Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: DaveG on April 23, 2023, 10:24:33 am
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I seem to be mullering Leisure batteries lately, are the agm type better for the work we do?
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Yes they are.
I used to go through a cheap leisure battery every year.
I have a yuasa agm one now not cheap though
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Yes they are.
I used to go through a cheap leisure battery every year.
I have a yuasa agm one now not cheap though
How do you charge it?
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Yes we have them on our vans and find they last around 6 years but that’s with a programmable charger set for the specific needs of the battery’s and they are charged most nights
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Yes we have them on our vans and find they last around 6 years but that’s with a programmable charger set for the specific needs of the battery’s and they are charged most nights
Is that from the mains - so no split charging ?
Darran
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I am trying a lithium battery at the moment . Got 75 amp . Had to buy cetck lithium charger . Finding it great at the moment . Charges to 13.8 . Weight is so much lighter. And after a weeks work it still shows 12.9 . Only problem I have had is with the link controller. Didn’t turn off the battery safety setting . Lol
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Yes we have them on our vans and find they last around 6 years but that’s with a programmable charger set for the specific needs of the battery’s and they are charged most nights
Is that from the mains - so no split charging ?
Darran
Yes , with my Renault master Renault when it was new said if we connected anything to the main vehicle electrics it would void the 4 year warranty, Evan a split charger so have always kept everything separate so no comebacks and just done the same with all our vans just in case .
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Yes they are.
I used to go through a cheap leisure battery every year.
I have a yuasa agm one now not cheap though
How do you charge it?
Bench charge every day, did have a split relay briefly in my old van but not bothered in my new one since it needs a B2B type.
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My numax leisure batteries usually last around 4 years before I need 2 new ones which is acceptable considering I use them for heating my water every day as well as powering my reel and pump.
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I am trying a lithium battery at the moment . Got 75 amp . Had to buy cetck lithium charger . Finding it great at the moment . Charges to 13.8 . Weight is so much lighter. And after a weeks work it still shows 12.9 . Only problem I have had is with the link controller. Didn’t turn off the battery safety setting . Lol
Interesting, how often are you charging it?
Does seem like a good idea as you’ll get 100’s of more cycles out of it compared with a lead acid.
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So far once a week . Although I could leave it longer . Need to look into the link controller to make sure I have that right
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Battery only £350 . Plus £120 for charger . Went for more expensive charger as it has auto turn off . For safety . Some said problems charging in the cold . But if need be can charge inside . As lifting it is so easy now
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So far once a week . Although I could leave it longer . Need to look into the link controller to make sure I have that right
You mean the WFP link? If so, what do you mean? Surely that’s not got anything to do with charging the battery?
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Yes the WFP link controller Didn’t have battery protection turned off . So it turned everything off
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Yes the WFP link controller Didn’t have battery protection turned off . So it turned everything off
What cos the voltage dropped below 10 odd volts?
The only thing that puts me off is cold weather charging, don’t really fancy bringing it in all winter to charge and then connecting everything back up in the morning!
If the battery is around 0c and under, you’ll have to bring it in, warm it up, then charge it which seems a bit faffy.
I do like the benefit of it lasting longer between charges though. There is defo some very enticing benefits to lithium!
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First week I just wanted to see if I could take the battery lower think got to about 9 . Turned off every thing . Believe I should be able to go lower technically. . Although I don’t need to .
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First week I just wanted to see if I could take the battery lower think got to about 9 . Turned off every thing . Believe I should be able to go lower technically. . Although I don’t need to .
You will damage a lithium battery if you let the charge drop below 90% of its capacity, although some suppliers tell you that you can fully discharge them. So you should only use 67.5 amps of the 75 amps from your battery.
Again, recharging is another hot topic. Some suppliers do say that it is best to not recharge your lithium batteries above 80% charged, although Tesla say 90%.
It's just too complicated for me atm. I will stick with the old lead acid battery technology, as I know I can fully charge my 105amp overnight; only use 50 amps a day and recharge it every night.
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Cheers spruce
Same as you - getting too old for this new fangled technology- I will stick with the old stuff 😋
Darran
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Thanks for the replies everyone
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My numax leisure batteries usually last around 4 years before I need 2 new ones which is acceptable considering I use them for heating my water every day as well as powering my reel and pump.
How often do you charge them Daz and what charger do you use?
