Leisure batteries

[helen_5108948]

How long should a leisure battery last for and can anyone recommend a really good charger?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Helen,

There is no easily defined answer to the first part of your question. It all depends on how much you use it. But lets try to help:

The battery has an Amp-hour (Ah) rating , typically 85 or 110Ah. If you think of a battery as being a like a water tank holding 85 (or 110) Litres, then you can appreciate that if you use the water at a rate of 1 litre an hour the tank will last for 85 (110) hours. If you use more water then the tank will empty more quickly.

The trick is to work out how much water you use. The same applies to the amount of electrical current. If you work it out per day then it is possible to estimate the charge life of the battery.

Consider some of these figures

Appliance Amp rating, Daily usage(hrs) Ah per day

Lamp(x4) 4 4 16

Water pump 4 0.5 2

Heater Fan 1.5 5 7.5

Water heater 0.5 4 2

Television 5 3 15

Total 42.5 Ah

Take the battery capacity and divide the daily Ah figure into it to get the number of days, so 85/42.5 = 2 days. (110/42.5 =2.6 days).

As you see it pays to be spring with your use of power, so turn off lights when they are not needed etc. Many caravanner's will tell you that they can last 4 or more days with careful power usage, and that probably means no television.

If you use a pitch with a mains hook up, then with the charger there should be no worries.

There are some negative things to consider. As batteries age, their Ah capacity reduces, and not all chargers will give maximum charge to a battery.

Alternative strategies, some caravanner's fit a solar panel to help top up the battery, Some connect to the car, some use a second battery that can be charged in the car and swapped to the caravan when necessary.

Look on the forum for other threads regarding different chargers.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Helen,

There is no easily defined answer to the first part of your question. It all depends on how much you use it. But lets try to help:

The battery has an Amp-hour (Ah) rating , typically 85 or 110Ah. If you think of a battery as being a like a water tank holding 85 (or 110) Litres, then you can appreciate that if you use the water at a rate of 1 litre an hour the tank will last for 85 (110) hours. If you use more water then the tank will empty more quickly.

The trick is to work out how much water you use. The same applies to the amount of electrical current. If you work it out per day then it is possible to estimate the charge life of the battery.

Consider some of these figures

Appliance Amp rating, Daily usage(hrs) Ah per day

Lamp(x4) 4 4 16

Water pump 4 0.5 2

Heater Fan 1.5 5 7.5

Water heater 0.5 4 2

Television 5 3 15

Total 42.5 Ah

Take the battery capacity and divide the daily Ah figure into it to get the number of days, so 85/42.5 = 2 days. (110/42.5 =2.6 days).

As you see it pays to be spring with your use of power, so turn off lights when they are not needed etc. Many caravanner's will tell you that they can last 4 or more days with careful power usage, and that probably means no television.

If you use a pitch with a mains hook up, then with the charger there should be no worries.

There are some negative things to consider. As batteries age, their Ah capacity reduces, and not all chargers will give maximum charge to a battery.

Alternative strategies, some caravanner's fit a solar panel to help top up the battery, Some connect to the car, some use a second battery that can be charged in the car and swapped to the caravan when necessary.

Look on the forum for other threads regarding different chargers.

Sorry helen the table format did not translate to the forum.

Ill try again n another way.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Helen,

Appliance......Amp rating..Daily usage(hrs)..Ah per day

Lamp(x4).......4...........4.................16

Water pump.....4...........0.5................2

Heater Fan.....1.5.........5..................7.5

Water heater...0.5.........4..................2

Television.....5...........3.................15

...............................Total.........42.5 Ah