[gary evans]

Hi All

Got problem with battery done self build sort of using electrician to wire up after, but, the fuse has blown so the system has run straight of the 85 amp battery which is now drained, but trying to recharge wont go back up to full.

I tried this way, but , i,d gone down the proper fit path.

Is the battery knackered or does need longer to charge back up, only 6 weeks old.

Thanks in advance

Gary

[paul mather]

Hi Gary,

I was told to buy a leisure battery as opposed to a normal car battery. They differ in that they are specifically designed to be drained on a regular basis whereas a car battery should never get fully discharged as it is connected to an alternator. I was also told to buy a battery charger specifically designed for charging leisure batteries.

I have only been WFPing for three days & run off a 110 AH Leisure battery. Charged it when I first bought it & haven't needed to since. Can't see battery is jiggered after only 6 weeks though.

[gary evans]

Paul

ITS A 12 VOLT 85 amp leisure battery.

tO high for the school, they have tight budgets & dont like paying much

Gary

[batterbee]

Hi Gary

I have a 12v submersible pump that i us to transfer water from my holding tank to van tank and i us a 85 amp leisure battery for doing this.

About 2 weeks ago i forgot to disconnect the battery and it run for around 24hrs, anyway the battery was so discharged that it took nearly 2 DAYS to fully recharge again, i have a 6amp battery charger with 4 led lights, it took 1 day for the first light to come on, which was a relieve cause i thought I'd cooked the battery.

Might not be your problem but it's worth giving it a try.

John

[paul mather]

Gary ,

What amps does your battery charger charge at. If you only have a 4 Amp b/charger & your battery is 85  then it would take 21 plus hours to charge fully.

[jeff1]

Hi Gary

Get yourself a proper leisure battery charger? try and get the intelligent charger, this will charge your battery up to a certain level then it changes to a pulse charge to bring it up to the proper level, once it reaches its full charge it then switches off.
and then back on again when the battery needs it.
Paul it correct in the time taken for a complete charge, I would not recommeng a car  charger for them.

REPLACE THE FUSE!!

I'll give you a little tip, When anyone of us buy a brand new battery, we all think they are 100% efficient, but the truth is there not, a brand new battery is about 75-80% efficient, sounds like were buying batteries that are three quaters charged, but the truth is they are fully charged there just not 100% efficient.

[paul mather]

I have just bought a 10 amp charger, it arrived today(borrowed my father-in-laws ancient charger to get started).
Anyway I thought I better put battery on charge as I have used it 3 days straight.
Stuck it straight on fast charge & the blummin fuse blew immediately. Do you think battery didn't need charging & by me putting it straight on fast charge I have overloaded it. Puzzled

[Tim Morton]

Gary ,

What amps does your battery charger charge at. If you only have a 4 Amp b/charger & your battery is 85  then it would take 21 plus hours to charge fully.

Actually a battery will not charge up that quick, there is a certain amount of wastage or inefficiancy in the charging process, add to that, when a battery is 90% charged, the remaining 10% will take longer.

You also would be better getting a charger specifically designed for leisure batteries, get an intelligent charger, it'll protect your battery and wont overcharge it.
Charging a battery with very high currants will shorten the battery life.

Tim

[jeff1]

I have just bought a 10 amp charger, it arrived today(borrowed my father-in-laws ancient charger to get started).
Anyway I thought I better put battery on charge as I have used it 3 days straight.
Stuck it straight on fast charge & the blummin fuse blew immediately. Do you think battery didn't need charging & by me putting it straight on fast charge I have overloaded it. Puzzled

Hi Paul
Is it a lesiure charger?

I would never recommend a fast charge, the reason for this is causes to much heat in the battery and can buckle the plates, even if it doesn't it will reduce the life of your battery.

All batteries are manufactured to provide a certain number of deep discharge cycles.
The conventional leisure battery should give a cycling life of between 200-300 deep discharges.
A Gel battery will give between 400-500 cycles and an AGM battery 600-800 cycles.
There are manufacturers that sell leisure batteries that deep cycle up to and over 1000 deep discharge cycles

Batteries fail in cycling life due to a permanent encapsulation of PbS04 on the plates (lead sulphation)
The capacity loss is more rapid with these battery types, the deeper that the battery is discharged, the quicker lead sulphation builds up.  Upon recharging the battery, not all of this sulphation is converted back to lead (PB0). The result is a gradual loss in capacity.

Another major reason for premature battery failure is due to the oxide shredding from the plates.  Standard lead plates are bound only with acrylic and polyester fibres, they do not serve as reinforcement of the plate. The cycling life of the more expensive battery is much greater than all other battery types because they are built using carbon fibre and this eliminates lead sulphation of the plates permanently. Upon recharging all the original capacity will be replenished. Carbon fibre acts as a mechanical reinforcement fibre to the lead grid and paste reducing shredding.

But to answer your question, either the battery charger is faulty or the battery required more current on start up, or it could have been a initial surge on switch on this can cause a fuse to blow.

