recommended that you don't fit Gel or agm with the ec325...it can blast up to 18 volts when battery is low.
Same reason as you shoukdnt fit a battery master type thing

And max solar through it is 200w

My EC325 book says the maximum solar is 100W and I only have room for the one panel anyway.

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[Tombola]

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[berni109]

Fit a voltage controller before the battery connection and get gels.

 

[ToBoldlyGo]

I'm far from expert but I thought about adding lead acid but really for the hab side lead acid is yesterday's tech. Have a look at lifepo4 which is what I've upgraded to.

 

[Thornebt]

And no doubt you will be able to buy them cheaper.

I think there are or used to be funster discounts too , for tayna batteries ? Someone else will confirm.
Also offgridpowersolutions a member on here RogerIvy have funster discounts, but i think they may only deal with lithium, but they can help in other areas/product https://offgridpower.solutions/

Does the ec325 have a 20-25 amp charger ? If so then this is OK for 300ah....not the best but is ok. Remember the power it puts in the battery will be minus whatever power the van is using at the time.

I think the EC325 charger is 25 amps. That's info from Wirraway Motorhomes on their website.

 

[Thornebt]

I'm far from expert but I thought about adding lead acid but really for the hab side lead acid is yesterday's tech. Have a look at lifepo4 which is what I've upgraded to.

I will then have to change my Sargent EC325 and on top of a couple of expensive lithium batteries it will be high cost.

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[pappajohn]

My motorhome dealer said he can supply Class A batteries for £350 each

I bet he could.
A bullet is too good for people like that.

 

[Abacist]

I put two 140Amp Hour sealed wet Varta batteries in my Autotrail when I had it but I also had 2 solar panels which were at least 200 watts together and I put in a 25 Amp B2B charger for when driving along. A Serjeant charger is going to take an age to charge a big battery bank when on hookup.

Those Vartas nowadays are about £150 each plus carriage so less than £200 each compared to your dealer's offering but it depends if you can do it yourself.

Look back on some of the technical articles by our now deceased but highly revered member Techno if you feel like doing it yourself. I followed his threads and installed solar, extra batteries and the B2B.

 

[Lenny HB]

My motorhome dealer said he can supply Class A batteries

The A, B, C etc., battery classification is a load of BS by the NCC, the results are taken from manufacturers figures no testing done best ignored.
£350 for a LA battery he must have seen you coming as they say.

Just buy a decent branded battery like Exide or Varta.
A majority of so called leisure battery's are just starter batteries with a different label.

My EC325 book says the maximum solar is 100W and I only have room for the one panel anywa

I don't understand how you only have room for one panel on a van that is over 7m long.
The 100 watt limit is because in the back of the distribution unit they fit a cheap PWM solar controller, just ignore that and fit a decent MPPT controller connected direct to the batteries.

 

[ToBoldlyGo]

I will then have to change my Sargent EC325 and on top of a couple of expensive lithium batteries it will be high cost.

My van has a Sargent. With 175 watt solar and a 100ah lifepo4 we have little need of the battery charger.

Offgrid Power Solutions installed my lithium for me.

 

[Flairy]

Our Varta battery’s are now over 22 years old 3 100 watt solar panels 4 80 amp battery’s never had a problem and when I do I will go to Lytheum for the weight saving but the charger etc are old tech so there will be lots of extra cost.

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[Eyeballmike]

Forget all the posts that say you should get lithium or gel. If you don't have the budget or the correct tech then get good lead acids. My previous van had 2 x Varta LFD90 s fitted, as lead acids go they were great, they are now replaced by the LED range.

 

[Gellyneck]

We've got Varta LFD90 in our AT and no problems. Now superseded by the LFD95. See link above.

 

[ericroy]

Our two Trojan T105s are still going strong after 10 years. They are 6v and 225Ah so are wired in series rather than parallel. Designed for use in golf carts and the like, in my opinion they are considerably more heavy duty than the majority of 12v leisure batteries.

