Leisure battery has breathed its last! (1 Viewer)

westy77

Free Member
Feb 17, 2014
247
180
Essex
Funster No
30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
our leisure battery ran low and set the low level alarm off this weekend. We had only been set up 24 hours with our normal use. We have camped three days before and this not happen so I'm guessing the battery is toast? I have no idea how old it is or the life it lead. The van is a 2005 but we have only had it about a year and a half. There is a sticker on the battery that says "BAE Leisure Battery U.K.679 110Ah". I cannot see any mention of the Ah size in any of the paperwork that came with the van except there is a brochure for the Adria range that mentions "additional 88Ah battery". Ours is a Coral 670SK. What I need to know is what size to put in? Another 110?
 
Jan 28, 2008
10,104
18,260
Dovercourt, Harwich, UK
Funster No
1,353
MH
Renalt burstner
Exp
7 years campers before that
i would get your charging system checked first expensive mistake buying a battery when you realy need a charger or solar reg

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westy77

westy77

Free Member
Feb 17, 2014
247
180
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30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
Ok thanks. One other thing is I keep seeing reference to vent tubes. The battery in our van is inside the hab area under one of the living room seats. I did not notice any tubes going to outside the van!
 
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westy77

westy77

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Feb 17, 2014
247
180
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30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
i would get your charging system checked first expensive mistake buying a battery when you realy need a charger or solar reg

I don't have solar panels. Regards the van charging it seems to be charging as the battery ran low last time we used it but I just put it down to a lot of use as it rained so we were in the van more. We do have an inverter hooked onto the battery too. When it went flat I started the van and left it running which put some charge in the battery, ticking over for 10-20 mins got us through till the next day.
 

Bobby22

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Dec 15, 2013
1,537
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Scotland
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29,386
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Rapido 680ff
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since 2013
our leisure battery ran low and set the low level alarm off this weekend. We had only been set up 24 hours with our normal use. We have camped three days before and this not happen so I'm guessing the battery is toast? I have no idea how old it is or the life it lead. The van is a 2005 but we have only had it about a year and a half. There is a sticker on the battery that says "BAE Leisure Battery U.K.679 110Ah". I cannot see any mention of the Ah size in any of the paperwork that came with the van except there is a brochure for the Adria range that mentions "additional 88Ah battery". Ours is a Coral 670SK. What I need to know is what size to put in? Another 110?
It sounds as though in the past year and a half you may not have checked your battery's condition. You may be able to recover your battery simply by topping up the cells and charging with a decent charger( 3 stage......you may have one in your van).
It is important to check the levels in the cells to maintain the battery in good condition.

Running engine on tick over will never full charge the Hab battery........you will firstly charge your engine battery before it charges the hab battery

I would check the levels before i spent any money on anything.....if low, top up with pre boiled water and charge on electric hookup overnight.

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Last edited:

GJH

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Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
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127
MH
None, now sold
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2006 to 2022
It depends on the dimensions. Our battery is also under the seat but height restrictions mean we are limited in what we can use. The battery referred to would fit length and width ways but is some 5cm too tall. It is important to check the measurements before buying - as well as following previous advice posted.
 
Jan 28, 2008
10,104
18,260
Dovercourt, Harwich, UK
Funster No
1,353
MH
Renalt burstner
Exp
7 years campers before that
you can only safely use half the capacity of a leisure battery how big is the inverter you are using
?

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westy77

westy77

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Feb 17, 2014
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C class
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2008
Just looked at battery. It looks like it's never had the top up screws out as they were like new, but looking in each the levels are higher than the plates and near to what I presume is a level marker.

The inverter we have is a 1000W, it's mainly used for charging phones/iPad. Although we did try the toaster on a low setting which did work. This was the first occasion the battery warning light came on a couple of trip ago.

On our charging/power unit there is a switch for either Lead Gel or Lead Acid. I'm presuming I have a lead acid battery as it has the top up screws and water inside? The switch was on lead gel.

The battery TheBig1 linked above will fit in the space I have. It's under the living room seat which is just behind the drivers seat. But I cannot see a vent tube at all. Should there be something going to outside the van?
 

TheBig1

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Nov 27, 2011
17,509
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19,048
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A class
Exp
many many years! since I was a kid
if its been charged on GEL regime, the lead acid battery will be knackered with damaged plates. the majority of batteries these days are no maintenance sealed. often they still retain the screw down cell caps but generally a blob of glue stops them being unscrewed

as for venting, there should be a small pipe out of the top part of the battery venting through the floor. if a battery is over charged or faulty it releases dangerous gasses. when you fit a new battery make sure a vent is fitted
 
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westy77

westy77

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Feb 17, 2014
247
180
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30,146
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2008
Ok thank you, I don't seem to have the option to vent out of the battery enclosure to outside.

