New excited owner - leisure battery etc

[MaisieMush]

Hi, i am a new excited owner of 15 yr old Bongo and intend to use it regularly at festivals while stewarding for Oxfam. I would like to run my fridge for a few days but fearful this will run my leisure battery down completely. If this happens would i have to replace it? Is there a safe voltage level (I have a meter) to go down to or can i run it flat? Also a couple of techie questions - probably done about 100 miles and my gears sometimes seem to stick or jerk which makes pulling off slow (tricky at junctions) and also i have occasional drops of oil on my drive which i am told is nothing to be concerned about??? Any advice please.

[g8dhe]

Batteries don't last for ever.
First for festivals you might find a Solar Panel is a good idea.
As to the battery;
The nominal voltage when its not charging or discharging is 12.6 volts at 20°C (the temperature is quite important as it will vary by about 0.5 volt between 0°C and 30°C)
Once the battery is below 11volts your entering the charge very soon zone!
If you get below 10.8 volts then your starting to damage the battery.
The batteries life is also governed by the number of charge/discharge cycles it goes thru cheap LB may only last 70 cycles (£50), better quality ones maybe 300+ cycles(£100) some claim to have over 500 cycles (the marketing department have been let loose!!!) if they did then they would cost £200+.

Oh and welcome to the forum!

[Muzorewa]

Some fridges (maybe all of them?) have a safeguard to avoid you completely flattening the battery. Ours is a Waeco and according to the blurb it switches itself off below 10.4V and doesn't switch itself back on until the battery voltage is back up to 11.7V

[maxi_77]

There are quite a few devices that will shut of the power at low voltages to protect your battery, a good plan would be to get a suitcase solar panel to benefit from all the sun you get at festivals etc.

[cmm303]

Oil and sticky gears

Worth putting your Bongo engine / gearbox type in your post. I would try to work out where oil is dropping from. There is a large cover under most of the engine which catches most leaks so if it's running off this then it suggest a significant leak.

The gearbox sump and ATF cooling pipes (assuming an auto) could leak straight onto the ground. These should not leak at all so worth checking this and the ATF level. A fact sheet in the members area describes how to do this. http://igmaynard.co.uk/download/atf.pdf

[MaisieMush]

Batteries don't last for ever.
First for festivals you might find a Solar Panel is a good idea.
As to the battery;
The nominal voltage when its not charging or discharging is 12.6 volts at 20°C (the temperature is quite important as it will vary by about 0.5 volt between 0°C and 30°C)
Once the battery is below 11volts your entering the charge very soon zone!
If you get below 10.8 volts then your starting to damage the battery.
The batteries life is also governed by the number of charge/discharge cycles it goes thru cheap LB may only last 70 cycles (£50), better quality ones maybe 300+ cycles(£100) some claim to have over 500 cycles (the marketing department have been let loose!!!) if they did then they would cost £200+.

Oh and welcome to the forum!

Thank you, I am so impressed that people are taking the time to respond and especially grateful for this advise. Ok, loving the idea of a solar panel but how does this connect? Is it easy for a novice? Notice Aldi had some panels for sale??

[MaisieMush]

Oil and sticky gears

Worth putting your Bongo engine / gearbox type in your post. I would try to work out where oil is dropping from. There is a large cover under most of the engine which catches most leaks so if it's running off this then it suggest a significant leak.

The gearbox sump and ATF cooling pipes (assuming an auto) could leak straight onto the ground. These should not leak at all so worth checking this and the ATF level. A fact sheet in the members area describes how to do this. http://igmaynard.co.uk/download/atf.pdf

Thanks, I think I need to trot back to where I bought it from for them to investigate!

[MaisieMush]

There are quite a few devices that will shut of the power at low voltages to protect your battery, a good plan would be to get a suitcase solar panel to benefit from all the sun you get at festivals etc.

Are these expensive? Where do I get one from and are they easy to connect?

[g8dhe]

As you don't seem to have much experience with electrics, Lesiure batterys, solar etc. I would suggest you buy a complete system and have it installed.
My own recommendation would be Roger at Solar Camper Solutions as his was designed for Bongo's and is of good known quality throughout, yes you will get much cheaper solutions on EBAY but as several people on FaceBook have reported losing the panels due to winds when driving does nothing for keeping your insurance down!

[MaisieMush]

As you don't seem to have much experience with electrics, Lesiure batterys, solar etc. I would suggest you buy a complete system and have it installed.
My own recommendation would be Roger at Solar Camper Solutions as his was designed for Bongo's and is of good known quality throughout, yes you will get much cheaper solutions on EBAY but as several people on FaceBook have reported losing the panels due to winds when driving does nothing for keeping your insurance down!

Thanks Geoff, definitely something to think about!

[maxi_77]

There are quite a few devices that will shut of the power at low voltages to protect your battery, a good plan would be to get a suitcase solar panel to benefit from all the sun you get at festivals etc.

Are these expensive? Where do I get one from and are they easy to connect?

No, many auto accessory shops will have then and Maplins

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/produ ... gAai2ZPICg

[cazzyblues]

Hi and welcome to the Bongo experiance. Happy Bongoing. Caz