Yet Another Battery Thread

dgadee

dgadee

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I have been looking around for replacement batteries for my domestic system which are not sealed - basically wet cell around 110AH for fast charging is what I want. I imagined there would be loads available, but have found only one. That possibility is a Varta Hobby:

http://www.tayna.co.uk/813010-Varta-Hobby-Leisure-Battery-A28-P3641.html

Any views on this from our battery experts. Other suggestions?
 
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I'd agree with everything in that Adverc article.
Varta are very good at mid level prices. Numax also worth a look.
Try to compare weights - there is no substitute for lead!
You generally get more or less what you pay for.
 
Many thanks for advice. I have to say that I am surprised by the lack of choice - so many sealed batteries and so few wet cell.
 
dgadee said:
Are they sealed? They are described as maintenance free - I need ones where you have to top up with water when fast charging causes water loss.
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Just under the picture it says non- sealed. On the page before, there was a choice of sealed and non sealed - I selected non sealed. Not sure what they mean by maintenance free - perhaps an error. Mine are open lead acid, and I check them monthly, although they don't need much topping up, if any.

Perhaps it's worth calling them to order, rather than buying online. You can make sure they know exactly what you want. I collected mine as I live nearby, so knew what I was getting.
 
Many "sealed maintenance free" (I mean the sort with liquid in but no apparent vent plugs, not AGM, SLA or gel) batteries can be topped up by levering out a snap in cover strip, which is often hidden under an adhesive label on the battery top.
Always worth a look.
Do be aware that in the small print, most "sealed maintenance free" batteries exclude charging above about 14V.
 
Richard10002 said:
These are what I bought in March. I collected and paid £210 for 3,

http://www.advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/budgetleisurebattery110amp.html

So far so good, but only 6 months use so far.
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Turned out these were a pile of cheap ****. From about 9 months, they no longer held a decent charge. Daily charging to more or less 100% and useage of about 50Ah a day, resulted in a voltage less than 12V next morning.

I bought 3 Varta Hobby Leisure A28 110Ah in May - we'll see how it goes with these at £100 each.
 
Richard10002 said:
Turned out these were a pile of cheap ****. From about 9 months, they no longer held a decent charge. Daily charging to more or less 100% and useage of about 50Ah a day, resulted in a voltage less than 12V next morning.

I bought 3 Varta Hobby Leisure A28 110Ah in May - we'll see how it goes with these at £100 each.
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Useful feedback Richard, thank you. But did they honour the 2-year Guarantee without hassle?
 
If you want open cell wet batteries that can take a decent charge rate, I'd recommend Trojan T 105's

They're 6v batteries (put 2 in series to make 12v).
 
pheran said:
Useful feedback Richard, thank you. But did they honour the 2-year Guarantee without hassle?
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It wasn't the Vartas that failed, but the cheap jobs from Advanced Battery Supplies in Stockport. Didn't bother with the guarantee. Sensed they would resist, and couldn't be bothered with the hypothetical argument.

If the Vartas don't work for me, I'll be switching to Trojan T105s.
 
Batteries

View attachment 34387

After a lot of research, bought these,but when they arrived it was near the end of last season so put them in the garage, charged them once and left for 6 months.
Checked the voltages every month, which hardly changed, then installed them in May.
So far they are performing very well, and we use the autopilot a lot and the fridge is always on!

Cheers,

Michael.

ps here in Portugal we get paid for scrap at the municipal recycling centre - I got 72 euros for the old batteries:D
 
pheran said:
Here in the deepest South (of England), the scrappies are paying £5 for a normal car battery and £9 for a larger lorry/boat one. One time, you couldn't give them away.
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Something very funny has happened with battery prices. I needed new batteries for my boat this year and, researching over the winter, decided on a pair of Vartas at £100 or so each from Tayna. By the time I actually bought them, the price had fallen to £70 each.

Similarly, I paid £60 this spring for a Bosch battery for one of my cars, and the same thing was around £90 three years. ago.
 
TQA said:
Another vote for Trojan T105s. They are golf cart batteries and are designed for deep cycling. I have 6 to give me 675 ah.

The perceived wisdom from the cruising community is they should last for 4 yrs +.
Click to expand...

I have the same setup, and it's the dogs danglies.
 
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