Battery advice please

[ed1]

Hello, I need some advice on a leisure battery...what should I be looking for, I'm really coconfused thank you

 

[RogerL]

What sort of caravanning do you do? There's a big difference between long periods away from a mains hookup and those who always use a hookup - with every possibility in between.
If you're always on a mains hook up, then an old car battery will do - I've done it for 3 decades but plenty of experts here will tell you it's impossible !
If you go off-hook then you need a 110Ah leisure battery - the Numax sealed ones from Tayna are good but you can buy cheaper.

 

[ed1]

Thank you Roger, we usually stay on electric all the time, but we are touring Scotland later this year, and just wanted a back up in place. Car battery sounds good to me, someone else did suggest this also.....thanks again regards Ed

 

[Gagakev]

After you have decided what amp you require 85--110ah make sure you measure the battery holding box and get the right size as there are quite a few variations
I got the Tayna 85ah 4 years ago from here Tayna Leisure ordered 2.30pm one day and with me by 4.00pm the next.
You may also want to consider if you have a mover some manufactuers state 110ah I'm lucky my Powrtouch states the 85ah.

 

[goldie3871]

Can I piggyback in here (Hi by the way, newbie to the forum here). I've to replace my leisure battery (5 years without being charged has meant that its dead as a dodo) in an elderly caravan. 1990 build Eccles Elite Opal if anyone is interested.... Anyway there are very few bells and whistles in the van but I am also rather confused. Do I really need a 110Ah battery when I'll be doing 4-5 days "off grid" All I will need the battery for is lights and water pump (and to get the gas fired water heater going - apparently!) The obvious answer of course is to go to the caravan storage place and see what the old battery is but I'm not going to be passing that way till the van next makes an outing. Would a 75 Ah (LV22MF - on the site mentioned above) do? Many thanks, I cant believe I've owned a caravan for a decade and not thought about this sort of stuff.

 

[Surfer]

Always better to go for a 110amp deep cycle leisure battery, but make sure it has at least a 3 year warranty.

 

[RogerL]

Always better to go for a 110amp deep cycle leisure battery, but make sure it has at least a 3 year warranty.

Proper deep cycle batteries, aka traction batteries, are expensive and not easy to source.
The problem is that there's no legal or industry definition of a "leisure" battery - what's on sale is generally anything from a cheap car battery with handles to an equally undefined "marine" battery which itself is generally somewhere between a car starter battery and a proper deep cycle battery.
Better quality batteries specify their design life in number of cycles and depth of discharge - typically starting at 500 cycles @ 50% discharge - which probably means that if it doesn't specify then it almost certainly isn't as good as 500 x 50%.
There are no cheap good batteries - but paying a lot doesn't guarantee a good one either.

 

[ed1]

Thank you everyone.......still undecided, probably going with the old/new car battery for now, thanks again

 

[HenryB1]

I have been caravaning for 40 years and for the last 20 my vans have had a battery. The last battery I purchased in 2001 when I had a Powertouch mover fitted to a new Abbey. I followed what I thought was the correct system and allowed battery to discharge until it reached red on the van meter and I then recharged. The battery lasted just over 2 years and was replaced under its 5 year warranty by the dealer I had bought it from. Since then the replacement has been on 3 vans and is still working my Powertouch mover. I am sure that regular topping up and not allowing the battery to discharge too far is very important. We spend most of our caravaning on EHU but also do at least 2 weeks in summer when we use an 18w portable solar panel to top up.(no TV during that time). I have not purchased from Tanya.co.uk but they seem to have a very large range of batteries and also have very sensible advice as to how to look after yor battery. My 10 year old is still moving my Evolution mover and I dread the moment when it decides to give up at a crucial time.