Leisure Batteries

Post by **francophile1947** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:16 pm

Just saw these on Ebay:-

LEISURE POWER BATTERY 6 VOLT 162 AMP HOUR £10.00
Item number is 180069850476.

Now for the technical bit - if you wired 2 of them in series (to give 12 volt), what would the Amp Hours be and has anybody ever tried it? - they are very cheap.

moonshine · Post by **moonshine** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:23 pm

That's incredibly cheap!

Wired in series surely they would have the same amp/hour capacity as separately.

Post by **francophile1947** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:35 pm

Hi Moonshine
That's what I would have thought, but don't know.
It doesn't actually say what they have been used for, except "back-up power supply", but, as there are 984 of them, it must have been something like the old telephone exchanges used to have in the event of a power cut.

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:44 pm

But then you have £25 delivery per battery = (2 x 10) + (2 x 25) = £70 = almost the same is a big Numax which is kosher. Not sure I'd want to risk it.

Post by **francophile1947** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:59 pm

Delivery not a problem Mike - my neighbour travels to Reading every week in his company vehicle, and he is a nice obliging fellow.
But, even for £20, I don't know enough about the effects of connecting in series - electrics are not always logical (well, not to me anyway). Also, my knowledge of leisure batteries is almost non-existant - do they last longer than ordinary car batteries?

grumpo · Post by **grumpo** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:59 pm

These batteries were probably destined for the scrap merchant in the first
instance, but due to environmental issues and costs, they no longer show
a profit on the lead.

Perhaps selling them to unwary Bongo owners is the new way to dispose
of them.

As 1 battery would fill the front battery tray, where would you put the
other One ?.

Post by **francophile1947** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:03 am

You could well be right Grumpo.

pippin · Post by **pippin** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:12 am

No problem with connecting them in series. After all, a 12V battery consists of six seperate 2V cells which are simply connected in series inside the case.

I confirm that the Ah value in series is the same.

Post by **francophile1947** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:16 am

Cheers Pippin

Post by **francophile1947** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:22 am

Sorry Grumpo
I missed the last part of your post - there is room in the cupboard under my cooker (I think!).

rwill19050 · Post by **rwill19050** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:41 am

If they are ex back up power then steer clear

We only got rid of ours (UPS back up) when they failed on test. (duff cells, ect).
The price of them new is 'horrible' so no one gets rid of them unless absolutely necessary.
Save your dough

Post by **francophile1947** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:47 am

Much obliged rwill19050 - I thought they must be a bit risky, but you never know.
I used to be in the Royal Observer Corps and we had two six volt batteries, in series, for power in our underground post. Didn't seem to hold much power, but they were nearly 40 years old!!

grumpo · Post by **grumpo** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:54 am

If you could obtain 2 of these batteries for a total outlay of 20 pounds and
very little effort on your part, and you had room to fit them close together
in a cupboard, then, if they still had some life in them, they would make
an excellent 12 volt leisure source.

If you fit one in the front and one in the rear then make sure they are
coupled with adequately sized cables for the total load and charging
current.

If the batteries are not a sealed type then be aware that some hydrogen
gas will be expelled when the batteries are fast charged after a complete
discharge, so don't install them too close to the cooker !!.

Other than that, I would be prepared to give it a go.

Good luck.

cezeta · Post by **cezeta** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:58 am

i think you would be foolish to buy these, they will be from a bms system or simular and as mentioned above have most likely been removed by a service engineer as the came to the end of their prescribed life.

b and q do a 230v generator for £30 at leaat that wont set your van alight......and can you be asses with putting in all that wiring.

for safety sake dont cut corners on this kind of thing

adam · Post by **adam** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:28 pm

I would take a gamble on these batts frank for the sake of £20 and a drink to your neighbour it will potentially save you a bit of cash.

I used to install and commission ups systems for a multi national telecoms company and you would not believe the amount of equipment that is upgraded for the sake of being upgraded, hence you get batterys like these coming on the second hand market with nothing wrong with them.

If you feel confident with what you plan to do give it a go mate.