Using to many volts on 12v than EHU?

[Jo662]

It is ! This extra information about there usage may throw a bit more light on your issue. It would appear they are well used. Out of interest, how much solar power do you have and can you tell me what leisure batteries you have. (Did I read earlier on that you had 2 Banner lead acid batteries ? if so, that will 200 cycles at 50% D.O.D). If you have been doing a shed load of days out and not using Hook Up, the amount of Solar Power (S.P.) you have is going to be important and the amount of good daylight they will be exposed too ? Assuming you have more power coming from your panels than your using during in daylight hours then your leisure batteries will not be loosing any power and more importantly not cycling. At night, they will be using power and therefore cycling. The amount of Cycling will depend on how far they are discharged. (if you discharge by 50% and then fully charge again, this is one cycle. After 200 cycles they die no matter how much charge you put into them after that point). The drop test referred to above by Pausim will help you establish how healthy your Batteries are. Unfortunately, it wont tell you how much life is left in them as you can still fully charge a leisure battery that has very little capacity left.

they are Bosch battery’s and I think they are the ones you stated. I bought Bosch thinking they would be the best,I didn’t realise the cycles they do. I also have a 150w solar panel,and as most of are days out are always in daylight the batteries wont loose much.

 

[Jo662]

It also says it is dual purpose, which probably means it does neither job particularly well.

A bad battery to of gone for then?

 

[Pausim]

A bad battery to of gone for then?

Possibly, I don’t really know much about them I am just a bit suspicious of dual purpose. Leisure batteries are supposed to have fewer heavier lead plates so that they are more robust when discharged but at the expense of the high amps needed for engine starting. Engine batteries need more plates so that they can deliver lots of amps but as a result they tend to be thinner. Many knowledgeable Funsters advocate gel batteries, I am a bit of a LiFePO4 fan but expensive options are not the right answer for everyone.

 

[HandyAndy]

If I took them out so there was no draw on them and then tested them. If got a garage near where I work and they will put a meter on them. Or isn’t that a good way to do it?

A deep cycle battery doesn't seem to respond in the same way as a normal "starter battery" so a garage would (like me) just put a drop tester on it and say yep that's fine when it might not be.

You need to connect a device that drains the battery at the 20 hr rate which is the ah rating of the battery which I think you've already told us is 90ah.
90 / 20 = 4.5amps
so if you can find a bulb or fan or something that is around 4.5 amps, then that should last 20 hrs before the battery reaches 10.5v
Now obviously you don't want to do this very often as the actual test itself will degrade the battery a small amount because you have to take it down to 0% charge level for the capacity reading to be of any use.
Before you test the battery you need to make sure it's been on charge a few days before hand to ensure it is fully charged and also do the test inside the house where it's warm as most of the rating tests are done at 25°C which the garge will not be at this time of year

 

[bigtwin]

You need to connect a device that drains the battery at the 20 hr rate which is the ah rating of the battery which I think you've already told us is 90ah.
90 / 20 = 4.5amps
so if you can find a bulb or fan or something that is around 4.5 amps, then that should last 20 hrs before the battery reaches 10.5v

As it happens, a 55/60W headlight bulb is pretty much spot on.

I = W/V
I = 55/12.5 = 4.4A

Ian

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[autorouter]

You need to connect a device that drains the battery at the 20 hr rate which is the ah rating of the battery which I think you've already told us is 90ah.
90 / 20 = 4.5amps
so if you can find a bulb or fan or something that is around 4.5 amps, then that should last 20 hrs before the battery reaches 10.5v
Now obviously you don't want to do this very often as the actual test itself will degrade the battery a small amount because you have to take it down to 0% charge level for the capacity reading to be of any use.
Before you test the battery you need to make sure it's been on charge a few days before hand to ensure it is fully charged and also do the test inside the house where it's warm as most of the rating tests are done at 25°C which the garge will not be at this time of year

I'd prefer to do the test at the 20 hr rate (ie 4.5 amps) as above, but only for 10 hours. That should discharge it to 50%, when the voltage should be about 12.0 volts (after a bit of a rest to let the voltage settle). If the voltage is lower than this, then the battery has lost some capacity.

Use pappajohn's chart, post #11 of this thread.

12v/240v

So, I'm just trying to get my head around how various MH related stuff works. Fridge is 12v/240v/gas - does that mean it has 2/3 separate compressors? 240v sockets obviously work direct from hook up. Heating on our van is gas only, although the air is obviously blown around. Lighting is 12v...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

This will tell you the percentage it has actually discharged down to. If for example it's 11.6 volts then it's down to 20% when it should be only down to 12.0 volts (ie 50%.) You can judge if the battery has lost enough capacity for you to think about replacing it.

 

[PhilandMena]

A bad battery to of gone for then?

No! Your choice of Lead Acid Battery was fine. Whilst possibly not the best Lead Acid battery they are considered to be of good quality and equal to the Varta LFD90. (Many members on this forum are using the Varta LFD90). Be careful not to be persuaded when members say 'perhaps this' and 'maybe that' and 'this might have happened' etc.,. There is a lot of this type of advise coming from members on this forum and always with good intent. However it is just guesswork and can lead you down a blind alley. What you need is fact, fact, fact. Doing the load/drop test when you return home will help you get to the bottom of your issue.

