[duncan h]

After a new leisure battery. Going for a higher amp this time 130/140.
I have got a good price on a traction battery. (US Battery Company) Its a proper leisure  battery. Something like 1000 cycles. The only down side is its a low CCA (650) normally with leisure batteries its not an issue. As I run an electric reel, it is.
Running Halfords 110amp for the last few years. That's 750cca. The reel sure drains the battery.
I could get a Varta LFD 140 for less money. That's 10amp more but 800 CCA. A beast of a battery. I think its 250 cycles so wont last anywhere near as long.
Or I could go down the other route. Hankook 130amp 900CCA. Sure got the figures but guessing its more a car battery than a deep cycle battery.

What are you guys using with power reels?
I reel in and out at least 10/ 15 times a day

[dazmond]

2 x numax 105ah batteries with a smart charge split relay....runs my PF reelmaster electric reel,1 pump and a 9kw diesel heater on full power all day.....my batteries never read lower than 12.4 at the end of the day(20% of the batteries capacity)......

and i normally only drive around 10-15 miles a day....

i also connect a numax commercial charger to my batteries overnight every night (esp in winter) to keep them in tip top condition......

[Spruce]

After a new leisure battery. Going for a higher amp this time 130/140.
I have got a good price on a traction battery. (US Battery Company) Its a proper leisure  battery. Something like 1000 cycles. The only down side is its a low CCA (650) normally with leisure batteries its not an issue. As I run an electric reel, it is.
Running Halfords 110amp for the last few years. That's 750cca. The reel sure drains the battery.
I could get a Varta LFD 140 for less money. That's 10amp more but 800 CCA. A beast of a battery. I think its 250 cycles so wont last anywhere near as long.
Or I could go down the other route. Hankook 130amp 900CCA. Sure got the figures but guessing its more a car battery than a deep cycle battery.

What are you guys using with power reels?
I reel in and out at least 10/ 15 times a day

For our use there is little difference between 650CCA and 750CCA. Your electric hose reel will draw around 25amps. That's a million miles away from 650CCA.

At 15 times a day with a 30 sec run time you will use 7 mins worth of 25amph. That's 3 amps.

[P @ F]

Daz if the batteries are reading 12.4 v then that’s 50% mate !

[dazmond]

Daz if the batteries are reading 12.4 v then that’s 50% mate !

no its not is 80%....how long have you been wfp?

12.1 is 50%.....

[P @ F]

Just been out to the shed to see what has been written on wall for years and it definitely says 12.4 is half cooked mate
Spruce might be along shortly 😆

[Jonny 87]

Just been out to the shed to see what has been written on wall for years and it definitely says 12.4 is half cooked mate
Spruce might be along shortly 😆

Grippatank gurus told me not to let mine get below 12.2. 👍

[a900]

What are you guys using with power reels?
I reel in and out at least 10/ 15 times a day

Using a home built lithium battery. Lasts 5- 6 days between charges with 2 pumps and 1 electric reel. But before that used a numax XDC31MF which I have as a backup. Would thoroughly recommend this lead acid battery.

Got to keep those lead acid battery’s at full charge as much as possible to maximise the cycle capacity.

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_measure_state_of_charge

Link shows state of charge based on resting voltage after 4 hours.

[Spruce]

Just been out to the shed to see what has been written on wall for years and it definitely says 12.4 is half cooked mate
Spruce might be along shortly 😆

This is the chart we have always used;

https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/technicalhelp/datasheets/guide-leisure-batteries/page6/
Rich is pefectly right using this chart and its the chart I use as it makes sense to me and fits in with my charger, daily useage and charge left when the day is done.

And I bet this chart also fits in with Rich's meters he had to keep a track of his daily current draw and solar recharge rate a year or so ago.

However, there is an new chart I just started to see which gives some very strange values. It seems to be cropping up all over the place.
https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=722

If we went by this chart then I believe we are in trouble.
Most peoples voltmeter is never going to read voltages to the second decimal point acurately. How can there be such a difference between 12.4v signalling 50% charged and the other chart showing the same capacity at 12.06v.

Even after an all night charge and a run the next day, my leisure battery has never read more than 12.8v after a few hours total rest. Its usually 12.7 overnight and a higher alternator charge voltage of 14.6v crambs a little more in.

Our daily usage and the voltmeter at the end of the day make sense with the first chart. If I had to apply the voltages of the second chart, my battery charge capacity just doesn't seem to add up. It the same as you telling me that you have a 1000 liter IBC tank full of water (1000 liters). You tell me that you have taken 400 liters out of the tank but you still have 800 liters left.
https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=722

Is the first chart under no load conditions and the second chart under load? Our Spring and Varistream controllers cut out at 10.5v under load which identifies the battery is flat at that voltage.

[dazmond]

theres loads of charts out there that say that a reading of 12.4 is 80%......im confused now!

[dazmond]

under load...(diesel heater shutting down at the end of the day plus me reeling my hose in)the voltage will go down to 12.2  for a short while before returning to 12.4 or 12.5........

