battery help needed

[lordmonty]

could anybody help me,when i am on mains the battery tends to leak electrolyte out of the vent tube at the top of the battery as it is being charged,i don't think i have over-filled it as the fluid level is just above the plates,my understanding is that if one of the cells is u/s the charger will boil the battery dry which at the mo appears to be showing these symptons,it is a proper leisure battery less than 3yrs old,would be grateful for any advise on this matter.

 

[Charlie25]

Ray

Have you measured the battery voltage across the battery while it's being charged? Your van may be overcharging

 

[RogerL]

It sounds like it's overcharging - faulty charger or dead cell.

Check the voltage across the battery terminals while you have mains connected to run the on-board power supply. It should be 13.8v.

Take the battery to an auto electrician for testing, almost always free-of-charge.

Leisure batteries that you can top-up the cells have a design life of one year.

 

[lordmonty]

just changed the 'van[picked the new one up friday]on the old van the battery gauge was reading 12 without mains just over 12 with mains, on the new van the reading is almost 14 on mains and about 12.5 without but it does seem to be holding the charge at the mo,however have bit the bullet and ordered new ex24 battery from the megastore,are you sure the designe life is only about a year RogerL,that does'nt sound a long time,the battery before this one lasted about 5yrs albeit with limited usage[work commitments don't allow us to use the van as much as we would like]

 

[RogerL]

Ray - design life of a year relates to the warranty - the actual length of life depends how they're used as well as luck.

A conventional leisure battery is intended to last 100 cycles down to 50% of capacity. Between 25% and 75% discharge, the life in cycles is proportionate - ie 100 at 50% = 200 at 25% or 67 at 75%.

The EX24 you're getting is better than a conventional leisure battery - it's a sealed VRLA type which have 200 cycles of 60% discharge - that's 2.4 times better. It's a good choice.

 

[lordmonty]

cheers for that roger,i'll put the ex24 in the van when it arrives[should be tomorrow]and keep my eye on the old one,i think the charger was a bit dodgy in the old van but this one seems fine.