Leisure Batteries

CliveG

CliveG

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 Oct 2001
Messages
2,542
Location
Cambridge UK
Visit site
I am intending to increase the storage capacity of our domestic battery bank.

These look useful.

I would intend to use 2 or 3 of them in parallel.
our power drain is modest unless we are using the laptop.

Has anyone used this type of battery for this in the past?

Is this a workable solution?
 
I hope you've got a longboat - sorry, long boat!!! Battery length: 561mm!!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
- and 46kg - you may also need a truss /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif!
 
I get leisure batteries from a caravan shop .Smaller lighter and they are new.

Cheaper by half than similar so called marine leisure batteries.
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

[edit]Sorry wasn't intended directed at Talbot ... was more general ![edit]

The average battery in a Breakers yard is in fact not that old or duff. Why ? Because car they came from was most likely a going concern before it hit something ...
Breakers yards will gladly stick a load tester across a battery for you so you can choose which you want. At prices of £5 .. £10 etc. - you can afford to use 1 year and then change out etc.
I know Breakers Yard battery's go for many years ...

But anyway - Camping / Caravan Shops have a good selection of Leisure batt's for Domestic use on board.
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

Thank you all for your thoughts.

As to the size of the batteries, yes that could be a problem.
There are also some similar ones on e-bay of a different configuration.

I had not thought of using old car batteries.
That may be a way forward.
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

[ QUOTE ]
I had not thought of using old car batteries.
That may be a way forward.

[/ QUOTE ] IMHO it is not a way forward. I tried it once it's a disaster. Buy yourself a brand new Leisure battery of an appropriate size (not very large by the sound of things) then you can look after it properly keep it properly charged and expect get a good few years reliable service from it. Buy a small solar panel to charge it if really necessary.
Get an old car battery and you have no idea of the extent to which it has been abused or left standing uncharged and sooner or later you be setting off somewhere and after a short time all the lights will go out! I've got the tee shirt!
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

you need to understand a bit more about batteries and their construction/use.

A car battery is designed to provide a lot of power in a short period, thus its design is optimised to withstand the thermal shock of that massive discharge, but it is not designed to provide a small amount of power for a long period, and definitely not designed to work at low voltage - running a car battery at less than 12 volts will kill it.

The deep discharge battery is the exact opposite. It can happily withstand a long discharge and many re-charge cycles, but soon gives up if subjected to thermal shock of massive discharge (e.g. engine start) The leisure battery is designed as a cheap version of the deep cycle without quite the same ability to manage a number of discharge cycles, but also with better protection against engine start shocks.

There is a wet cell battery that is designed to do both, and this is achieved by carbon fibre reinforcement of the cells (e.g. Trojan or Elecsol) - good multi-purpose batteries with long guarantees, but expensive.

I am not so clued up on the gel and other more exotic battery types.
 
If you have a caravan centre near to you then www.towsure.com/product.asp?p=1914 is an example of a leisure battery at a reasonable price........... they also do 85Ah versions for just under £30 which I would think more appropriate for a 25 footer.

I can't imagine you have the engine/alternator power to cope with a bank of 3 domestic batteries............. can't imagine why you'd need 'em /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
high Sheff. I am not sure about your last statement about not having engine alternator power to cope with more batteries.
If you use a certain number of amphours over night then need to replenish with engine run the next day then even if the batteries are very flat the alternator should be self limiting in the current it will provide hopefully not getting too hot. However usually that high current will not be taken for long before the battery voltage rises and the amps diminish.
What will happen with more batteries/ larger battery bank is that the batteries will accept collectively more current even when voltage has risen. So your total amp hours replenished for a given limited engien run period will be greater in proportion to the battery total capacity. So no it will still take a long time to fully charge the batteries but the amphours that have been used will replenish more quickly with greater battery capacity.

Even this current should not be anything like the rating of the alternator and certainly far less than what the alternator was designed for ie a car with headlights ignition instruments radio aircon or heater as well as a modest battery charge.

Having said all that I wouldn't fit a huge/oversized battery bank on a small yacht as it will be excessive weight and the batteries will deteriate with time so potential multiplying your battery replacement costs. No I wouldn't fit second hand batteries unless they were very cheap. olewill
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

[ QUOTE ]
you need to understand a bit more about batteries and their construction/use.


