Leisure Battery

Macspower

Hi guys,

I'll have loads of Q's this week after my maiden voyage..

I discovered when installing a 600w inverter to run my laptop that the battery under the passenger seat is not a leisure battery but a normal heavy duty battery..

Anyway no time to change it before I left but I will do once I get back... I've noticed that with the inverter running my battery alarm comes on after about 30 mins or so and I have to start the engine or turn off the laptop...

Apart from that everything else such as TV/Sat/lights seem to run "forever" on it..

Whats the best place to buy an Leisure battery and any particular brand I should be lookin at?

I was thinking of this one

would I be able to wire up the existing battery as a parallel battery or something I wonder out side the cabin... I have room outside for it...

any help appreciated...

tonti27

i have this same one got it in a motor factors it works fine but i would disconnect it when not in use as it drains the power out of it then give it a charge before you head away by the way make sure the motor factor dates it when you get it ist happy camping:o

peasant

I'm dyslectric ...but even to me a 600W inverter seems a bit high, that would draw quite some power over half an hour. I wouldn't expect your leisure battery to last much longer before the alarm goes off.

Wouldn't it be more energy efficient to find a 12V charger for your laptop, rather than convert 12V to 240V (with big losses) and then convert back to whatever voltage the laptop actually uses?

But as I said ...no idea about electrics really

paddyb

600w inverter is probably way more than you need. you could get a smaller one but they are stil in-efficient.
As peasant says you should be able to get a 12v lead for your laptop

Macspower

thanks guys,

problem is really my laptop.. it runs of 20 v and I bought a 12v - 20 v dc to dc converter but it doesn't come with the required tip and I'm searching the world for one as we speak... anyone have a dead dell with a ac charger and I could cut the cable off it!

I have a 300w inverter but it doesn't even charge the laptop..

might be time for a 12 v laptop

volker 991

Macspower wrote: »

thanks guys,

problem is really my laptop.. it runs of 20 v and I bought a 12v - 20 v dc to dc converter but it doesn't come with the required tip and I'm searching the world for one as we speak... anyone have a dead dell with a ac charger and I could cut the cable off it!

I have a 300w inverter but it doesn't even charge the laptop..

might be time for a 12 v laptop

I had the same problem ,but i changed to a 150 w inverter and a vola it started working, something to do with the power ratio on inverters when there have to much idle power or something .
Dont quote me on it just heard it as i was wondering why my one started working as i always thould that the more reserve you have in an inverter or Amp the better for the item running of it.
By the way i have a 90 amp/h leisurre in mine get 3 to 4 hours out of it with the laptop(NEC).but get the same running the flatscreen /DVD/lights/and amp(600 watt) i know makes no sense but what does :eek:.

dowtchaboy

Macspower wrote: »

thanks guys,

. it runs of 20 v and I bought a 12v - 20 v dc to dc converter but it doesn't come with the required tip and I'm searching the world for one as we speak... anyone have a dead dell with a ac charger and I could cut the cable off it!

would this be what you need?
It came with my ALDI Tevion DC-DC adapter and I think it is for (some?) Dell laptops. The laptop end has a 3 hole connector with an "ear" and the other end has 2 pins that connect to the universal lead coming out of the adapter - fatter pin is positive (I'm positive of that.....). I have no need for it - if it's of use to you PM me and I'll post it to you.

Macspower

dowtchaboy wrote: »

would this be what you need?
It came with my ALDI Tevion DC-DC adapter and I think it is for (some?) Dell laptops. The laptop end has a 3 hole connector with an "ear" and the other end has 2 pins that connect to the universal lead coming out of the adapter - fatter pin is positive (I'm positive of that.....). I have no need for it - if it's of use to you PM me and I'll post it to you.

thanks for the kind offer....
mine is acually like number 4 here only it#'s 7 mm..


dont think it's what your describing... think i may have foiund one on ebay.. I've ordered it and will report on how i get on..

still need the leisure battery though.... Might actually put in a few in parallel..
would my alternator be able for it I wonder?

jakefouro

Seems good value - I bought two leisure batteries last week - one in Halfords - a 110amp for €179 euro and the other in a motor factors for a similar price.

Macspower

I got 2 Leisure Batterys in Halfords in Northern Ireland this week,

they are 110Ah ones and were 179 euro in the south and 129GBP in the north but a bit of haggling with the manager saw me buying 2 for a great price

Didn't think it would work in Halfords but surprised me how quickly he folded

dowtchaboy

Macspower wrote: »

but a bit of haggling with the manager saw me buying 2 for a great price

Didn't think it would work in Halfords but surprised me how quickly he folded

Yeah - I have found that even in the most unlikely places you can get a discount if you buy more than one of anything. An oh-so-innocent "would there be a discount if I bought a second one?" implying you could be persuaded if they try hard enough.... usually gets some results.
There's a "secret" 10% discount button on Halford tills anyway - marked "corporate discount" or something - doesn't take much to get the bored sales guy to hit it to get rid of you.
Also: anyone with AXA insurance should have received a little discount card - gives 15% off at Halfords ( in the Republic anyway) - I forgot I had mine last week - bought a bike basket for €20 - missed out on €3 money-for-nothin- grrrr....

