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Hi,

Some advice please.

I have a speare diesel car battery that is in good condition. As diesel car batteries are larger than petrol car batteries, I assume this means it holds more of a charge.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use a car battery in a caravan?  

Vanman

batteries for autos are not designed to be used as a leisure battery.

they will not be able to withstand the constant charge and discharge which is req.for the purpose in a van.

you would be better off buying a decent leisure battery ie:- 85amh or 110amh battery which are made for the job,

hope this helps.

Quote: Originally posted by vanman on 27/4/2008

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Hi,

Some advice please.

I have a speare diesel car battery that is in good condition. As diesel car batteries are larger than petrol car batteries, I assume this means it holds more of a charge.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use a car battery in a caravan? 

Vanman

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I have used normal vehicle batteries many times as leisure batteries and know of many others who do.  They are not designed for it, they are not as efficient at it and there may be other safety factors  to consider.

When staying long term in a static I used ex tractor batteries which were no longer able to crank the tractors.  They would power our 12 bw tv for a week.

I wouldn't buy one for the job but they do it and if I find myself in possession of a surplus starter battery and the need for a leisure one, I won't hesitate to use it.

I am not recommending that you or anyone else does the same, just sharing my own experience.

It may depend on whether you are using sites with no electrics. If you have a hook-up the caravan system provides the 12v power not the battery.

David

Quote: Originally posted by pete1946 on 27/4/2008

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Caravan & motorhome centres advice leisure batteries,so why change to the engine batteries,its like replacing nuts and bolts and leaving the washers off,or finding you have some left over so to speak

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One reason being that car batteries can be obtained for half the price of leisure batteries.  That means that providing you get more than half the life out of one as a leisure battery you are saving money.  You can add to that the fact that even with reasonable care they often don't last much beyond their guarentee period anyway.

Furthermore, in this case the battery is already there and so to all intents and purposes free.  Personaly I fail to see a logical reason not to use it.  Vanman may wish to make his own decision based on the experiance of others.  If not, he can always take the advice from salesmen in good faith.

It should aways be bourne in mind that manufacturers and salesmen are there to make money and their advice is rarely truly "independant"

Quote: Originally posted by Teloz on 28/4/2008

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Read this first:- Auxiliary Batteries. It refers to narrowboats, but the arguments are the same for tin tents etc.

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I would think you can use it subject to the following.

Can a vent tube be inserted into the battery so that explosive gases ( hydrogen ) can be vented away safely.

Be aware that a car diesel battery is unlikely to be as big as a leasure battery (amp hours) so will not provide as much power in terms of operating hours if you are away from an EHU.