[/ QUOTE ] I strongly endorse that statement. Car batteries are a very different design from deep cycle batteries - lots of thin plates designed to create very high currents, against a few very robust plates which can cycle from low charge to high charge without excessive damage.

I recommend the following link for very good information on the subject: Battery FAQs
 
These are batteries intended for a particular type of duty and require the correct constant current charging system.....You may pay more for the charger tha you save on ordinary leisure batteries....These batteries are not small!!!!!!!!!


John
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

Dear Clive, I can point to 6 years experience of batteries onboard an Evolution25. Let me say that the secret is to purchase a fivers worth from the local breaker. Fit and forget until it starts going dodgy. This can be monitored with a Decca Navigator unit, which is all it is good for these dayas, and therefore a cheap battery voltage indicator at about a quid a go.
Thus my total estimated spend on batteries over 6 years was about 20 quid. Suggest you might invest in a nice starter battery though, but mine lasted all that time. Probably because the BMW D7 only worked on alternate blue moons.

My spiffing new 4th battery installation will be 110amps of Mondeo Diesel battery, which the previous owner gave away after the insurance had paid him.
 
Re: Leisure Batteries ... breakers yards ...

Agree with Talbot. Leisure batteries are completely different in that they provide a steady current over days rather than a quick and dirty belt when needed. Buying second hand car batteries does not seem to suit your need. At £20 a pop these deep discharge batteries are probably value for money - did they come from a telephone exchange?
 
I don't understand why lots of people are so obsessed with deep-cycle batteries. Why should one need deep cycles? With an adequate sized bank it is not easy to deeply discharge the batteries.

My choice is the cheapest new car batteries. And I explain why:
<ul type="square">[*]With a 315 Ah house bank and a maximum of 70ah consumption in a summer day (fridge always on) I can't really deeply discharge them in a day.
[*]Car batteries charge faster (because of their thin plates).
[*]Even if they last only 2 years the cost/year is smaller than most if not all of the other solutions.
[*]If something goes really wrong (not very wrong /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) the damage will be small.
[/list]
Using deep-cycle batteries maybe I could stand 1-2 more days without charging. So what? Don't forget that whatever the storage system you use you should always replace the energy it produced with (at least) equal amount.

The system really shines if you pair it with an external alternator regulator and a good/powerful alternator.
 
I suppose my quick answer is that I don't like to run the main engine more than once every three days!

With a pair of 200AH batteries I could live happily for three or four days before being 50% discharged. My cruising pattern was such that I'd normally be travelling by then - which guaranteed an hour of recharge. And about a third of the time there would be too little wind (mornings, Greece!) so I'd be fully re-charged after three or four hours (with a good regulator and a 70a alternator)

Those batteries lasted from 1992 to 2005, while my engine batteries managed an average of only 4 years over the same time. That's a very low life cycle cost, and much less weight lifting!

It all depends on your pattern of motoring, whether you have power at your regular berth (mains or wind or sun!) and how well you look after the things when you're not aboard for long periods. You possibly have a different pattern of charging and maintenance.
 
[ QUOTE ]
It all depends on your pattern of motoring, whether you have power at your regular berth (mains or wind or sun!) and how well you look after the things when you're not aboard for long periods. You possibly have a different pattern of charging and maintenance.


[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely right!

You don't see many people taking that into account though. What I am saying is that deep-cycle is not a must.

And yes, my setup suits my charging pattern.
1. No shore power.
2. Sterling and 70A alternator.
3. 2X30W Solara panels limit my daily energy deficit to 40-45 Ah and ensure that batteries are fully charged on a weekend sail.
4. When on holidays, I usually motor every 2-3 days (or sooner) which is sufficient. Last summer I used the engine just for charging only once (in 4 weeks) for 1 hour.

How much do these (1992 - 2005) batteries cost? [edit]The 3X105Ah have cost me 3X45=135 Euros - 90 Pounds.
 
Gents, I agree with your comments, however, this is for a trailer sailer Evolution 25 that does not spend long at sea....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top