Macspower

right 2 leisure batterys installed

I also decided to leave the old one as well.. I know it is not recommended sometimes but it is a perfect truck battery just not a leisure battery..

SO now I have original truc battery and 2 x 110A leisure batteries all wired in series. I fused between each battery as well but it's probably overkill...

On their first test now... been running my laptop now for over 1.5 hours and 19" lcd running as well...

All good so far... prob will need to look at solar charging at some stage... I also have room for another 2 batterys if necessary

dowtchaboy

Macspower wrote: »

SO now I have original truc battery and 2 x 110A leisure batteries all wired in series. I fused between each battery as well but it's probably overkill...

All good so far... prob will need to look at solar charging at some stage... I also have room for another 2 batterys if necessary

I presume you mean "all wired in parallel"?!!(i.e + to + to +, etc.?)

Often wondered about solar -might be useful if you were staying static for ages but if you move every day or two, and are plugged in at home, I wonder how cost effective solar is? Mind you AFAIK solar panels are getting cheaper all the time (??) and if I was buying a camper with them built-in I wouldn't say "no".

Those batteries are heavy - isn't your camper a bit down on one side???

Macspower

dowtchaboy wrote: »

I presume you mean "all wired in parallel"?!!(i.e + to + to +, etc.?)

Often wondered about solar -might be useful if you were staying static for ages but if you move every day or two, and are plugged in at home, I wonder how cost effective solar is? Mind you AFAIK solar panels are getting cheaper all the time (??) and if I was buying a camper with them built-in I wouldn't say "no".

Those batteries are heavy - isn't your camper a bit down on one side???

in parallel I mean of course ....lol 36v wouldn't be good but my beer prob would be cold

No real side effects of the weight of the batteries.. It's a 6 berth hymer so pretty big so I guess weight would be negligible... Water tank to offset it anyway

No power prob this trip anyway and I havn't plugged in since I left home and inverter now runs laptop as long as I need.. But I would be driving most of the day and only stopping to go to a pub ( not well today...not only went to a pub but a club as well !!!)

Aidan_M_M

Macspower wrote: »

right 2 leisure batterys installed


SO now I have original truc battery and 2 x 110A leisure batteries all wired in series. I fused between each battery as well but it's probably overkill...
All good so far... prob will need to look at solar charging at some stage... I also have room for another 2 batterys if necessary

Fuses are never Overkill! Just a query though... the wire coming from the alternator to charge them , I'd be concerned about that if you were to start the engine with all the batteries low . And Battery Manufacturers and suppliers say you should never mix Leisure batteries and Engine batteries , they require different charging states . Leisures generally charge slower .

Macspower

the wire from the altenator is very thin by comparison to the cable I used for the wiring... But as far as I understand a dead battery won't draw any more than a charged one.. the atenator should supply a constant charge irrelevant to the battery charge??

I might replace the truck battery with another leisure one

thanks for the help

Aidan_M_M

Realistically , if you have 2 100 or 110 AH Batteries, you don't need any more , Most new factory builts have just a single battery . On the wiring , if your batteries are charged , they will take eff all Amps , but if they're low , they could take whatever the alternator can give! I've single seen ones here , that were almost dead , take 20 Amps on the Ampmeter for the first few minutes after starting . So if you've 3 batteries.... you'll need a serious cable . Also you'll have to allow for the possibility of a bad connection , creating resistance , and creating more heat . I've seen fuse holders melted in campers where the cabling got so hot due to poor joints .

If you look at the size of the cable from your alternator to the engine battery , and then see that you're charging 3 batteries , over a longer run of cable....

camper guy

Hi All.
My question is how low can i let my leisure batterys go while working under a load.if i plug in my cool box the power drops from a not fully charged 12.7 down to 12.0-12.1.
when cool box is plugged out it returns to 12.5-12.6 will running my cool box at 12-12.1 damage my leisure batterys?

When the battery reads 12.2V off load for 12 hours you are at the sensible end of the electron tank.

camper guy

I take it I shouldnt let the battery go below 12.2 with a load on either.
I might need to invest in a three way fridge for a roasting hot summer i hope we are going to get.

12.2V off load = 50% SOC
It bounces back, don't worry about the loaded voltage. Unless you can't afford to turn the loads off for 12 hours for an accurate reading. In which case dead reckoning is the best to hope for.

An amp hour counter or SmartGauge would give you a more accurate answer.
Dropping 0.6 volt is a lot I'd be inclined to suggest the load is too big, the battery is too small or the battery is stratified.

I'd go for a compressor fridge, PV and a bigger battery if you don't use mains or want to not have to use mains/stoopid gas, they pay for themselves.

camper guy

camper guy wrote: »

...will running my cool box at 12-12.1 damage my leisure batterys?

Strictly speaking using a battery damages it.
If you look at kWh over lifetime you can plot a discharge for acceptable battery cost.



That's a graph for a deep cycle 6V(top), and a deep cycle 12V (lower), ~400 cycles to 50% DOD for generic marine, marine-leisure, leisure or starter battery.

Mine average a 15% discharge, max. 40% in Winter. I try to keep it in the 12.4v range...'cept I watch discharged Ah since last full charge, more than voltage.