Flat battery (1 Viewer)

blucamp2

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Oct 28, 2008
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Just went to give the van a little run ( shes in storage in a barn) and yes you guessed flat battery.. I put it away the middle of sept so its about 8 weeks.. its a new tranist 2,2 . I have plugged her in to the 240v I hope it charges both the engine and leisure batteries as I have never realy checked before ..... will find out tomorrow when she will have had a good 12 hours Spain in 6 weeks can't wait :Smile:
 
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blucamp2

blucamp2

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hi peter thanks ....I had a feeling it was going to be flat for the reasons you give.. what I am not sure about is if you are on hook up doe's that charge the engine battery as well as the leisure battery phil

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scotjimland

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hi peter thanks ....I had a feeling it was going to be flat for the reasons you give.. what I am not sure about is if you are on hook up doe's that charge the engine battery as well as the leisure battery phil

Hi

It's very doubtful that your engine battery is charged from the EHU .. not many have that facility.

If the van is in secure storage I would disconnect the neg on the engine battery .. it will then stay fully charged for many weeks ..

jim
 

lunarman

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On my Lunar the charger will charge which ever battery is switched to supply the habitation 12v electrics. I dont know whether this is the same for all but it may be worth checking.
 
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blucamp2

blucamp2

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thanks guys , if it has not charged the engine bat. at least I will have a full leisure bat and can jump start the van from that with luck I have read you have to ( when jumpstarting from another car ) connect + to + and put the -to the engine block on both cars but what about conecting from a spare bat ?
phil

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The Wallace

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On my old Hymer the habitation and service battery are side by side in the floor.
In an attempt to get moving one morning (after I had left the road lights on all night:Doh:) I laid a spanner over the 2 positive poles, stood on it, and turned the key = instant start.

There are those who will advise NOT using a leisure battery for starting but when faced with a missed appointment/ stuck in middle of nowhere some lateral thinking is needed and it was just once! (unless you count the time we----- and the time!!!)
 

derekfaeberwick

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There are those who will advise NOT using a leisure battery for starting but when faced with a missed appointment/ stuck in middle of nowhere some lateral thinking is needed and it was just once! (unless you count the time we----- and the time!!!)

I went up to my friends boat at the Falkirk Wheel to help him change his engine battery which had packed in. He bought the boat second hand over two years ago so the battery could be anything over 2 years old. We removed the old one which was not easy because it was tucked well away and discovered it to be, a leisure battery!:Eeek:
 
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blucamp2

blucamp2

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hi wallace ,, in the good old days before eletronic, this and that, not to mention the on bord computer . I would have took the jump leads from the leisure battery and stuck them on the Engine bat .. but there are just to many expensive parts to burn out these days ... looks like a trip to halfords and one more bit of kit I did not know i needed ie battery charger
phil

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Jaws

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So far I have I am still using the van whenever we can squeeze a couple of days away, but it has sat still for 4 weeks once and the battery did get a little low ( alarms etc )

Going on a hookup brought both batteries up to full steam ok ( Miller States 'Alabama' )
 

scotjimland

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hi wallace ,, in the good old days before eletronic, this and that, not to mention the on bord computer . I would have took the jump leads from the leisure battery and stuck them on the Engine bat .. but there are just to many expensive parts to burn out these days ... looks like a trip to halfords and one more bit of kit I did not know i needed ie battery charger
phil

Hi Phil

you may want to consider fitting a battery master which will charge your engine battery from the ehu or solar panel ( if fitted)

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Automatic Engine Battery Charging System

Flat engine batteries are everyones worst nightmare with clocks, radio memories & alarms draining power, but with Van Bitz Battery Master - Advanced Battery Balancer - they should be a thing of the past.
You can now easily charge your engine battery from mains hook-up or solar system with the Battery Master. This specially designed, fully waterproof, resin bonded & maintenance free unit will monitor the engine and the leisure batteries constantly and whenever the engine battery needs a ‘boost’, Battery Master allows a safe and regulated controlled charge. Built-in automatic regulation and fusing ensures a safe and efficient 1.1A ‘trickle charge’ making it totally safe for all electrical components and any motorcaravan.
It makes an ideal companion to a Solar Power installation. As the solar system increases the voltage in the leisure battery, the excess charge is stored away in the engine battery.
 
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blucamp2

blucamp2

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thanks jaws, you have cheered me up no end ....... i will do a monty python ...... "always look on the bright side of life"

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Oct 29, 2008
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Do not jumpstart from a leisure battery, as you could easily buckle the plates. Leisure batteries have thinner plates than the cab battery and do not like supplying sudden large current.
 

derekfaeberwick

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Do not jumpstart from a leisure battery, as you could easily buckle the plates. Leisure batteries have thinner plates than the cab battery and do not like supplying sudden large current.

Did you miss my earlier post?

I went up to my friends boat at the Falkirk Wheel to help him change his engine battery which had packed in. He bought the boat second hand over two years ago so the battery could be anything over 2 years old. We removed the old one which was not easy because it was tucked well away and discovered it to be, a leisure battery!
 
