I have a motorhome with a 170Ah leisure battery. I don't think it has been worked very hard over the last 5 years as we have always had electric hookup. But, when I came to use it the other day I could only get it to light 1 fitting, the fridge and the telly (on stand-by) for under half an hour. Is this normal or should I be buying another?
after 5 years
think its time for a change,you do well to get 5 years from a battery.
have your charging rate checked before you buy another battery,if the charger has gone it will spoil another battery.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
You did not do what we made a fopar in doing did you?
Putting the hookup in will NOT charge the leisure battery up until you switch the charger on in the cupboard.
We lost a brand new one not knowing this, dead cells not recovery. Advised by Ratty to get new one.
Once we knew about the charger switch we have got a fully charged battery all the time ready for anything. But this is on a FC Pennine.
The motorhome we had was a straight connection that charged from main motor to leisure battery. If we used too much leisure battery without using the motorhome then it started to drain the mains battery as well as the leisure one.
But we were told if you DO NOT use the leisure battery on its own for a long time it will run down and become dry & would need a outside charge to get it up and running again. Unless its gone too far & your need a new one.
This infor from the AA man when we had to call him out for battery purposes on mains, so got warned about what it will do.
Hi and welcome to the forum. What you need to do first is obtain a multimeter and check what volts the leisure battery currently holds. A fully charged battery should be 12.7 volts or above. If it is 12.6 volts then the battery is half charged and if it is 12.5 volts or below then the battery is probably no good. A leisure battery is designed different to a car battery in the fact that a car battery has less lead plates but thicker and a leisure battery has more plates but much thinner. Due to the thickness of the plates you need the appropriate smart charger so it doesn't warp the internal plates due to excessive power input. A smart charger charges up in a 4 stage mode so it reduces the input as the voltage increases. When you re-charge the battery, after the 4th stage you need to re-check the voltage with the meter and leave the battery for a couple of days and then re-check. This will tell you if the battery is holding the charge or not but if it isn't then you will need a new leisure battery. If you read the link below it explains more in detail about battery maintenace etc. which should help understanding the differences and what is required.
Hi, tango55 in bang on, take the battery off and charge it in your home/garage. I nearly purchased a new battery earlier this year as suggested by my local tintent selling shop, only to find out that the fuse had blown which protects the charger.
A leisure battery is designed different to a car battery in the fact that a car battery has less lead plates but thicker and a leisure battery has more plates but much thinner.
It's the other way around. Leisure batteries have fewer, but thicker, plates, which is why they can't produce a lot of power over a long period, but can withstand being flattened and recharged more often. Car batteries have more, but thinner, plates to give a larger surface area, so that they can produce a lot of power quickly.
Quote: Originally posted by Francophile1947 on 24/7/2012
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 24/7/2012
A leisure battery is designed different to a car battery in the fact that a car battery has less lead plates but thicker and a leisure battery has more plates but much thinner.
It's the other way around. Leisure batteries have fewer, but thicker, plates, which is why they can't produce a lot of power over a long period, but can withstand being flattened and recharged more often. Car batteries have more, but thinner, plates to give a larger surface area, so that they can produce a lot of power quickly.
My apologies, you are quite right and to confirm this here is a link with details explained.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 24/7/2012
... When you re-charge the battery, after the 4th stage you need to re-check the voltage with the meter and leave the battery for a couple of days and then re-check...
You could also hook-up a load (such as a bulb) to draw off the surface charge then meter the battery. Consider also if the battery is one which should be topped-up or if it's supposedly a 'maintenance free' battery. Some folk overlook checking the battery levels which leads to premature decline.
C-Tek produce excellent smart-chargers; check for suitability upto 170Ah as many of the 'budget' brands wouldn't cope with this.
Quote: Originally posted by bigdotdave on 24/7/2012
Hi everyone,
I have a motorhome with a 170Ah leisure battery. I don't think it has been worked very hard over the last 5 years as we have always had electric hookup. But, when I came to use it the other day I could only get it to light 1 fitting, the fridge and the telly (on stand-by) for under half an hour. Is this normal or should I be buying another?
Do you have a water pump? If so you have been using it as all water tap pumps are usually 12v and work off the leisure battery.
If you power the fridge on 12v it will only last for approx 1 hour - you should only use that side of the fridge when travelling (and even then it will only keep it at the temp its at, not get it cold), and use either ehu or gas when pitched. A tv is similar, and uses nearly as much power on standby as it does working, so that needs ehu as well. Try powering just your lights and pump when its charged and see if it's ok with that before you go and buy a new one. Charged mine with ordinary car charger when it went flat once, then finished off to maintenance mode with Ring smart charger, has worked fine ever since.
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Topic: Leisure Battery
