GALAX-E Leisure Batteries (1 Viewer)

JeanLuc

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If it were me, I would be very cautious. The price is very high for a product that claims no new technology but bases its performance claim on derivation from 'high quality industrial batteries'. The URL stated on the battery casing in the picture (Caravan Club shop) 'www.GALAX-E.co.uk' does not exist; the business selling the batteries - Powalite - appears to have only three employees and is not registered at Companies House.

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funflair

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Made by the Dutch firm ELFA http://lead-crystalbatteries.co.uk/technology/lead-crystal-battery-technology

Lead crystal technology, reading the web site it says they need a special battery charger, "or they will die"

They won't be getting my money any time soon.

Martin

Edit, I should have said marketed by a company in the Netherlands. Quite possibly Chinese but the more I read the more confused I am although they do look good performers.
 
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JeanLuc

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I agree about the charging observation Martin. According to the data sheet for the 100Ah model it needs an initial charging current of 30 amps - not many on-board motorhome chargers are capable of that (if any) - leaving aside B2B chargers.
Also, despite the CC Shop / Powalite statement, it appears they are a form of AGM battery and there have been several posts regarding problems with AGM batteries and standard / older charging systems that do not have an AGM program.

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Geo

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Im old Skool when it comes to batteries and have little to offer on the "new " stuff around,
even though Im only dealing with so called "reputable battery suppliers" the water is getting muddier by the week
well known AMP HR figures ie 80s 110s 115s are fast disappearing in favour of new numbers, and battery descriptions are more vague than ever
My latest purchase of exide 450s 95amp hr (bought because of size constrains) billed on the Exide site as "a premium leisure battery" is now boasting "cold cranking amps" and "Duel" technology
as its really a Marine battery and can be used to start a boat engine i presume:mad: So is it a starter or a leisure battery, Neither its a DUAL TECHNO Tosh:swear2:
What I can tell you from experiance and i said it in another post 97% OF Batteries DONT fail, THEY ARE MURDERED by neglect and lack of knowledge and poor maintenance and equipment
It is just as easy to murder a ÂŁ60 Battery as it is a ÂŁ260 Battery and when its dead it is usually dead dead some can be revived though with the right treatment and equipment
My advise for the masses is buy cheap and replace often, for best bang for the ÂŁ lead acid is old, tried and tested, and reliable, and it can be charged with a lightning bolt :rofl::pray:
G
 

funflair

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GALAX-E, Betta batteries and Lead Crystal are all the same batteries and quite possibly all made by EGE Ever Green Energy in China. Or at least that's what the last hour tells me, and it's not exactly new technology.

Martin
 

Torchy88

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Hello all contributors to the GALAX-E battery discussion.
I am the MD of ELFA UK which is a new company formed as a an extension of the third generation family business ELFA in the Netherlands that distributes and manufactures industrial products particularly batteries and lighting. Powalite is simply a division of ELFA that markets consumer focussed products such as leisure batteries and lanterns. I have been selling batteries in industry for 30 years and was UK Sales Director of the worlds largest lead battery producer for 8 years.
GALAX-E is a truly remarkable product that utilises a unique new electrolyte which is a combination of substances including a very weak acid. The electrolyte crystallises to a dry powder after a few cycles and as it does not corrode the plates or sulphate, the battery has remarkable cycling ability (1500 cycles to 80% DOD) and can be left partially or fully discharged without damage. In all other respects it is basically a thick plate modified traction battery using AGM separators. It has been tested by world class test houses and users and simply out-performs any other lead-based cycling battery. We have provided samples to senior technical members of the well known Caravan and Motorhome clubs for real-life testing and have only received positive responses to date. We are also about to submit test data to the NCC so that we can participate in their leisure battery verification scheme (Class A). I can assure all sceptics that we are a genuine UK Ltd company with responsible directors and a passion for high quality and excellent customer service and usually these things cost a little more. We are building a reputation based on the performance of our products and our people and happy to answer any questions about either. Thanks

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Feb 9, 2008
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If your looking for a new leisure battery, you may want to look at the 'NCC Verified Leisure Battery list' in the resources section. All of these batteries have been independently tested and classified accordingly.

 
OP
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Hello all contributors to the GALAX-E battery discussion.
I am the MD of ELFA UK which is a new company formed as a an extension of the third generation family business ELFA in the Netherlands that distributes and manufactures industrial products particularly batteries and lighting. Powalite is simply a division of ELFA that markets consumer focussed products such as leisure batteries and lanterns. I have been selling batteries in industry for 30 years and was UK Sales Director of the worlds largest lead battery producer for 8 years.
GALAX-E is a truly remarkable product that utilises a unique new electrolyte which is a combination of substances including a very weak acid. The electrolyte crystallises to a dry powder after a few cycles and as it does not corrode the plates or sulphate, the battery has remarkable cycling ability (1500 cycles to 80% DOD) and can be left partially or fully discharged without damage. In all other respects it is basically a thick plate modified traction battery using AGM separators. It has been tested by world class test houses and users and simply out-performs any other lead-based cycling battery. We have provided samples to senior technical members of the well known Caravan and Motorhome clubs for real-life testing and have only received positive responses to date. We are also about to submit test data to the NCC so that we can participate in their leisure battery verification scheme (Class A). I can assure all sceptics that we are a genuine UK Ltd company with responsible directors and a passion for high quality and excellent customer service and usually these things cost a little more. We are building a reputation based on the performance of our products and our people and happy to answer any questions about either. Thanks
Informative but it would be helpful to have a link to a website that works and also to be provided with comprehensive data.
 

