[AuRavelling79]

I know that there are newer and more advanced technologies for batteries nowadays. My cheap and cheerful leisure battery is holding less charge than it used to and it's time to replace. (Symptoms are that it is providing lower flow after about three hours into a normal domestic day and when I turn the van engine on the pump picks up to fast flow within a minute or so)

Also worth noting is that my van is still on its original 8/9 year old battery and apparently running fine. But is its age meaning that it is drawing power from the alternator that could be topping up the leisure battery? Does that even make sense?

I am happy to buy quality and something bigger with more AH and that will have more cycle capacity than a budget battery,

Opinions from the battery gurus most welcome!

[Ched]

New technology like Li-Ion or LiFePO4 are good as they can be discharged to about 20% as opposed to Lead Acids 50% but they are very expensive in comparison plus they need specialist chargers. They are significantly lighter weight though but for windys carrying 500kg of pure it's not really an issue  .

In leisure batteries they do have a rating system that is sort of the number of cycles they can take. A = best to C worst. I'm not sure how much the paper the warranty is worth as we use them differently to the 'leisure market'.
I'm not convinced by AGM type batteries either as they did start getting used in motorhomes and lots found they were not worth the extra expense.

I have read that an old starter (van) battery needs more amps from the alternator to keep it charged so that does deprive the leisure battery of charge! Be aware that lead acid batteries don't like the cold. So if they are going to fail it's generally when it gets colder. Like soon!

The bigger the Ah the more current you can draw, so find the biggest one that will fit in your battery box.

[M Clean]

Hi. I am no guru.

I have been running my pump from my van battery for years. I will admit I have the highest CCA i can fit in the space and under my bonnet. I think the most I use the pump each day is 5 to 7 hours. I make a point of replacing it every 3 years. Never ever had a problem. Modern vans with intelligent alternators won't struggle to replace the the amp's you take out during the day.

Neither should older vans as my first van was a 2001 Berlingo (originally 640ah).

I think I uprated to a 780 at the time.

All being said, that's been my experience as I hated taking the battery indoors to charge when my old inline leasure charger failed.

I now use a Stirling Power device which is great. My advice would be to get a high CCA battery and don't think about it again until your phone reminds you in 3 years to get a new one.

(Or get a smart charger, such as a Sterling and keep your leasure battery near your pump)

[RPCCS]

You need to check if your van has a smart alternator . If so then it can't be connected to a leisurely battery as when driving it puts up to 17  v charge into the van battery and that is too much for a L b to accept. On idle it puts in less than 10v.

[AuRavelling79]

You need to check if your van has a smart alternator . If so then it can't be connected to a leisurely battery as when driving it puts up to 17  v charge into the van battery and that is too much for a L b to accept. On idle it puts in less than 10v.

It's not.

[AuRavelling79]

For clarity.

My alternator is pre-smart.

The van battery is the original and seems to work fine at starting my van even though it is over 8 years old.

My leisure battery sits in the back and gets charged by the alternator. It is the second one in the five years since I had it connected to the van charging system.

[NWH]

That’s still a very old van battery.

[robert mitchell]

You need to check if your van has a smart alternator . If so then it can't be connected to a leisurely battery as when driving it puts up to 17  v charge into the van battery and that is too much for a L b to accept. On idle it puts in less than 10v.

You can still have it charged from the alternater , just need to use a b2b charger rather than a smart relay.

[robert mitchell]

For clarity.

My alternator is pre-smart.

The van battery is the original and seems to work fine at starting my van even though it is over 8 years old.

My leisure battery sits in the back and gets charged by the alternator. It is the second one in the five years since I had it connected to the van charging system.

I personally would replace the van battery before winter , losing one day to breakdown will cost more then a new battery , and just replace the leisure battery with a new one , ideally double the capacity you use on a daily basis as battery will last longer before replacement.

[NWH]

I had lots of system battery problems did I tell you I use hot water lol,once replaced problems solved.

[H2GoKent]

I have a large van battery in the back as a work battery and a split relay charger fitted by a mechanic to charge it.

I do a lot of work within a 10 mile radius and found the leisure didn't always charge.

Leisure batteries are designed for slowish charging and discharge, whereas a standard vehicle battery charges in a very short time, not had any problems for the last 3 or 4 years
It has an isolator switch in the back so I can charge it on the way to jobs and then switch over to the work battery when I get my pole out

[Spruce]

I have a large van battery in the back as a work battery and a split relay charger fitted by a mechanic to charge it.

