Type of Battery of Caravan Mover

[Chris_374224489]

MrShifta recommends a traction battery for moving a caravan but if you buy a chassis mounted type mover such as a Powrtouch then the manufacturers recommend the use of your normal leisure battery.As it is the same caravan the difference seems odd.

The question at the end of the day is, I guess, does using a Powrtouch type mover damage, or shorten the life of, a leisure battery by asking it to do something it was never designed to do - a high current - & would I be better going for a traction type battery?

 

[RogerL]

If you ALWAYS use sites with hookup, use a car battery - they're designed to give 400 amps, or more, so cope with a mover's 100 amps easily - I use a 72Ah quality car battery.

If you caravan away from hookups, just use a high capacity leisure battery - a traction battery will last longer, in years, but be much more expensive.

 

[Rubix]

OK, so what is a Traction battery ?

Is it different to a leisure battery & a car battery, as in the physical properties ?

 

[RogerL]

Lead acid batteries need two internal properties to cope with different needs.

The area of the plates is related to the current drawn - higher current needs larger area.

The depth of the plates is related to the amount of discharge/recharge done - more amphours discharged needs deeper plates.

Car batteries are made with large area, thin plates. Traction batteries are large area, thick plates.

Leisure batteries are small area, thick plates but there's no standard - some are no more than car batteries with handles.

 

[Chris_374224489]

Lead acid batteries need two internal properties to cope with different needs.

The area of the plates is related to the current drawn - higher current needs larger area.

The depth of the plates is related to the amount of discharge/recharge done - more amphours discharged needs deeper plates.

Car batteries are made with large area, thin plates. Traction batteries are large area, thick plates.

Leisure batteries are small area, thick plates but there's no standard - some are no more than car batteries with handles.

Unfortunately it is true that some leisure batteries are car batteries relabled & uppriced & I suspect some traction batteries are the same.

Is there any way to tell the difference between the abilties of theses different battery classes as a purchaser?

 

[Chris_374224489]

Unfortunately it is true that some leisure batteries are car batteries relabled & uppriced & I suspect some traction batteries are the same.

Is there any way to tell the difference between the abilties of theses different battery classes as a purchaser?

 

[otherclive]

I use an Elecsol carbon fibre battery which has a higher capacity for its weight and size cf lead-acid. I have had it 3 years and regularly take it out for a full conditioning charge with an CTEK charger which gets it to 13.6v which the van's system won't do. It has a 5 yaer guarantee and as well as mover/van duties it is man enough to start the 2.5litre diesel if required.

Cheers

Other Clive

 

[otherclive]

I use an Elecsol carbon fibre battery which has a higher capacity for its weight and size cf lead-acid. I have had it 3 years and regularly take it out for a full conditioning charge with an CTEK charger which gets it to 13.6v which the van's system won't do. It has a 5 yaer guarantee and as well as mover/van duties it is man enough to start the 2.5litre diesel if required.

Cheers

Other Clive

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi Chris,

I was under the impression that the leisure battery was a slightly lighter duty version of a traction battery. Both are designed to handle long and comparatively slow discharges, and being left is a part discharged state for some time..

Car batteries are design for high current fast discharges for short periods of time with te hprospect of almost immediate recharging when the engine runs..

In reality, the caravan movers, may call on moderate currents (40 to 50A) just to get them moving but once the van is moving the current will drop to only about 20A or less. This should be well within the capabilities of a well charged leisure battery.

Dont forget that most movers are only used for relatively short times, (less than 5Min) so the total power used is not enormous, and again a leisure battery should be more than capable of providing the power for moving and a couple or more days of normal caravan usage.

As Roger has suggested, if you are on a site with a mains hook up, then you will probably have goods service from a normal car battery, but you must check on the maintenance required for fluid levels etc.

 

[waffler]

We use a 110 amp leisure battery, cost about

 

[Andy_374346145]

We use a 110 amp leisure battery, cost about

 

[Colin_374358138]

I use 110Ah batter with a heavy duty powertouch mover. After two years no problems.

Beware however Numax just released a 113Ah battery which they say is not warrantied for mover applications. They have a 105Ah version with thicker plates for movers.

Also remember that a caravan mover may well supply 100A but its for an extremely short period otherwise they, the motor they drive and the wires in between would all melt !! Running current is much more like 25A. I know this becuase I work for a semiconductor company that supplies the low voltage MOSFET's that do the motor phase swithing in the mover's.

 

[graham_5040474]

We have a Reich mover on our van, and had an 85 amp leisure battery fitted on the day we bought the van new, 6 years ago. The battery is still soldiering faithfully on!

Graham

 

[Chris_374224489]

You are doing well - our leisure batteries have never lasted that long even without a mover.

I think our caravan box is only designed for an 85amp battery.