Where to get a Leisure Battery

pickledfish

Hi folks. Good forum.

Could anybody point me in the direction of a supplier for a new leisure battery for my motorcaravan? I saw prices in Halfords that seemed a bit pricey and they didn't have a suitable one in stock in any case. Dont want to fit a regular battery for obvious reasons. Thanks.

peasant

Leisure batteries are a good bit more expensive than starter ones.

The jury is still out if they actually make up for the extra price in extra performance / durability.

Personally I've always used starter batteries as a second batterie, but I've never had a huge demand on them anyway (no TV, no solar panels, no nothing ..just a few lights and the water pump)

pickledfish

I understood that the difference was fairly significant on two fronts.
1) leisure battery able to last better under deep cycle
2) Hydrogen given off in charge by non-leisure battery. :eek:
first one doen't bother me too much but the second point would concern me. My leisure battery is under passenger seat and I wouldn't want hydrogen inside the camper for fear of fire.

peasant

The gassing thing certainly is something to worry about.
I didn't really know about it until recently and for 15 years drove happily with a starter battery under the passenger seat
Some batteries now have (outside)venting systems ...maybe that would help?
My current second battery resides in the engine compartment, so naturalyy it's a starter battery

You can still kill a leisure battery just as easily as a starter battery by discharging it completely a few times.
Yes you can discharge it "deeper" than a starter, but you can't drain it completely either. So regular top-ups via inbuilt charger still are necessary.

KoNiT

I purchased a leisure battery today -100mAh for €100 - he had 70mAh for €70 in that Marine Shop in Merchants Rd Galway.

galwaytt

I use a Hawker Odyssey PC680 as a deep cycle battery - I get them from Tim Molloy 01 4534608. The PC680 cost, iirc, Eur 147 incl VAT.

See more on them, here: http://www.odysseyfactory.com/

I've used them for years, and find them v.good. Recovers very well if left discharged too.

Tabnabs

Try these guys:

Name : Ashgrove Interparts Ltd, Car Parts & Accessories

Address : Unit 1B, Ashgrove Industrial Estate
Off Kill Avenue

City : Dun Laoghaire

Opening Hours : Monday - Friday:
9.00a.m. - 6.00p.m.
Saturday:
9.00a.m. - 1.00p.m.

Contact : Derek Smith / Dermot Kelly

Phone : 01-2805063

Fax : 01-2808371

Email : sales@ashgroveinterparts.com

No connection, just a happy (regular) customer

pickledfish

Thanks for the pointers folks. I hadn't thought of marine supplies.

dollydishmop

As I understand it *any* type of battery will give off gas during discharge. So please make sure you have some form of ventilation near where its sited.

My leisure battery sits under my bench seat, and there's a small vent in the floor next to where the battery sits.

pickledfish

Thanks for the info folks.

Dollydishmop - I did a bit more investigation and you seem to be correct regarding the gassing on wet-cells.

galwaytt - The hawker seems to be a bit small on capacity for my needs.

As my battery is sitting under the passenger seat I guess I have to look for a battery with a vent pipe I can bring out through the van or find some way of positioning the battery in a vented area outside the van.

Nothing is ever straight forward

fits

www.campingcrazyireland.com had lots of leisure batteries at the weekend there...
Based in New Ross, but they have an online shop

TigerTim

Also Charles Camping in Blessington do leisure batteries.

T.

galwaytt

dollydishmop wrote:

As I understand it *any* type of battery will give off gas during discharge. So please make sure you have some form of ventilation near where its sited.

not quite. The type I mention, is completely sealed, and needs no ventilation. Furthermore, it can be mounted in (almost) any position - sideways, on it's back, etc etc

PickledFish - the PC680 is only one of a huge range - there are larger available. Mind you, the 680 will start my Mazda, so it's not as small as you think.......