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I'm sure someone on here knows how to check a leisure battery. A normal wet battery is a simple drop test but I'm told that on leisure batteries you cannot use the same test. I have 2 110amp batteries connected to a 130W solar panel. I've charged the batteries off the van and connected them 1st, then the panel but they still do not seem to hold charge for long. This weekend, 3.5 hours using autosounds tv and drawing approx 2.6amps according to the Swift control panel and the batteries were down to 10.5 volts. This continued to drop slightly overnight so in the morning, my tracker was texting me to warn of battery voltage of 9.9 volts. It did creep back to 10.5 once it got a bit lighter but I suspect the batteries are no good. The Kontiki is just over 2 years old and the previous owner has replaced the batteries already. I'd like to test them before I spend good money on replacements.
Are the Elecsol batteries that much better than standard to justify the extra cost?
Cheers in advance for your help and advice.
Can you call in to Quick Fit or your local Auto Electrical garage to have them checked?..
______________________________________________________________ A man goes into a bookshop and says, ´Have you got that new book for men with really small willies?´
The assistant says, ´I don´t think it´s in yet.´
´Yes, that´s the one!´ Says the man.
I would suggest that the voltage reading tells you all you need to know - they need to be replaced. Any battery should more or less hold voltage when standing but a battery that's no good will lose voltage a lot quicker.
I cannot help with Elecsol v wet lead acid just to say that I would normally source mine locally as I consider this better than having to mess around sending things back if they have been ordered over the 'net and turn out to be faulty. I paid £79 for a 110amp lead acid from a local battery supplier and it's still going strong three years later.
I'd ask the previous owner,who supplied the batteries as the chances are they are still under warranty.
I've just replaced my leisure battery that was 11 years old and still going strong just to upgrade to two.
The battery in my Berlingo is 8 years old.
My TV & sat via inverter are drawing 4.1 to 4.4 amps. During most of the day the solars are matching that so only draining the batteries in the evening.
Saturday the TV was on for 9hrs up to 22:30 and the batteries on load were still showing 11.8 volts before switching off for bed.
At 9 a.m. next morning they were reading 13.6 and still charging since I set my regulator to 14.4 cut off.
For what you are drawing your batteries should be fine. Are they getting charged fully to start with? if so then I'd say they're tits up.
Yep I have the sealy tester they are ok and i'll keep it at that, i have had personal experience they can be incorrect... you also need to know the battery details like the cold cranking current and the alike.... well the last 3 batteries have not had any of that info on them so the tester is not so help full.... i still maintain my rule of thumb test of a know load say 15 amps and let the battery discharge and then you have a very good test if the battery is ok.... I usually use an inverter which switches off at a set voltage so not to over discharge the battery... as a rule of thumb (it dose take some time to do) at least you know the battery is ok. lets take a 110AH battery and say a useful capacity of 90amps max and if we were discharging a good battery it would take in the order of 5.8 hours so if the battery supplies around the 5.5 hours you know the battery is reasonable if it discharged in 15 minutes like the battery i had which the sealy tester passed one would be well up a garden path.... its a simple test but its gives you a factual test of the battery and simple to do....
Elecsol batteries are no different then normal batteries only a lot dearer. I know they have different type of plates but they still fail.
The guy I bought my batteries from said if I paid him what Elecsol charge he would give me a 5 year warranty.
I have had 2 fail on me so would not go back to them.
Andy
______________________________________________________________ There are no typing, spelling, or grammatical errors in my post. What you are seeing is the evolution of the English language in action.
This post may be unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs,if you are please disregard the above post. Andy
Elecsol battery capacity in steady discharge conditions have less capacity than a good quality lead acid battery. size for size. Did tests with Lucas and Banner batteries. Had an average of two hours more use out of the Lucas and Banner types.
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Italy
