Which Battery please?

[X5Neil]

Hi all.
Looking to pick my new Bailey Barcelona up in the next few months and being new to this I am finding everyone on this forum to be very helpful and informative so thanks.
When it comes to batteries is it best to go for as bigger one as will fit in the compartment on the van and the highest Ah? Will probably want to go to some sites that do not have ehu but would like to future proof it with a view of being self sufficient and maybe the fitting of a motor mover.
Have heard that banner are a good make but your thoughts as always very much appreciated.
Kindest regards.
Neil.

 

[NigelDonnelly]

Neil,

Batteries are a bit of minefield, but I'll give you my opinion - I'm sure everyone else will give you theirs too!

With a mover and using the van away from a hook-up, you need to go for a good quality battery - Banner are very good, Optima are well regarded and the Varta range of leisure batteries are very good as well. In truth though, most of the names you may of heard of will be good. All good batteries are heavy as they have a lot of lead in them. If a battery is very lightweight, it is not a good sign...

You also need to go for the largest you can fit in a standard battery box. That will likely be 110a/h. You may find 125 or 160a/h but they are often physically larger and can be a struggle to fit.

Good luck and I'm sure there will be a wealth of very in depth advice along shortly!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Niel,

I won't recommend any particular make, but you have basically answered you own question regards size.

If you anticipate caravanning of EHU, then obviously a bigger battery will last longer. But the type of battery is also important.

If as you have indicated you may be off charge for some days, then the battery needs to be able to withstand longer periods of partial or deep discharge. For this you need to look at traction or leisure batteries. Do not consider a normal car battery as these do not like long discharges.

You should have no real problem with any of the batteries powering a mover. Even though they need quite a substantial current to get them moving, once moving the current drops quite considerably, and as they are are only used for a few seconds, the total amount of power they use is often much smaller than you imagine, A caravan reading light will probably use more in an evening than the mover.

 

[X5Neil]

Many thanks Nigel and prof John your advice is noted and a great help.
Does the weight of the battery come as part of the mtplm please?

 

[NigelDonnelly]

Will have to check for a brand new van as the rules have changed slightly in recent years, but basically, you need to subtract the weight of your battery from your available payload - it needs to fit in the space between the MIRO and the MTPLM

Sorry to bear bad news!

 

[X5Neil]

Well thanks for that bomb shell Nigel

 

[NigelDonnelly]

Just buy your beer when you get there. Or put it in the car

 

[otherclive]

I obtain my batteries from internet sites such as Tanys etc. They have very good prices and give details of AH, dimensions and weights so you can obtain a good comparison. Most battery guarantees have so many disclaimers that they are not easy to use in the event of a problem downstream. I remove the battery each time the van is put back into store after each trip. I then put it on a CTEK charger which will bring its voltage up amn maintain voltage during store. My present battery is an Elecsol at 7 years old and when bought it had the best power-weight-size ratio for 110AH. Although Optima were very good but very expensive. The Elecsol is still performing well and is also used to regularly start neighbours cars in winter.

 

[RogerB]

As a follow on to Nigels reply,although more weight generally means more power,the Elecsol range are a few kilos lighter than other makes for the equivalent capacity.Every little helps! Had mine a few years and no problems.

 

[X5Neil]

Thanks for your inputs much appreciated.
I know this might be a daft question but if I take the battery out to charge it would I need to put a cheap battery in its place to run the alarm and tracker whilst in storage?
Thanks
Neil

 

[SteveW77]

Short answer, yes.

Steve W

 

[X5Neil]

Haha. Thanks Steve )

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Thanks for your inputs much appreciated. I know this might be a daft question but if I take the battery out to charge it would I need to put a cheap battery in its place to run the alarm and tracker whilst in storage? Thanks Neil

If your van is stored at home and you have a place for an external electric socket you could leave the battery hooked up to the mains. I've done this since we bought our first van with no problems.

 

[X5Neil]

Thanks Lord.
Unfortunately we are not allowed to store out van at home as its in the deeds.
But thank you for your help.
Neil.

 

[mealsonwheels]

We have an Elecsol too and thoroughly recommend them.