Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
I have the willinton package and its great. However, I ran the battery flat in Crete and never recharged it fully for a month as only driving an hour or so a day. Then the 12 hour drive home should have got it recharged (unless now knackered as C&C factsheet). But it has now stood around in Plymouth waiting for me to go and collect for 7 weeks until Tuesday.
When it was discharged the split charge relay tick tocked at low revs. Is this due to leisure battery being flat?
This happened again on pick up from Plymouth but has stopped after drive home.
I will show the lb more respect in future and hope I can save it.
Please advise on 240 volt battery charger to use at home and for top up at campsites bearing in mind price, size and efficiency.
When it was discharged the split charge relay tick tocked at low revs. Is this due to leisure battery being flat?
This happened again on pick up from Plymouth but has stopped after drive home.
I will show the lb more respect in future and hope I can save it.
Please advise on 240 volt battery charger to use at home and for top up at campsites bearing in mind price, size and efficiency.
Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Mine clicks on and off at tickover even if the battery hasn't been used for a while I think that is just the voltage sensing in operation.Glenda wrote: When it was discharged the split charge relay tick tocked at low revs. Is this due to leisure battery being flat?
This happened again on pick up from Plymouth but has stopped after drive home.
The Tronic one sold (occasionally) by Aldi/Lidl is reckoned to be good as it's small fully automatic (so won't over charge) and cheap at £12.95 (I think).Please advise on 240 volt battery charger to use at home and for top up at campsites bearing in mind price, size and efficiency.
Comments on it here..
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.p ... ic&t=24735
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Mine cut in and out when the lb developed a faulty cell - the battery was replaced under warranty and the problem stopped.
I think this highlights what Mike was talking about in a previous post about LBs not liking a high charge when they've been left discharged for a while. A starter battery wouldn't have that problem.
I think this highlights what Mike was talking about in a previous post about LBs not liking a high charge when they've been left discharged for a while. A starter battery wouldn't have that problem.
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Yep. I'm within a whisker of replacing my LB with a starter battery when the time comes, because in all I've read about LB vvesus SB I still cannot get a clear picture of which is really going to perform better in a Bongo environment (i.e. fast charge from VSR) provided some precaution is taken (low voltage protection or - even better - a voltmeter, which I already have fitted, so yo can stop using it before it reaches 11.8v full discharge). It seems the only real way to find out is to suck it and see and hope it isn't an expensive wrong decision. I have a specific interest though in a battery that will maintain voltage under higher current drains (which my LB appears reluctant to do, though I cannot rule out the possibility that its because it is a bit knackered). If all you want is lights and TV then experimenting with a starter battery seems less enticing. Interesting to read at least one person on here saying though that they had used a starter battery for 2 years for LB use and had no problemsdandywarhol wrote:I think this highlights what Mike was talking about in a previous post about LBs not liking a high charge when they've been left discharged for a while. A starter battery wouldn't have that problem.
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
If you read the Spec. on that charger the Max current is 3.6Amps, which is really only adequate for float charging the battery over a lot of time.scanner wrote: The Tronic one sold (occasionally) by Aldi/Lidl is reckoned to be good as it's small fully automatic (so won't over charge) and cheap at £12.95 (I think).
Comments on it here..
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.p ... ic&t=24735
If you have made a significant drain on the battery to say 50% of an 85Amp/Hr battery then that battery is going to take 85/2 = 42.5Amp/Hrs of charging,
that's 42.5/3.6 = 11.8 Hours assuming no extra current is drawn from the battery for that charger (assuming it gives Max current all the time! .. it won't).
Its fine for bringing the battery back to full charge when at home and nothing else is being drawn from it, but if your on site and drawing a couple of Amps for say lights (24Watts worth) then your going take forever to get a full charge put back into it.
If your looking for something to recharge the L/B overnight when on a site then your going to need something that can put at least 8 Amps into it to achieve any sensible charging over night.
Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
And it's just that sort of charging that knackers true leisure batteries - or so we're told.g8dhe wrote: If your looking for something to recharge the L/B overnight when on a site then your going to need something that can put at least 8 Amps into it to achieve any sensible charging over night.
It's all one big compromise, if you want a battery that will stand a long slow deep discharge you have to put up with one that needs a long slow recharge. If you want one that tolerates short sharp discharge, you get one that will take short sharp recharges.
The charger I posted up is designed to keep batteries that are used intermittently in good condition - I didn't say it would recharge a flat battery overnight and the makers don't claim that either.
Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Hi Glenda. It really depends on what you take out of the leisure battery. If you are only running lights and the radio, for a few hours at night then an hours drive would easily charge that up. If you are running a fridge, then its a different story.Glenda wrote:I have the willinton package and its great. However, I ran the battery flat in Crete and never recharged it fully for a month as only driving an hour or so a day. Then the 12 hour drive home should have got it recharged (unless now knackered as C&C factsheet). But it has now stood around in Plymouth waiting for me to go and collect for 7 weeks until Tuesday.
When it was discharged the split charge relay tick tocked at low revs. Is this due to leisure battery being flat?
This happened again on pick up from Plymouth but has stopped after drive home.
I will show the lb more respect in future and hope I can save it.
Please advise on 240 volt battery charger to use at home and for top up at campsites bearing in mind price, size and efficiency.
Dave
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
I've got one of the Lidl ones connected to my LB when on hook-up. As it's connected for 24 hours a day, it more than replenishes anything I ever use on lights, TV, radio, tap etc. Let's face it, for most of the time you're camping, you're not using the LB.g8dhe wrote:If you read the Spec. on that charger the Max current is 3.6Amps, which is really only adequate for float charging the battery over a lot of time.
If you have made a significant drain on the battery to say 50% of an 85Amp/Hr battery then that battery is going to take 85/2 = 42.5Amp/Hrs of charging,
that's 42.5/3.6 = 11.8 Hours assuming no extra current is drawn from the battery for that charger (assuming it gives Max current all the time! .. it won't).
Its fine for bringing the battery back to full charge when at home and nothing else is being drawn from it, but if your on site and drawing a couple of Amps for say lights (24Watts worth) then your going take forever to get a full charge put back into it.
If your looking for something to recharge the L/B overnight when on a site then your going to need something that can put at least 8 Amps into it to achieve any sensible charging over night.
John
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Oh I dunno John - depends on who you are and where you're campingfrancophile1947 wrote: Let's face it, for most of the time you're camping, you're not using the LB.
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
mikeonb4c wrote:Oh I dunno John - depends on who you are and where you're campingfrancophile1947 wrote: Let's face it, for most of the time you're camping, you're not using the LB.
True Mike But, as you wouldn't need a battery charger if you hadn't got a hook-up, I still think they do a good job (unless to need the light on, to frighten away the ghosties, whilst you're asleep )
John
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
What sort of charging do you think I am suggesting then ? What would you propose ?scanner wrote:And it's just that sort of charging that knackers true leisure batteries - or so we're told.
Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Just had an interesting chat with my battery supplier (importer and wholesaler with 1000's of pallets of batteries so should know what he is on about).
I posed this question to him about LB's not liking fast charge etc, and his rely was 'what a load of ******. I dont have an expert opinion on this but only repeating what I have been told. He said that a LB will discharge and charge just as happiliy and for as long as a SB . The LB does not mind being fast charged and in his words could happily be connected to a lorry alternator for a few years with no ill effects.
Where the difference is, is the plate thickness and construction which in the case of a LB will not handle the cranking power needed to start large engines. He then started taking about doulbe sided glass matt plates in LB's and to be honest lost me .
Obviously a cheap battery is not going to do this as well as a better one, but it may not harm to use a starter battery as a LB if what he says is right.
