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Anyone got any experience of this?
Our leisure battery is knackered and we've been told we need a 12v 110mah class A but there seems to be so many options that look the same but differ in price quite a bit.
Can anyone recommend one?
Also, the old battery was an old class C with a traditional charging system, we're going to get solar panels installed but not until mid April at the earliest, will we screw a class A battery in this time.
Thanks!
Dont know what physical size you need, but ive always went to Tanya Batteries
Looked at reviews and went for cheapest generally. Bought one for mine in January there.
We have 2 class A 110 AGM batteries on ours they are the low height to go under the a Transit single passenger seat with a 360w solar panel on the roof which charges the leisure batteries and keeps the van one topped up between outings.
Firstly you almost certainly mean ah not mah...
Depending on finances it might be worth looking into a non lead acid one.
I've got 2x lead acid 110ah in the van and my brother have me a li fe po4 one. (nominally 105ah but equivalent to 185 in what can ge delivered before damaging the battery )
It weighs a fraction of the other 2... and has handles so I can easily unplug and bring into the garage or on a campsite without an individual hookup to charge.
Saves fuel and wear on the alternator and is ready to plug solar into
The Halfords AGM Class A I have has been great. Probably coming up to four years old and has been regularly discharged off grid and charged a day or three later. It's still holding a charge but definitely doesn't last as long as it did new. Also with it being Halfords if there are premature issues on your travels you are never too far from a branch that can sort warranty.
I’ve got 2x lead acid 110ah in the van and my brother have me a li fe po4 one. (nominally 105ah but equivalent to 185 in what can ge delivered before damaging the battery )
Yes it’s better but if you don’t need the extra power and don’t already have a suitable way to charge it then it’s an awful lot of money.
If the current battery has been working for the OP and has just reached end of life then just replacing it like for like will get him going again for a few years.
Stealth ad, if you’re near marple, I have an almost unused one in the garage that I need to sell, bought it then sold the caravan shortly after
I would get in touch with alpha batteries. They were really helpful when I was looking to upgrade our leisure battery set up
Have you looked at Lithium Iron phosphate batteries. They are expensive, but have greater lifespan, but don't have the voltage degradation as they are depleted in charge. I replaced my battery last year with a agm battery but aim in a few years to get one of these.
The other thing is to have a solar panel. They really help the battery to stay topped up.
BR
Jez
If you are not restricted for space, or can relocate the batteries, I'd recommend Trojan T105 Golf cart batteries.
Mine are 6 years old and still going strong.
Two 6v 225ahr batteries = 225ahr at 12v and they discharge safely to 80% which is 180 usable amps. They can do this due to much heavier plates, and a deeper sump means it takes a lot longer for debris to short out a cell.
Compare this to a twin 110ahr leisure setup with 220ahr total capacity, 50% discharge is just 110 useable amps.
Firstly you almost certainly mean ah not mah…
I’m glad you made that point, I too didn’t want the OP buying a battery 1000x smaller than intended. An important point indeed, so excuse my pure pedantry;
Surely you mean Ah not ah.
Ampere was a person so their SI units get capitalised.
Edit whilst I’m here:
Two 6v 225ahr batteries = 225ahr at 12v
hey spooky, Volta wants a word.
Have you looked at Lithium Iron phosphate batteries. They are expensive, but have greater lifespan, but don’t have the voltage degradation as they are depleted in charge.
I need a new leisure battery and I'm also looking at installing a solar panel in April. I wondered about lithium but they are expensive. This one is £500 in the sale.
https://www.kiravans.co.uk/products/nds-lithium-battery?variant=40329273016520
I was looking at AGM batteries as "unlike flooded batteries, AGM batteries may be placed and installed <b>upright or on their sides" </b>so gives you a bit of flexibility with installation.
What does Volta have to say to me? Two 6v batteries in series is 12v. Two 225Ahr batteries in series is 225Ahr.
Lithium batteries are good but be aware you will also need a new charger so factor in that expense!
I need a new leisure battery and I’m also looking at installing a solar panel in April. I wondered about lithium but they are expensive. This one is £500 in the sale.
just make sure it's lithium phosphate they are much more safer than ion batteries.
I found it funny in the link, that they say they have their own BMS, they actually have to!