[jeff1]

I don't know if Jouk45 site is running yet? but I did a two part series on battery charging and maintainance.

His site is wfp training academy, if its up and running have a read.

 http://jouk45.forumup.co.uk/forum-1-jouk45.html

[paul mather]

Wow you seem to know an awful lot about batteries. To answer your question is it a leisure charger, I bought it off a guy on ebay who sells caravan accessories, it was advertised as a leisure charger but when I received it today it said on the box suitable for cars, lawnmowers & something else I can't quite remember. Doesn't sound like a leisure charger to me.

The other thing that puzzles me is this. As I said in my last posting I used my Father-in-laws charger to do the initial charge, & last night I thought I better put battery on charge just in case. I know a 110AH is a powerful battery but then again the pump in the van is going all day & I have no idea how long it should last between charges. So I used his charger last night & the moment I put it on the gauge shot across to show more than maximum charge & then the chargers terminals started to get extremely hot, then it cut out.

Do you think the battery is still charged up a lot & I am simply trying to put charge init when it doesn't need it. My new charger blows a fuse & the old one overheats & cuts out, help me out Jeff1

[jeff1]

Wow you seem to know an awful lot about batteries. To answer your question is it a leisure charger, I bought it off a guy on ebay who sells caravan accessories, it was advertised as a leisure charger but when I received it today it said on the box suitable for cars, lawnmowers & something else I can't quite remember. Doesn't sound like a leisure charger to me.

The other thing that puzzles me is this. As I said in my last posting I used my Father-in-laws charger to do the initial charge, & last night I thought I better put battery on charge just in case. I know a 110AH is a powerful battery but then again the pump in the van is going all day & I have no idea how long it should last between charges. So I used his charger last night & the moment I put it on the gauge shot across to show more than maximum charge & then the chargers terminals started to get extremely hot, then it cut out.

Do you think the battery is still charged up a lot & I am simply trying to put charge init when it doesn't need it. My new charger blows a fuse & the old one overheats & cuts out, help me out Jeff1

I do know a little about batteries, I was in the para's and was the radio operator, I didn't want to be stuck half way up a mountain or in the middle of the jungle knowing naff all about my batteries.
Now to your question,
for the needle to shoot across the dial like that indicates a serious short some were,   when you used your father-in-laws did the terminals/clips get hot? if not then you have a faulty charger,(new one) and most lesiure batteries actually say for lesiure batteries. hope this helps.

[paul mather]

Jeff 1

Yes when I used my F-in-laws the terminals got so hot one burnt my finger. Are you suggesting I have a fault with the battery itself. Only bought it on Monday?

[jeff1]

Jeff 1

Yes when I used my F-in-laws the terminals got so hot one burnt my finger. Are you suggesting I have a fault with the battery itself. Only bought it on Monday?

Paul if the terminals were getting that hot on both chargers, then you have an internal short in the battery, DO NOT CHARGE IT there is no it might explode IT WILL explode, take it straight back to the suppliers and get them to replace it.

[paul mather]

The terminals only got hot on my f-in-laws charger, the fuse blew on my new one. If you still think I should take it back what do I say to them. Have been using it fine for last 3 days, even cleaned my own windows with it tonight.

[jeff1]

The terminals only got hot on my f-in-laws charger, the fuse blew on my new one. If you still think I should take it back what do I say to them. Have been using it fine for last 3 days, even cleaned my own windows with it tonight.

Your right paul, but your terminals on your new battery charger would not have got hot, because it blew the fuse.

were did you buy it from?
If they are able to do a test on it, then get them to do it, if not demand a new battery, tell them its been fine useing it, but when you tryed to charge it the fuse blew, tell them it blew on your other charger aswell, but tell them you have tryed two lesiure chargers, if you tell them you used a car battey charger they might tell you that you have damaged it, and make you pay for a new one.
This is another reason I say don't use a car charger on lesiure batteries.

[paul mather]

It was bought from a local caravan suppliers just outside warrington. It was on special offer paid £46.00. Thought it was a good deal, not so sure now.

Surely just one charge from a non dedicated charger is not going to cause a short circuit. I could understand if I had been charging it with a car battery charger for years.

Can't see them being able to test it, do you think they will replace it?

By the way that  forum run by Jouk is so slow I have given up on it

[jeff1]

It was bought from a local caravan suppliers just outside warrington. It was on special offer paid £46.00. Thought it was a good deal, not so sure now.

Surely just one charge from a non dedicated charger is not going to cause a short circuit. I could understand if I had been charging it with a car battery charger for years.

Can't see them being able to test it, do you think they will replace it?

By the way that  forum run by Jouk is so slow I have given up on it

One charge shouldn't do that damage, but if its been dropped by someone, or even chucked about from manufacture to supplier, then it may have been damaged, its not worth the risk and I would change it.  your not asking for a cash refund just a replacement.

[paul mather]

Thanks Jeff1 for your expertise, will give them a ring tomorrow first thing to explain situation I.m sure they will do an exchange.

[jeff1]

Any time Paul

Let me know how you get on tomorrow.