[P @ F]

You need some solar panels Daz , I get home with fully charged batteries every day 

[P @ F]

These were taken today , 1 when I got home and the other after some hours resting , any suface charge would have been gone as I had to replace a rectus in between the pics  and ran the pump to make sure I was water tight .

[Spruce]

under load...(diesel heater shutting down at the end of the day plus me reeling my hose in)the voltage will go down to 12.2  for a short while before returning to 12.4 or 12.5........

When did you take a voltage reading? The experts tell us that you can only get an accurate reading when the battery has been at rest for 4 hours.

To my way of thinking if you keep your battery fully charged as often as you can (which you do) then you can't go too far wrong.

Personally, I'm not to bothered with these SOC (State of Charge) readings. If I've started the day and haven't done much then I don't usually bother to plug the charger in that night in summer. But it will get plugged in the second night.

If the volt/amp meter is reading a charge of a couple of amps on my way home, then I'm pretty sure the battery is fairly fully charged and I don't bother to plug the charger in. If the gauge is reading a charge of 5 or 6 amps on the way home then the charger gets plugged in.

[Shrek]

Iv got an 85ah battery , powers hose reel and pump. Reads 13.1 in the morning the goes down to 12.4 most days once Iv finished work. Maybe 12.2 on the odd day

[dazmond]

my batteries read 14.0 first thing in the morning but as spruce says its not a true reading as ive just took mine off charge....plus mine are charging up every time i turn the engine on...my smart split charge relay has the capacity to put 30 amps into the batteries in a very short time unlike a standard split charge system......

[Spruce]

my batteries read 14.0 first thing in the morning but as spruce says its not a true reading as ive just took mine off charge....plus mine are charging up every time i turn the engine on...my smart split charge relay has the capacity to put 30 amps into the batteries in a very short time unlike a standard split charge system......

Daz, it would be interesting to see exactly what that smart battery to battery charger is actually charging at amp wise on the way home from work.  I have a 140 amp split charge relay with 70 amp cabling. The van's alternator is 90 amp. I've only seen the charging rate at 22 amps for a brief moment after a hard day's work when I start the van. It will quickly drop down to 10 or 11 amps. The battery will only accept the charge it wants. You also have 2 batteries, so that charge is split between both of them.

I've never been able to get a definitive answer as to how much better these battery to battery electronics are compared to a standard charge from the alternator. I could spend £200 and buy a Sterling Battery to Battery charger and test it. My reasoning is that there won't be much difference. The unit only has a charging capacity of 30 amps. If you draw 30 amps from your battery in a day and your battery charger will deliver 30 amps then you will need more than an hours driving time to replenish that.

It will come into its own if I have a van with regenerative braking, but it still means that I would have to plug my charger in the same as I do now.

If I had solar panels on the roof then I wouldn't need to recharge my batteries for 8 or 9 months of the year like Rich does. But during winter solar won't generate enough to keep my battery full and all I'm using the battery for is to drive 2 pumps and occassionally an air diesel heater. If I added a diesel heater and an electric reel then this becomes a new story.

[P @ F]

I’m sat here now having soup , been at it since 10 and my battery is fully charged , and it’s been cloudy all day ,got 5 left to do then a 10 mile alternator run home , don’t think I will ever need to take my battery out again , it’s been 10 months since it’s seen a bench charger 🤪

[dazmond]

my batteries read 14.0 first thing in the morning but as spruce says its not a true reading as ive just took mine off charge....plus mine are charging up every time i turn the engine on...my smart split charge relay has the capacity to put 30 amps into the batteries in a very short time unlike a standard split charge system......

Daz, it would be interesting to see exactly what that smart battery to battery charger is actually charging at amp wise on the way home from work.  I have a 140 amp split charge relay with 70 amp cabling. The van's alternator is 90 amp. I've only seen the charging rate at 22 amps for a brief moment after a hard day's work when I start the van. It will quickly drop down to 10 or 11 amps. The battery will only accept the charge it wants. You also have 2 batteries, so that charge is split between both of them.

I've never been able to get a definitive answer as to how much better these battery to battery electronics are compared to a standard charge from the alternator. I could spend £200 and buy a Sterling Battery to Battery charger and test it. My reasoning is that there won't be much difference. The unit only has a charging capacity of 30 amps. If you draw 30 amps from your battery in a day and your battery charger will deliver 30 amps then you will need more than an hours driving time to replenish that.

It will come into its own if I have a van with regenerative braking, but it still means that I would have to plug my charger in the same as I do now.

If I had solar panels on the roof then I wouldn't need to recharge my batteries for 8 or 9 months of the year like Rich does. But during winter solar won't generate enough to keep my battery full and all I'm using the battery for is to drive 2 pumps and occassionally an air diesel heater. If I added a diesel heater and an electric reel then this becomes a new story.

my van does have regenerative braking.....still dont know what it means in a battery sense though!

[P @ F]

It in short takes the energy from you braking and charges with that