I do a lot of work within a 10 mile radius and found the leisure didn't always charge.

Leisure batteries are designed for slowish charging and discharge, whereas a standard vehicle battery charges in a very short time, not had any problems for the last 3 or 4 years
It has an isolator switch in the back so I can charge it on the way to jobs and then switch over to the work battery when I get my pole out

I've never been able to find a rate of charge comparison between leisure and starter batteries anywhere.

I had thought of taking the starter battery out of my old van to test it but the terminals are wrong and they are too close for comfort if fitted to the battery tray on my metal tank frame.

The vast majority of our work is within a 10 mile radius, most within 5 miles. It normally takes us 10 to 15 minutes to get home and back the following day. That just not enough time to recharge a leisure battery.

Hi. I am no guru.

I have been running my pump from my van battery for years. I will admit I have the highest CCA i can fit in the space and under my bonnet. I think the most I use the pump each day is 5 to 7 hours. I make a point of replacing it every 3 years. Never ever had a problem. Modern vans with intelligent alternators won't struggle to replace the the amp's you take out during the day.

Neither should older vans as my first van was a 2001 Berlingo (originally 640ah).

I think I uprated to a 780 at the time.

All being said, that's been my experience as I hated taking the battery indoors to charge when my old inline leasure charger failed.

I now use a Stirling Power device which is great. My advice would be to get a high CCA battery and don't think about it again until your phone reminds you in 3 years to get a new one.

(Or get a smart charger, such as a Sterling and keep your leasure battery near your pump)

We have on 3 occasions  tried to run a single Shurflo pump off a van's starter battery. The first was a 2002 Peugeot Partner van. We tried that twice; the second time after a new battery was fitted. Both times the van's battery was flat after 4 days and in both cases my lad got it going by bump starting it.

The third was in a Transit Connect van used by son in law. He had an additional 16 mile journey to work each time. His van battery went flat after a week.

For clarity.

My alternator is pre-smart.

The van battery is the original and seems to work fine at starting my van even though it is over 8 years old.

My leisure battery sits in the back and gets charged by the alternator. It is the second one in the five years since I had it connected to the van charging system.

I personally would replace the van battery before winter , losing one day to breakdown will cost more then a new battery , and just replace the leisure battery with a new one , ideally double the capacity you use on a daily basis as battery will last longer before replacement.

Its interesting how long starter batteries can last these days. My current van's starter battery is 8 years old.
Its been stated that starting a 2.0 diesel van takes very little from a starter battery. The starter does have a very high power demand for a few milliseconds and in a few seconds to start the van might draw 200 amps. If you take that power demand for a few seconds and spread that over an hour, starting this engine draws a little more more than a single Shurflo pump does working for a full hour.

[Frankybadboy]

Marc

seek out Bristol batteries down by the fruit market

they will be cheaper than anywhere else you will find,and sometimes do cosmetic damaged ones 120amp for £70 i paid for my last one and it was the box damaged

they have every battery you want and are experts in the filed

[mac74]

What spruce said above mate, but understand that a split charge relay is useless, unless you are doing serious mileage to put the charge/amps back into it!  I killed lots of battery's in the early days, without knowing this. I do have a S.C.R but i do very little miles for it to be my main charger. I use  2 leisure batts, and bench charge them daily, and rotate. They will give you a better life span, as you wont be (?) taking them under their 50% drain value, (based on that 20hr rule). If u want to keep costs low ish, i would recommend the following Lead acid ncc class b, 200 charge cycles batts @ 50% drain. The Yuasa 100ah efb (i use) or Varta ldf 90ah / bosch L5 90ah (same batts) both have powerframe tech, which though research, i understand will take a charge close to 13v. (Ive found tayna batteries are cheapest, £90-£110)
Good luck

[zesty]

I use a banner energy bull 115 ah.

One of the best leisure battery’s on the market.

I also use a solar panel to trickle charge it though the day, though always bench charge it most nights.

I’ve only used Halfords battery’s and lion battery’s in the past, the banner energy bull is another level of quality. Worth the money, lasts years if we’ll looked after

[david mark]

I purchased a starter battery  from breakers yard to run my pump 7 years ago i charge it every night and its still going strong cost £20

[Tristan R Clean]

I have had my battery since I started 26yrs ago
Charge it once a year - jobs a good un