Can someone please advise on a leisure battery ?

Not an easy thing to advise on, I would perhaps see if you can fit in a higher capacity battery e.g. 110APH or 120APH.  Have a read of >this<  I hesitate to recommend a make but you should have certainly got more than 4 years from your Varta if it had been maintained correctly. I had 8 years out of my last Lucas flooded battery which I replaced with a Lucas AGM lbattery.

peedee

Peedee

I was interested in the fact that you changed a flooded battery for an AGM battery. I want to change the Banner battery in my motorhome as I get fed up with having to top up the levels, with the possible danger that I will at some point forget to do so! I do have a solar panel and I am aware that the controller can be set to charge an AGM battery but I am unsure about the built in charging system which seems not to mention different types of battery. Am I right in thinking there is a slightly different charging voltage between the two?

David

If you follow the link provided by peedee you will see that in fact AGM batteries require a slightly higher charging voltage of 14.6 - 14.8 volts compared with a sealed battery which must be kept to around 14.4 volts maximum. A flooded, vented, battery is different again and requires a “boost” charge, however. most batteries these days are “sealed”.

Many people say that they have swapped a sealed battery for AGM with a standard van charging system without detriment, however, the article suggests that this may result in under charging for which one remedy is an occasional top-up charge with a separate charger with AGM setting.

In my early days of caravanning I got through leisure batteries quite quickly and eventually realised  that the old fashioned chargers set to around 13.4 were  under charging the battery causing premature ageing. Modern chargers are better but often not perfect. 

If it was me I would want to check that the charger had an AGM setting and if not then I would fit a gel battery or other sealed unit.

with reference to " occasional top-up charge with a separate charger with AGM setting". Will being able to charge up daily from a solar panel be adequate?

I believe the victron charger can detect which battery type you have and adjusts itself automatically.

David, my mains battery charger is set for AGM however alternator and solar panel charging cannot be set for AGM. I haven't worried about that too much because as HG says a top up using the mains charger now and again should prevent problems. I have had my AGM battery 3 years now and it still works/looks as good as new.

peedee

Yes, is the short answer. My MPPT charger (Epever) has an AGM setting (for our two Banner AGMs which have done immensely well over 7 years) which is in use all the while the van is on the drive. The mains charger is set to GEL, rather than FLOODED.

Your battery may not have 'died' merely run down if solar was minimal and usage high...however, If you're considering a new MPPT controller then you should look at those that also charge the vehicle battery, like Votronic or Epever.

if you choose the Victron (great controller) you'll be looking for a way to keep the vehicle battery charged over winter when van systems like alarm and immobiliser will conspire to flatten it.

we've been on a non EHU THS for 9 days and have been running all systems including TV and the charging of two ebike batteries from solar.

good luck.

Peedee

I am not sure I can change the settings of the main electrical unit unless its in user setting on the display, I will have to have a look. Just wondered that as I can change the solar panel controller whether that would be enough to keep an AGM battery in good condition?

David

I should think that the solar panel and controller if set for AGM should do the job, assuming that you are not on mains hook-up all the time during the day. Can’t say for certain; I’m no expert in this area, just using common sense.

What did surprise me is that the article stated quite definitively that Sargent charger systems are NOT suitable for AGM. Many motorhomes have Sargent systems though it is not stated whether the solar panel controller connected through the Sargent system is also not suitable.

As an aside, my new Autosleepers has a Lithium battery but judging by the cable size of the connectors the Sargent unit is not capable of giving the battery the higher charging rate that it is capable of. The whole topic is a minefield. Pity that the Club doesn’t address these kind of “difficult” areas but that’s a separate subject!

I think you would be too reliant on a good output from your solar panel. I very rarely use hook up when the morohome is not in use and mine, equipped with a 4 stage MPPT controller seems to cope quite well set to charge a sealed battery. I have checked the spec and will charge at a max of 14.6 volts under certain circumstances and the float charge is 13.6 volts which I think is within the spec required by an AGM. This is the voltage input I mostly see into the battery. I have only ever seen 14.6v when on hook up.

peedee

Thanks for the help and advice. The electrical system in the motorhome is Bailey branded so I suppose I should maybe ask them as there is no obvious way to alter setting. My normal practise is that I have the motorhome connected to the mains hook up daily from around dusk to about midnight. So depending on the weather the solar panel would charge during daylight and the hook up during some of the hours of darkness so hopefully that would cover most bases? My concern about the Battery Master seems misplaced as it equalises the charge between the two batteries and not dependent on the leisure battery being at a certain stage of charge, assuming its higher than the cab battery.

David