 

[Jo662]

We stayed on a campsite for a change last night,but will be on aires for the next three as we head back to the tunnel. So will see how the batteries perform !

 

[PhilandMena]

We stayed on a campsite for a change last night,but will be on aires for the next three as we head back to the tunnel. So will see how the batteries perform !

Have a safe journey home. It might be a good idea to come back to this thread and update members on the outcome of your investigation. It's always helpful to find out what the actual cause of a fault/failure is.

 

[Jo662]

Have a safe journey home. It might be a good idea to come back to this thread and update members on the outcome of your investigation. It's always helpful to find out what the actual cause of a fault/failure is.

I will if can fathom out what is wrong, providing it happens again !

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[Pausim]

Be careful not to be persuaded when members say 'perhaps

I think it is an appropriate word when expressing an opinion, is the word possibly any different.

Whilst possibly not the best Lead Acid battery

 

[PhilandMena]

I think it is an appropriate word when expressing an opinion, is the word possibly any different.

Agreed

 

[TheCaller]

Be careful not to be persuaded when members say 'perhaps this' and 'maybe that' and 'this might have happened' etc.,. There is a lot of this type of advise coming from members on this forum and always with good intent. However it is just guesswork and can lead you down a blind alley. What you need is fact, fact, fact.

That sounds ok, but some of the suggestions stated as 'fact' can turn out to be just as incorrect.

At least the person saying 'maybe' is admitting that they do not know everything & is making it clear that what they are making is a suggestion to be investigated & evaluated by the OP rather than a diktat to be blindly followed.

It's quite rare that we are given enough information about a problem to be able to make judgements with absolute certainty.

 

[Jo662]

So far so good tonight in an aire in Étreta. Leisure batteries showing 12.5 at the moment!

 

[Jo662]

This morning the leisure batteries read 12.2 but strangely the engine battery reads 12.2 aswell when it was 13 when we got here. Seems to me that something is draining all the batteries!

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[Pausim]

That does not sound right, the engine battery should be completely isolated from the leisure battery when the engine is not running. I would be looking at the relay or device that separates/joins the batteries to make sure it is operating properly. In my motorhome it is part of the CBE control system but I have no idea where it would be on your Sargent system.

 

[Jo662]

That does not sound right, the engine battery should be completely isolated from the leisure battery when the engine is not running. I would be looking at the relay or device that separates/joins the batteries to make sure it is operating properly. In my motorhome it is part of the CBE control system but I have no idea where it would be on your Sargent system.

ok thanks,something to look at when home.

 

[Landy Andy]

This morning the leisure batteries read 12.2 but strangely the engine battery reads 12.2 aswell when it was 13 when we got here. Seems to me that something is draining all the batteries!

How accurate is the reading? If it’s just the MoHo display, could it just be reading low? So both would show low.
Need to get a decent meter on it.

 

[Jo662]

How accurate is the reading? If it’s just the MoHo display, could it just be reading low? So both would show low.
Need to get a decent meter on it.

yes that could be right,needs looking at!

 

[Jo662]

But good news,the suns out so my solar panel should do its bit?

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[HandyAndy]

12.2 on the starter battery ? yea something definitely going on in this system that shouldn't.... or your volt display panel isn't worth a wa** ?

 

[Jo662]

Well I have taken the leisure batteries out to get them checked and they both had the same reading of 13.04 on a meter. Then I put a light bulb on each in turn and there wasnt any significant drop in power at all.
And they are not Bosch like i thought,they are Yuasa batteries.Are they any good?

 

[bigtwin]

You need to follow the guidance provided earlier.
You need to leave the bulb connected for a number of hrs. Measure the current being drawn then, after x hrs you can determine how many Ahs you have taken from the battery. An hour (or more) after you disconnect the bulb, measure the voltage. The voltage will tell you the % discharge and you can then determine the capacity of the battery from the Ah you consumed in your test.

Ian

 

[movan]

What ARE the best leisure batteries please... Bosch?

.. and are two L110 batteries ok?

 

[bigtwin]

What ARE the best leisure batteries please... Bosch?

.. and are two L110 batteries ok?

I don’t know but can thoroughly recommend these gels:

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Ive just replaced one that was 13 years old and am currently testing one that’s ten years old (and the test is looking good so far).

Ian

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[PhilandMena]

Well I have taken the leisure batteries out to get them checked and they both had the same reading of 13.04 on a meter. Then I put a light bulb on each in turn and there wasnt any significant drop in power at all.
And they are not Bosch like i thought,they are Yuasa batteries.Are they any good?

View attachment 342447View attachment 342448

Yuasa should be OK they have a good reputation.

 

[jockaneezer]

It might just be a trick of the light, but that top battery indicator is showing red (bad) and the bottom one is green ?

 

[Vipar]

Do you lose any settings when you disconnect both leisure batteries and do you have to rest the control panel?

 

[Jo662]

It might just be a trick of the light, but that top battery indicator is showing red (bad) and the bottom one is green ?

its a reflection from a red door

 

[Jo662]

Do you lose any settings when you disconnect both leisure batteries and do you have to rest the control panel?

I shut down the Sargent box before I took the batteries out so will just turn the box on when i put them back in and it will just boot up again.

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