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That was why I bought the cetek charger . Designed for lithium. Does it all for you . Takes out the guess work . Lol
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That was why I bought the cetek charger . Designed for lithium. Does it all for you . Takes out the guess work . Lol
That's fine. I read that you have to have more control when charging a lithium battery. There is so much contradictory information out there that I wouldn't know what is right and what isn't.
Here's Tesla advising that it's best not to fully charge a lithium battery, but to leave it at 80 to 90%. Then there is the salesman that will tell you to fully charge it because it's all about range for you and sales for him. A Tesla charge point will charge a lithium battery to 100%, although rapid charge is to 80% I believe. Is this what your Ctek charger will do, or will it only charge your battery to 80 or 90% to preserve its longevity?
https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/01/should-i-charge-my-tesla-to-80-or-90-or-100/
In fact, I see that some lithium battery suppliers will give the number of depth of discharge cycles to 50% (same as a leisure battery) and hence get these fantastic DOD cycles that make lithium look much cheaper in the long run when compared to lead acid. It's a marketing tool to make you think you are getting more than you actually are. But none will tell you whether you can fully charge a lithium battery or not.
I'm not saying this applies to you, Matthew, I'm just airing my concerns with lithium that suppliers don't tell us.
If we believe what Tesla say, and you charge your lithium battery to 90% and don't go below 10% charged, you haven't got 75 amps in your battery to use. You only have 60 to use, which is 10 amps more than I have with my 105amp hour leisure battery.
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
hi zesty hows it goin,long time since was on this forum i see you about we wave nice tranny. Tell you who i saw recent that windie who put it about was working hi rises in the states but wasnt really dyou know who i mean ? nows got a white combo ,from Clacton how the mighty av fallen aye hes working the dregs in Colly he needs telling hes driving with almost flat tyre on passenger rear
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Think when I bought battery it could hold 14.4 but charger put it up to 13.8 . That makes sense about 90%
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
hi zesty hows it goin,long time since was on this forum i see you about we wave nice tranny. Tell you who i saw recent that windie who put it about was working hi rises in the states but wasnt really dyou know who i mean ? nows got a white combo ,from Clacton how the mighty av fallen aye hes working the dregs in Colly he needs telling hes driving with almost flat tyre on passenger rear
Not sure who you mean? The old big red monkey guy? He did move to Florida I thought…
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Think when I bought battery it could hold 14.4 but charger put it up to 13.8 . That makes sense about 90%
These charts say differently;
https://footprinthero.com/lifepo4-battery-voltage-charts
I just don't know
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
Good point. So does my Dewalt.
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
Good point. So does my Dewalt.
I suppose you charge it to 100% then use it pretty much straight away. They’re such small battery’s that it probably wouldn’t make sense to limit the charge.
Or, without knowing it, perhaps the chargers don’t actually fully charge the battery. We’d just never know! Even with the charge indicator on the battery, who knows if it’s lying to begin with!
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
hi zesty hows it goin,long time since was on this forum i see you about we wave nice tranny. Tell you who i saw recent that windie who put it about was working hi rises in the states but wasnt really dyou know who i mean ? nows got a white combo ,from Clacton how the mighty av fallen aye hes working the dregs in Colly he needs telling hes driving with almost flat tyre on passenger rear
Not sure who you mean? The old big red monkey guy? He did move to Florida I thought…
the northern guy who bought out big red monkey and then lost all his work. looks a bit like long haired bill oddie . makes out hes got a fleet of vans but has 1
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Interestingly Spruce, power tool lithium battery’s are always charged to full, obviously they are much smaller battery’s but who knows!
My ‘Milwaukee fuel’ battery’s are always charged to full by the charger, I usually never let them run out before re charging.
hi zesty hows it goin,long time since was on this forum i see you about we wave nice tranny. Tell you who i saw recent that windie who put it about was working hi rises in the states but wasnt really dyou know who i mean ? nows got a white combo ,from Clacton how the mighty av fallen aye hes working the dregs in Colly he needs telling hes driving with almost flat tyre on passenger rear
Not sure who you mean? The old big red monkey guy? He did move to Florida I thought…
the northern guy who bought out big red monkey and then lost all his work. looks a bit like long haired bill oddie . makes out hes got a fleet of vans but has 1
Oh yeah I know!
Haven’t seen him in years.
Who are you by the way? I wave to loads of different window cleaners