Oct 29, 2008
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Did you miss my earlier post?

I went up to my friends boat at the Falkirk Wheel to help him change his engine battery which had packed in. He bought the boat second hand over two years ago so the battery could be anything over 2 years old. We removed the old one which was not easy because it was tucked well away and discovered it to be, a leisure battery!
No, but you didn't say what I was saying.
Don't use a leisure battery to jump start the engine.

Theres no need to be so rude! I only offered my advice!

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derekfaeberwick

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No, but you didn't say what I was saying.
Don't use a leisure battery to jump start the engine.

Theres no need to be so rude! I only offered my advice!

How was an enquiry rude?:Doh:

Surely using a leisure battery to start an engine for over 2 years is a bit heavier than using it for a one off jump start.

I only offered First Hand advice.:Sad:
 

scotjimland

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The 'leisure' batteries on RVs are generally used to start the on board generator and also as a back up to the main engine battery..
There is an Emergency Start switch on the dash that connects both sets of batteries.. so using a so called leisure battery occasionally to start the engine will cause it no harm.

It's generally a myth that "leisure" batteries will be destroyed by normal engine starting. "Leisure" doesn't mean anything specific, but mostly they use truck starter battery plates with different separators. They will have a lower CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) because of higher internal resistance and slower electrolyte diffusion (because of the different separators and possibly increased inter-plate spacing).
CCA is usually measured over 30 seconds (which is a VERY long crank). The heat produced in that time through the ohmic resistance of the battery is easily dissipated in the mass of lead initially, from which it goes into the electrolyte by convection.
 
Oct 29, 2008
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The facts are that leisure batteries are built to run lower loads for a long time. However Starting batteries can give a very high current for a shorter period. They are manufactured differently the leisure battery has thinner plates that will buckle under heavy load.

There are some batteries that different but a pure leisure battery can be damaged by starting an engine.

Obviously starting a smaller engine like a generator will not put anything like the load that starting a high compression diesel engine would put on the battery.

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derekfaeberwick

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Just the point I was trying to make Jim, saw it with my own eyes and it made me think just how much other theoretical problems are actually urban myths.:Eeek:
 

derekfaeberwick

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Obviously starting a smaller engine like a generator will not put anything like the load that starting a high compression diesel engine would put on the battery.

Do you think my friends boat has a steam engine then?

As said, theory and practise are not always the same, the point of my earlier post, but some choose to believe what they read rather than what they experience, not me though.:winky:
 

Phil

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Hi Blu, if you can run your 12v electrics in the habitation area from the leisure battery or the cab battery by flicking a switch, then if you set it to the cab position and switch yoiur onboard charger on then it should charge the cab battery. Only one battery can normally be charged at a time. With the switch in the van position the leisure battery is charged. This is the 'normal' position for the switch.

Phil.

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scotjimland

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Obviously starting a smaller engine like a generator will not put anything like the load that starting a high compression diesel engine would put on the battery.

I have started my 6lt Cummins diesel using the leisure batteries.. and they are only cheap FLAs.. no harm was done and still as good as new.

If a diesel engine of ANY size needs more than a few seconds to fire there is something wrong with it ..

On the other hand, my LPG genny is a an absolute pig to start and can take several mins cranking to get it going .. :Sad:
 
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Derek
I think you should do some research about modern leisure batteries. If they are fine to start engines we wouln't need 2 types of battery, or do we do it for fun.
 
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derekfaeberwick

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I say it as I see it.:Cool:

Believe it or not, I don't mind.:winky:

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blucamp2

blucamp2

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hi phil No I do not have a switch to change between hab and cab ... but I am wondering if I switch off all the hab electics would that divert the charge to eng.. battery ... but its looking like a trip to halfords as we are spending a month on site in spain january if the engine is not charging from the EHU then I am saure to need a top up do south
phil
 

scotjimland

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hi phil No I do not have a switch to change between hab and cab ... but I am wondering if I switch off all the hab electics would that divert the charge to eng.. battery ... but its looking like a trip to halfords as we are spending a month on site in spain january if the engine is not charging from the EHU then I am saure to need a top up do south
phil

did you miss my post Phil.. Battery Master ?
 

derekfaeberwick

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hi phil No I do not have a switch to change between hab and cab ... but I am wondering if I switch off all the hab electics would that divert the charge to eng.. battery ... but its looking like a trip to halfords as we are spending a month on site in spain january if the engine is not charging from the EHU then I am saure to need a top up do south
phil

If the battery was totally flattened then you'd maybe be better to get a new one for your trip.
 
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blucamp2

blucamp2

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hi scotjimland , thanks I saw your post and will think about one of those in the future .. I am not in the UK and only used halfords as a expression .. I have been on the net and found a battery charger not to far from where the van is I have a læittle scooter to nip about on so hopfully i will have it sorted one way or another tomorrow ...
phil

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