I would think for a basic LB set up it wouldnt hurt to try, but for a full conversion with mains charging, extra loads such as more lights and fridges then its probably best to stick with a good leisure battery designed for the job.
I posed this question to him about LB's not liking fast charge etc, and his rely was 'what a load of ******. I dont have an expert opinion on this but only repeating what I have been told. He said that a LB will discharge and charge just as happiliy and for as long as a SB . The LB does not mind being fast charged and in his words could happily be connected to a lorry alternator for a few years with no ill effects.
Where the difference is, is the plate thickness and construction which in the case of a LB will not handle the cranking power needed to start large engines. He then started taking about doulbe sided glass matt plates in LB's and to be honest lost me .
Obviously a cheap battery is not going to do this as well as a better one, but it may not harm to use a starter battery as a LB if what he says is right.
I would think for a basic LB set up it wouldnt hurt to try, but for a full conversion with mains charging, extra loads such as more lights and fridges then its probably best to stick with a good leisure battery designed for the job.
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
That would seem about right I reckon. My needs are a bit eccentric of normal LB useage i.e. I'm trying to run an electric blanket off a 12v battery. That normally is a No-No as it will drain the battery quickly. But by controlling it via a unit with a thermostat and a low voltage protector it looks as though it may be practical. however, when it it IS on, the current drain can be relatively high, and a starter type battery may provide that without the voltage drop I experienced with my LB (which caused the low voltage protector to cut power to the blanket). Of course it could be my LB is in poor condition (which is also a possibility!) as I don't really understand why any healthy 110AmHr battery should experience voltage drop to below 12v just because 8amps is being pulled from it.madmile wrote:Just had an interesting chat with my battery supplier (importer and wholesaler with 1000's of pallets of batteries so should know what he is on about).
I posed this question to him about LB's not liking fast charge etc, and his rely was 'what a load of ******. I dont have an expert opinion on this but only repeating what I have been told. He said that a LB will discharge and charge just as happiliy and for as long as a SB . The LB does not mind being fast charged and in his words could happily be connected to a lorry alternator for a few years with no ill effects.
Where the difference is, is the plate thickness and construction which in the case of a LB will not handle the cranking power needed to start large engines. He then started taking about doulbe sided glass matt plates in LB's and to be honest lost me .
Obviously a cheap battery is not going to do this as well as a better one, but it may not harm to use a starter battery as a LB if what he says is right.
I would think for a basic LB set up it wouldnt hurt to try, but for a full conversion with mains charging, extra loads such as more lights and fridges then its probably best to stick with a good leisure battery designed for the job.
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Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
I just spoke to an auto-electrician with Bongo experience, who reckons that the Zig unit I have just bought is not up to the job of recharging a battery on site, I'd be better off with an 8-amp charger as you have. And the battery condition light red/green light system is not worth, well, a light. A metering system would be better. Still, he said, you've got some impressive lights. Just goes to show that, as someone said on a posting elsewhere, the more you know of the less you know. I am now getting more confused than ever.
Re: Leisure Battery, split charge relay advice please...
Notwithstanding what Madmile says I have always understood that LBs prefer a slow trickle charge which I have always taken to be 4 amps or less so the 8 amps you suggested would be higher than recommended.g8dhe wrote:What sort of charging do you think I am suggesting then ? What would you propose ?scanner wrote:And it's just that sort of charging that knackers true leisure batteries - or so we're told.
But now it seems other experts like Madmile's supplier reckon it just doesn't matter what you use unless you usage approached the extremes.
i.e. you don't try to use a LB to start a tank day after day or try to use an SB to power a milk float day in day out.
The truth is I'm not proposing anything simply passing on what I'd been told by "experts" hence the
."or so we're told"
As usual it seems you ask 10 experts the question and get 11 different answers.
Now you tell me, just which expert should we poor punters believe and who do we claim off if we follow the advice and end up with a stewed battery?