We have had our current Numax 110Ah battery since February 2018 so it is almost 7 years old. We have a 100w solar panel on the caravan which keeps it topped up in storage but we rarely go off grid and are usually plugged in to EHU when away in the caravan. We have a motor mover and I noticed the last few times we were away, the motor mover seemed to be lacking power, it was going slower than usual and it just felt like it was struggling. The control panel above the door has previously said “Leisure Battery Good” but I noticed on our last trip it said “Leisure Battery Fair”
I am guessing that our battery is nearing the end of its life and we will need to get a new one soon, however, I am wondering what the normal lifespan of a leisure battery is. Is 7 years a decent length of time for a battery to last or should we expect more than this?
Also, are there any brands that have a better reputation than others when we come to replace it before our next trip away in February.
Probably too many variables to work out Pixie. Ours is 6 years old now and still going strong, and our use is probably similar to yours except for the solar panel. I do take the battery off every winter and keep it topped up, and we never go to sites without EHU except possibly just an overnight stop.
I had a habitation check done earlier in July 2024, and was informed the leisure batteries (there are 2 in the van) were not holding their charge and recommended for them to be replaced if I were to go off-grid.
As far as I am aware, they should have been new when I collected my newly converted van in April 2021.
My van is hooked up to the mains when she is parked outside the house behind a set of gates.
Since I have not planned to go off-grid, I decided to delay their replacement until next year.
Don't know what brand they are.
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7 years is a respectable life for a lead acid battery, some will do a little more, many will do much less!
Had my van coming up 7 years early next year, the battery was new when I bought it but not a premium brand, although NCC rated, so battery 7 years of more old. My sophisticated battery analyser meter told me earlier this year whilst it's 'state of charge' was excellent, it's 'state of health' was declining, last test a week or two back gave state of health as 60% (of new value), and declared battery still 'good for use'. It certainly has powered the motor mover without any trouble several times this year, but the writing is on the wall!
Think I'll play safe and replace it the start of next season. I'm rather dependent on the motor mover, as shifting van on my own, and it's a not insignificant 1.3T, don't think I want to find myself pushing and pulling that solo!
The 'meter' in the caravan is only a charge indicator, and a battery can be fully charged, but still lost most of it's capacity, so will struggle as soon as any heavy load put on it, and motor movers are the heaviest loads most batteries ever get subjected to!
As to a replacement, any NCC (National Caravan Council) approved and rated battery should be OK, a 'C' rated one should suffice if you are not using off grid. I'll be looking for the longest guaranty period, just to take the risk out of early failure, it's not unknown for batteries to have manufacturing faults and die young!
The best I've had with a battery was 11 years, the worst was 5 years.
I bought a Yuasa EFB Leisure Battery last time, this was a couple of years ago and the price was scary then, but needs must as we were setting off that morning.
Just taken a look on our leisure battery and the label on it says "Marina". I bought it from Bush Batteries, who I dealt with for years but who sadly have now gone out of business after more than 70 years. They used to make their own car batteries in a workshop opposite my primary school, and you could watch them through the front windows from the street. They later moved to larger premises about a mile away. I have got most of my car batteries and leisure batteries from them all my life, even though they stopped making their own many years ago. The batteries they sold were always top quality.
Seven years is actually a pretty good lifespan for a leisure battery, especially if it’s been topped up with a solar panel and you don’t often go fully off-grid. I’ve had a similar experience with my caravan battery, where after a few years, the power seemed to drop off, especially when using the motor mover. It sounds like yours is starting to lose capacity. When you go to replace it, I’d recommend looking at brands like Varta or Trojan, as they tend to get good reviews for reliability. If you’re open to spending a bit more, an AGM or Lithium battery could be worth considering for longer life and better performance.
When declaring a battery 'OK', I'd expect a lot of people to oversimplify that and define it as being OK because it's rechargeable up to the usual 12.6-12.7 volts, but without any regard to it's charge capacity, which will decline with age/use. You can end up with a fully charged battery with all the useably capacity of an AA cell! - real chocolate teapot territory!
To declare a battery truly sound, it needs to be load tested, that will give both voltage level and indication of its remaining capacity. Of course it can remain fit for purpose with reduced capacity for most of the uses it's put to, most of us have far more capacity than we really need in a new battery, unless we go off grid, or use motor movers to an excessive degree.
I use a fairly sophisticated automated battery analyser that imposes a load and analyses the discharge characteristics, then indicates battery 'State of Health' (a comparison of it's current capacity in relation to as new stated figure), internal resistance (an evaluation of it's plate deterioration), and it's charge level voltage.
It can be done in a fairly crude but effective way monitoring the battery voltage under a constant moderately heavy load and seeing how quickly the voltage falls, it should not fall significantly over say a 10-15 minute period.
Quite when you declare a battery in need of replacement is rather a moot point, it significantly depends on the use you put it to, how much it's capacity has reduced, and whether it still performs all the functions asked of it! .... and I suppose a degree of confidence in how much longer it's likely to perform before letting you down! .... and that's where it's useful to have it checked for State of Health occasionally during it's life!
That is absolutely right Monty. Battery voltage and battery capacity are not the same thing at all.
The way I judge our battery as being ok is how well it copes with our motor mover. I always use it to park our caravan after we get home from a trip and if it copes with that it will do for now. As soon as it starts to struggle it will be time to think about changing it. It is now in its 7th year and I keep it topped up regularly throughout the winter when the caravan isn't being used, and we always go to sites with EHU unless it is for just an overnight stay. Without EHU with our caravan we have no hot water and no fridge so we never go off-grid.
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Topic: Leisure Battery Lifespan
via mobile 24/11/2024 at 10:34am
