lEISURE BATTERY

[Nigel tindale]

Hi there. I need some technical assistance with my leisure battery. I have done a drop test on it and it shows it is fine. However a couple of times now when the battery has dropped to about 11volts and I put a fairly heavy load on it the voltage drops to nothing. Is my battery finished or what. The battery is about two years old and seems to run down quite quickly but the drop test is fine. Nigel

 

[Damian]

Nigel, a battery is flat at 12v, a good battery should read anywhere from 12.5 to 14.5v.

Under 12v and sulphation starts to occur which permanently damages the cell structure, rendering full charge impossible.

A battery should always be kept at full charge in storage.

If your battery is running down quickly, then it would indicate that it is past its best and needs replacing.

 

[MooseontheLoose]

Damian,

Just a question, if your battery is fully charged then what does it read in voltage terms (allowing for the 4 hour settling down period after charging)

I only ask since immediately after charging my battery reads 13.7V but after settling it reads 12.8V which seems a lot to lose in 4 hours with no drain being placed on it.

 

[Damian]

Moose on the Loose.

The problem with van battery chargers, and set rate chargers, is that they are designed to charge the battery but not produce any gassing, as a safety precaution.

To get the most out of a leisure battery, it is best to use a multi stage charger which takes the battery up to 14.5v to 14.8v.

A freshly charged battery will lose some of its charge after the power is switched off and it has settled, and your reading of 13.7 down to 12.8 is about normal, and if left without charging, it will continue to lose charge over time due to the natural discharge rate of the battery and what it is made of.

To confuse even more is the power of the battry is measured in amps/hour, which is how long will a battery last drawing a set amount of amps over a set time, so a 110amp battery will, or should, last 110hours at one amp per hour drain.

If your battery continues to lose over a short period of time, like a week, then it is likely that there is an internal fault causing a problem.

Batteries in storage "should" be charged every 2 months to maintain their effective life.

 

[MooseontheLoose]

Moose on the Loose.

The problem with van battery chargers, and set rate chargers, is that they are designed to charge the battery but not produce any gassing, as a safety precaution.

To get the most out of a leisure battery, it is best to use a multi stage charger which takes the battery up to 14.5v to 14.8v.

A freshly charged battery will lose some of its charge after the power is switched off and it has settled, and your reading of 13.7 down to 12.8 is about normal, and if left without charging, it will continue to lose charge over time due to the natural discharge rate of the battery and what it is made of.

To confuse even more is the power of the battry is measured in amps/hour, which is how long will a battery last drawing a set amount of amps over a set time, so a 110amp battery will, or should, last 110hours at one amp per hour drain.

If your battery continues to lose over a short period of time, like a week, then it is likely that there is an internal fault causing a problem.

Batteries in storage "should" be charged every 2 months to maintain their effective life.

Thanks very much, not going away till next week so will monitor it.