Hi all just want so advice on battery s i need to get a new 1 and im looking at a 180ah as i want the longest running time is this what i need as my old one was a 110ah and its dead thanks alot
Cheers everyone its for staying in the van camper i have made just want to wild camp but with tv and led lights and charging points . It would fit under the passenger seats no probs but 2 110ah might be better and last longer .
The thing that concerns me (perhaps somebody more technically savvy can answer me this) if upgrading to a bigger capacity leisure/hab battery, how do you know if your charging system will cope with charging it (ie the alternator whilst driving and the onboard charger when hooked up)?
Our old Talisman has I think an 85ah hab battery, mounted low down inside the engine bay (its on a petrol Talbot so room for a small one in there but maybe not a big one?). I had considered having a higher capacity battery, assuming one would fit on the tray for it, but being an old van I didn't want to run the risk of changing one component, only for it to trigger further problems, preferring to go with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Any thoughts?
If you require information on Leisure batteries and the charging thereof.......Talk to Road Pro at Daventry. They are helpful, and THEY will ask YOU the right questions, for you to answer, in order that they can give your the correct advice.
I wouldn't think you would have any problems charging two 110ah batteries with an alternator. Even a small one would do the job. I had two 110ah batteries on my boat and only dynamos on the engines. Very rarely did I moor up anywhere with a mains supply available, and we never had any battery problems.
Two 110ah would be lighter than one 180ah one by the sound of things, so it's purely a question of space in my opinion.
Leisure Batteries. You can weight permitting fill the whole MH with them - so long as you:
1. Connect them in parallel - positive to positive, negative to negative and all that will happen is the amperage will increase.
2. Never ever connect batteries of different amperages - 110 + 100 is OK BUT 85 and 100 is a NO-NO. Reason is simple 110+100 = 210 divided by 2 equals 105 average floating current which is only 5% above the lower battery, BUT 85+100 = 185 / 2 = 92.5 call it 93 which is within 10% BUT crucially you now have 15 amps floating around the system which multiplied by 13.8 volts (charging voltage)gives you 207 watts - you can boil water with less! In other words you can generate enough heat in the system to cause a fire.
3. Never connect old and new batteries together it will cause no end of charging problems.
4. Provided the batteries are of similar amperage, age the charging system will charge them but consult a qualified electrician as fuses may need upgrading!
You should only use similar amperage batteries - such that the floating current is within about 5% of the lower battery. You can also calculate how much current you require by adding up the current consumed by every item and dividing that into the capacity of the battery - that will give you the number of hours before you need to recharge.
Personally I have two 100 Amp hour batteries and that is more than enough to last me a week. Trust this helps.
Whoops - I posted and the realised I had missed out some info - Sorry!!!
If you are increasing the current capacity you may also need to upgrade the cables connecting the batteries and also the charging system. The reason is that it is the current that heats the cable NOT the voltage - think of the electric train with an overhead cable. The voltage is 25000 volts and the cable is about as thick as your thumb. Now change the system round and supply a high current the cable needs to be about as thick as your arm otherwise it will catch fire! So be wary about putting too much current into the battery system. Also remember this Volts Jolt - Amps Cramp!
Precisely why the 750 volt southern area trains need a massive great conductor (3rd) rail to carry the current, Geologist. Even that gets hot! (I'm a retired train driver.)
Colin21 - I know the third rail gets hot I have "examined" them from the safety of a bridge or station platform using thermal imaging cameras - cool before the choo-choo passes and glowing almost white immediately after it passes over. It is high current whereas the HST which run up the WCML and ECML the overhead cable doesn't glow anywhere near as hot after they fly under it.