Poohbear

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The thing is, however good it claims to be, is it really three times as good which is what the price would suggest?

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SuperMike

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The advertisements speak highly of it. :)

I'm with @Geo almost, other than don't buy too cheap. Research and try to find a balance of cost against performance, but always with a wet battery.

Bloody hell, I have just almost agreed with the SpannerTypeFellow and so must now go and lay down in a darkened room, with a damp flannel on the forehead and with a glass of lightly chilled. :devil:
 

hilldweller

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Bloody hell, I have just almost agreed with the SpannerTypeFellow and so must now go and lay down in a darkened room, with a damp flannel on the forehead and with a glass of lightly chilled. :devil:

Won't work, you are stuffed, the only answer a .357 magnum to the head. Better than the white coats, straight jacket and terrible drugs.
 

hilldweller

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The thing is, however good it claims to be, is it really three times as good which is what the price would suggest?

Worse than that, if the comment on charging is correct you have to find and install a new charger. What about solar, no chance of 30A there.

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Hello all contributors to the GALAX-E battery discussion.
I am the MD of ELFA UK
Hi and thanks for this. Can you provide details of the 3 year warranty and the method you would use to test a returned battery under warranty. Also, Can you provide the technical spec's for your 100 AH battery. (weight, No. of cycles etc),(I'm sure it's on your website but have not yet come across it yet)).
Thanks in advance.
 
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Just read their page about 'Charging Technology' If I have read it right my Sargent system on my Autotrail is not compatible with these batteries.
Something to be considered for future motorhomes I think.

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OP
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For such a pricey item said to be so wonderfully reliable with robust technology capable of withstanding many cycles, deep discharge and abuse a three year warranty seems very mean; I would expect six at the very minimum.
 
D

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Just read their page about 'Charging Technology' If I have read it right my Sargent system on my Autotrail is not compatible with these batteries.

I've just read that as well. I shouldn't think they are compatible with many motorhome systems.

The onboard charger won't work.

Your existing solar installation won't work.

Charging via the alternator might possibly work depending on the alternator and the charging set up. EDIT: It won't if it's a conventional setup that uses the onboard charger.

If you buy the "special" charger and decided to use the EHU post on your pitch to plug that into then you lose the all other EHU only functions of your motorhome.


They're looking more and more of an attractive proposition every minute. :Eeek: Consider the ridiculous price on top of the above and I don't see how they can fail :LOL:



Do I get the impression that someone has decided to try and market these things as the next big thing for motorhomes without thinking it through properly?
 

Torchy88

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Hi all,

The GALAX-E warranty has been increased to 4 years since January 2016. It is correct that the battery will not provide 100% capacity or 100% cycle life if constantly under-charged what battery will?
So motorhomes with chargers that never exceed 14V will see reduced performance but it will still be way better than any comparable capacity lead-based leisure battery.

We have tested the battery together with modern motorhome chargers that have a multi-setting including an AGM setting that normally is a 3 stage charge regime with the bulk charge phase being at 14.4V and the results have been more than satisfactory.

I would be happy to provide one of the more sceptical of the commentators with a battery FOC to trial over a season providing he/she accepts to report back on this blog.

Simply e-mail me info@elfa-uk.co.uk and we'll sort it out (first come first served).

Thanks

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SuperMike

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Won't work, you are stuffed, the only answer a .357 magnum to the head. Better than the white coats, straight jacket and terrible drugs.

Thank you, possibly most effective. But, as I do not pocess such a weapon, I might resort to a .45ACP round fired from a Colt 1911 A1.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_ACP

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_pistol

Or, simply several more glasses of lightly chilled to reach a comatosed state so that when I wake up, I can convince myself it was all a nasty dream.
:wine:

.​
 

Mel

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Hi all,



I would be happy to provide one of the more sceptical of the commentators with a battery FOC to trial over a season providing

Simply e-mail me info@elfa-uk.co.uk and we'll sort it out (first come first served).

Thanks

I think that is a great offer maybe @Techno (Andy) could do the test.
I have just watched some south african tests on youtube.
The results are amazing.
Nearly lost the will to live with the bloke but worth watching.


Mel
 

Techno

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Not really Mel it would be out of place with my regular 8 x125ah
I would need four to replace one of my banks to work effectively

Remember each of my 500ah banks only cost about ÂŁ320 delivered and the solar bank is over 3 years old and still under warranty

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I had never heard of lead crystal so did some searching. Not very scientific but he does abuse them badly with interesting results..

 
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Mel

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OK Andy I was just thinking it needs to be someone with a bit of tecnical knowhow.

Mel
 
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It would ideally need to be someone who only has one battery or the company would need to provide a like for like replacement, in ah terms, for the testers current battery bank or the test won't be a proper comparison.


I think Mr Torchy's last post does raise another question. If the company is freely admitting that using these batteries with standard motorhome equipment results in reduced performance why on earth would you bother? Paying three times the price for reduced performance, on the face of it, makes no sense.

I also noticed he hasn't addressed the question of how standard solar installations will interact with these batteries.
 
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Mel

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The good thing is if it works he will have the best moterhome website on his side.
God help him if they are wrong:)

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