 

[Thornebt]

My van has a Sargent. With 175 watt solar and a 100ah lifepo4 we have little need of the battery charger.

Offgrid Power Solutions installed my lithium for me.

You haven't got the EC325.model have you? From what I've read on here the charger is not suitable for lithium. The maximum solar through the unit is 100w but maybe your panels go through a separate bit of kit instead of directly through the EC325?

 

[Thornebt]

Forget all the posts that say you should get lithium or gel. If you don't have the budget or the correct tech then get good lead acids. My previous van had 2 x Varta LFD90 s fitted, as lead acids go they were great, they are now replaced by the LED range.

Thank you. I think that's the way I'm going to go. I don't want to spend a load of money on lithium batteries and I don't have the expertise to fit MPPT controllers or different chargers. I would probably get something wrong!

I'll stick with the lead acid batteries, probably Varta LED. The new technology is clearly better at a cost but the old technology worked well enough for years. As someone said above their batteries are 22 years old!

I've also realised that I need to stay at a site every five days to empty the toilet cassette so can get hook up then. I'm sure people will say to get a spare cassette but it's a big item to find storage for.

Thanks for everybody's input to this thread.

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[tacr2man]

T105 if you have the spare payload as they are 28kg each

 

[Thornebt]

T105 if you have the spare payload as they are 28kg each

I don't know what T105 are. Are they 105Ah lead acid batteries?

 

[Gellyneck]

I don't know what T105 are. Are they 105Ah lead acid batteries?

Trojan Battery | T-105 6V Flooded Lead Acid Battery

The T-105 6V deep cycle flooded lead acid battery provides rugged durability and features T2 Technology for maximum sustained performance, longer life, and increased total energy.

www.trojanbattery.com

 

[Thornebt]

Trojan Battery | T-105 6V Flooded Lead Acid Battery

The T-105 6V deep cycle flooded lead acid battery provides rugged durability and features T2 Technology for maximum sustained performance, longer life, and increased total energy.

www.trojanbattery.com

So if I fitted two of these 6v batteries it would be 12v but possibly better than two 12v batteries?

 

[Gellyneck]

So if I fitted two of these 6v batteries it would be 12v but possibly better than two 12v batteries?

Never used them but have a look at #18 above and ericroy may be able to give first-hand experience.

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[LithiumConvert]

6 volt batteries need to be connected in series.

 

[Thornebt]

6 volt batteries need to be connected in series.

Already my electrical expertise is struggling! . I will probably go for 12v - just need to ascertain if I should go for batteries higher than 100Ah. I understand that higher Ah batteries take longer to charge but last longer. With one EHU stop every four or five days higher Ah batteries might make sense.

 

[Lenny HB]

Our Varta battery’s are now over 22 years old 3 100 watt solar panels 4 80 amp battery’s never had a problem and when I do I will go to Lytheum for the weight saving but the charger etc are old tech so there will be lots of extra cost.

Your batteries are Gel they started life at 320 ah they will now be approx 180ah Lead batteries lose approx 2.5% of their capacity per year. Gels often last very well but with age they often take a very long time to charge. You will probably find a big improvement if you fitted new batteries.

 

[AdrianChen]

Our two Trojan T105s are still going strong after 10 years. They are 6v and 225Ah so are wired in series rather than parallel. Designed for use in golf carts and the like, in my opinion they are considerably more heavy duty than the majority of 12v leisure batteries.

These were a great choice 10years ago - lots of full time cruising folk used them as if looked after and topped up from time to time (or fitted with the automatic system) they lasted forever.....

Today I think Lithium is coming down in price and is relatively maintenance free to the point that I would go with it as a preference with the usual caveats on the charging system.

Gel would be my choice for non lithium leisure batteries, simply because I am too lazy to manage batteries but I bet the cost for usable amps isn't too different to lithium these days.

 

[Lenny HB]

Gel would be my choice for non lithium leisure batteries, simply because I am too lazy to manage batteries but I bet the cost for usable amps isn't too different to lithium these days.

About 50% dearer with the cheaper Lithiums, so not horrendous.

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