With respect to chargers you probably have a compatible one already. I have a sterling b2b charger and victron solar controller they are designed more more lithium than lead acid or AGM.
CHeck the campervan forums to see who's using what for batteries, but EcoTree have a really good reputation.
JeZ
What does Volta have to say to me?
Your logic is correct on the voltage. But the units should be capitalised, V not v. Just having pedantic fun 🙂
Class A is just a NCC rating, don’t worry about it too much.
The best battery is one that matches your space and usage, like for like will go straight in. What was your old battery? What do you use it for? It’s an ideal time to upgrade if you had limitations on the old one but it depends on your current setup and architecture etc and solar etc going forwards.
If you have an old charger that just float charges replace it with a deep cycle lead acid battery, something from exide or the better yuasa range is ideal. If it’s not under the seat the exide er650 has a similar footprint to a regular 110ah but is a bit taller so gets you a bit more ah at 142.
Agm/lithium batteries can be an improvement depending on your usage but if it’s an old charger then you might have to replace that, wiring etc and then it can get expensive.
Give a bit more info and I’ll recommend what I think, been through a few batteries and done plenty of research and upgraded most bits in mine over time.
Thanks for all your help everyone.
Here’s a picture of the old battery
https://share.icloud.com/photos/007LLPzCa2W8ieKKKXiV3g0oA
And then the cables
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d5f4CFPQla8q79s9DdzmXycQ
The old setup limited us with always needing to be hooked up. In the future the aim is to have solar panels and the lithium batteries.
We’ve had a quote through for the panels but they won’t be fitted until late April and we go away for Easter so just debating what to do.
I know the current setup isn’t ideal for the lithium batteries but is it that they won’t charge at all, or just not very efficient? It’s a bit of a minefield!
I would have thought Lithium is OTT for an occasional use camper. If you are using it off-grid for weeks at a time or working out of it whilst away from home it's probably worth the investment.
Apart from needing to rejig the location of the battery, the Trojan 6v batteries are a definite upgrade from a regular lead acid leisure that's not too painful on the wallet.
It depends on your charger, but i would assume you’ve got a basic float charger that won’t cope with a lithium charge profile. You need to give some info still. Without knowing what your charger is you could easily destroy a lithium battery or worse. Lithium batteries are only really worth the extra if you need more amperage with limited space or you need big charge/discharge capability.
A 110ah basic deep cycle battery should give the average campervan 2-3 days general use with fridge etc in regular uk weather, a 140ah regular deep cycle battery and solar will give 3-4 days in average uk use and unlimited once the sun comes out assuming a decent amount of solar and you wont need to change anything else.
For a straight swap i would fit an exide er550 115ah or exide er650 140ah if space allows. Both available from alpha batteries, both ncc class A. £150, £180 respectively. 50% ideal depth of discharge on those, both would be an upgrade on what you have now even when it was new. Look to fit a victron smart shunt for £125 so you can monitor the system and avoid killing another battery and see how you use the battery.
You could upgrade then in stages, upgrade first maybe to a victron blue smart 20/30a charger (£150-200) which would enable you to move to lithium or other battery tech later, you could add solar if you need it, but if you start simple and add monitoring you can see exactly what you would benefit from to suit you. Also of benefit is looking at your wiring, so many conversions are a mess of wire and causes all kinds of problems with volt drop etc. Adding something like a decent 150ah agm battery would cost another £250 or so and you would get a good 80% depth of discharge.
I can get a week out of a 140ah agm battery using fridge, lights, heater etc everywhere apart from height of summer when the fridge is on constantly, and i can do a weekend away in winter or summer including a full ebike charge, i have a solar panel to fit but realistically for most british campervanners who do weekends away and a week here and there solar or lithium setups aren’t worth the spend.
Legend! Thanks for your help on this.
I think I’ll do as you suggest, start simple and upgrade from there.
Would the agm battery work with my current system? I know it’s a basic float system but that’s about it.
Sorry I’m useless with these things!
Agm battery will work with your system but your charger may not cope with it and you could kill it quite quickly if it just float charges as it won’t give it the higher voltage it needs.
See what model of charger you have and how old it is. Mine could do an agm profile but after years of just float charging it refused to charge an agm battery.