Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

Ally

Founder

Gender:
Location: Muckamore, Antrim
Age: 55
Homepage: motorhomecraic.com
Posts: 32622
Registered: 08 / 2011
My Motorhome: Lunar Roadstar 780
Base Vehicle: Fiat 2.8 JTD

Subject:

Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

· Posted: 27.09.2011 · #1

Here is a rivetting video on whether you should buy Leisure batterys or their cheaper alternatives.

Get yourself some popcorn and relax...

http://www.caravanchannel.co.uk/?cid=7&vid=164

raymondo

Craic'er

Gender: n/a
Posts: 65
Registered: 09 / 2011

Subject:

Re: Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

· Posted: 28.09.2011 · #2

So this guy (obviously NOT connected to "Banner") says that Leisure batteries are more expensive because there is more lead in them?

The Banner battery was 4kg heavier than the other battery IF this is 4Kg of lead then you would expect the Banner to be Â£4 dearer (thats allowing for the current price of Lead at Â£900 per tonne) I wonder how much extra it actually is?

If you compare like with like 85amp hour leisure against 85 amp hour car the plates do not have to be any bigger although yes they should be thicker.

If you really think that you need the ultimate battery performance buy a traction battery as used in golf carts but be prepared to pay A LOT

85 amp hour is 85 amp hour what ever kind of battery and however much you paid - the difference is that if you repeatedly totally discharge a cheap battery you will damage it - you will damage a dear battery like this also just not so much.

...

Subject:

Re: Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

· Posted: 28.09.2011 · #3

I fitted 2x 110amp Elecsol batteries last year.
They use carbon fibre plates and are meant to recover from discharge much faster than standard batteries.

They come with a 5 year guarantee too.

So far so good.
I have run everything as usual for five days without moving the van and have still had 100% SOC on the meter. I am using a solar panel too which helps.

Ally

Founder

Gender:
Location: Muckamore, Antrim
Age: 55
Homepage: motorhomecraic.com
Posts: 32622
Registered: 08 / 2011
My Motorhome: Lunar Roadstar 780
Base Vehicle: Fiat 2.8 JTD

Subject:

Re: Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

· Posted: 28.09.2011 · #4

Quote by raymondo

The Banner battery was 4kg heavier than the other battery IF this is 4Kg of lead then you would expect the Banner to be Â£4 dearer (thats allowing for the current price of Lead at Â£900 per tonne) I wonder how much extra it actually is?

Is that not scrap lead is Â£900 a tonne? bound to be a huge difference between manufacturing plates and scrappage price. Although I'm sure the difference in price doesn't warrant the price of the battery.

Banner battery here http://www.tayna.co.uk/Banner-…P8271.html

Â£130

How much is a cheap car battery these days?

raymondo

Craic'er

Gender: n/a
Posts: 65
Registered: 09 / 2011

Subject:

Re: Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

· Posted: 28.09.2011 · #5

yes Â£900 per tonne is scrap price - ie what Banner pay for their lead, they have to process it I allowed an extra Â£100 per tonne for this - remembering that we only really have to factor in processing of 4 kilo per battery as the manufacturer of the lighter batter must also process lead - even if this guestimate is out by a factor of ten (a ridiculous assumption) the price differential between a Banner battery and the 4kilo lighter one would only be Â£8!

I recently bought a car battery for my boat - 70 amp hour Â£50

...

Subject:

Re: Leisure Battery or ordinary car battery

· Posted: 28.09.2011 · #6

I see what you mean. We can only assume ther is even a difference between some of the batteries available .It is very difficult to see inside a sealed box!

My plan is to buy it, fit it, forget it until there is a problem. If it is still inside the warranty period see what is said, if not start again.

That said, the SOC meter is very handy and would alert me to any sudden problems.

Registered users in this topic