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denisejoe

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Aug 6, 2014
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We use a cigarette lighter USB which we got from Amazon - think it was about a tenner for 2 doubles.

We were in the Apple shop yesterday and they had one which I think was about £30!

Denise

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TheBig1

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Nov 27, 2011
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many many years! since I was a kid
the explorer calcium batteries have near double the rated charging cycles and a 5 year warranty. should be fine to charge at lead acid voltage regime.

as for sticking to 10x the rated output of the charger. thats a piece of advice thats been around a long time. plenty of people ignore this though and add 3 or 4 100ah batteries with no ill effect. just takes longer to reach the fully charged maintenance level
 

TheBig1

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Nov 27, 2011
17,509
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many many years! since I was a kid
the explorer calcium batteries have near double the rated charging cycles and a 5 year warranty. should be fine to charge at lead acid voltage regime.

as for sticking to 10x the rated output of the charger. thats a piece of advice thats been around a long time. plenty of people ignore this though and add 3 or 4 100ah batteries with no ill effect. just takes longer to reach the fully charged maintenance level
 
Feb 9, 2008
8,924
18,663
Corby, Northants
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1,455
MH
Coach Built
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Since 2007
You may find this information below useful. (Useful link at bottom of page).

Broken Link Removed

Banner, energy bull and Vatra are amongst the top leisure batteries.

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pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
43,207
48,810
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Ok thank you, I don't seem to have the option to vent out of the battery enclosure to outside.
You do with careful use of a battery drill and a 10mm drill bit.

Better to drill a hole in the floor, fit a vent tube and seal it than blow the van to bits if the battery begins gassing and theres a spark.
 

Puddleduck

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Jan 15, 2014
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Scottish Borders
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On and off for many years.
For charging iPads and phones it is much better to fit USB sockets. An inverter will just waste power. This sort of thing - but not necessarily this one, it was simply the first Google threw up: http://sinolec.co.uk/en/cigar-and-c...9MFXDwnop8_ZRDi9zN7GF5vSfQAnEbXFuYaAtOT8P8HAQ

We use a cigarette lighter USB which we got from Amazon - think it was about a tenner for 2 doubles.

We were in the Apple shop yesterday and they had one which I think was about £30!

Denise

Some Aldi stores have the ciggie lighter to USB double charger in stock.... about £4 I think. I got two, one for the van and one for the car.

You can also get solar charged energy banks, mine was a Lidl special. It charges it's own internal batteries from the sun (or you can plug it into a mains supply when you get an opportunity) and then use a USB lead to transfer the power from the energy bank to your phone / tablet when needed.
 
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westy77

westy77

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Feb 17, 2014
247
180
Essex
Funster No
30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
You do with careful use of a battery drill and a 10mm drill bit.

Better to drill a hole in the floor, fit a vent tube and seal it than blow the van to bits if the battery begins gassing and theres a spark.

I am going to fit a vent tube to the new battery when it arrives.

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Jul 5, 2013
11,713
13,681
Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells, UK
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A class
Exp
Since 2013
We have an Adria Coral, but different model. Ours came with its original battery which was an 85Ah gel. Is your battery underneath the seat on the right as you walk in through the habitation door? That is where ours is, along with the Electrobloc charger. We replaced ours with 2 x 110Ahr lead acid Banners.

Gel batteries do not need venting usually, which is why there is none as standard. The Banners have a vent so we fitted vent tubes and took them through the (double) floor under the seat. You need to be careful to make sure that you do not drill through any of the cables between the floors.

My guess is that the original Gel battery was replaced by the lead acid one by the last owners, but they did not change the charging setting on the Electrobloc to lead acid. As others have said that will, in a short time, fry the battery because of overcharging.

If you intend to stay off grid for long I would strongly recommend you fit solar panel(s). I fitted 2 x 100W panels myself with lots of help from this forum. Our Adria had cabling pre-wired for solar, running from the wardrobe to the battery area, so it was easy, once I got over the worry of drilling a hole through my roof
 
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westy77

westy77

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Feb 17, 2014
247
180
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30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
Hi, yes ours is under the seat on the right of the door. The charger unit in ours is under the wardrobe which is just past the middle of the van. All we have under the seat is the battery, the cables that connect to it and a pair of fuses (a 2A and 30A).

The only time we will probably be off grid is when we camp at car shows such as at Santa Pod. We are usually there Fri till Sunday.

Having said that, we intend to keep this van long term so solar may be worth putting on. What year is your Coral? Ours is 2005, but I have not noticed any wiring or connections for solar.
 
Jul 5, 2013
11,713
13,681
Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells, UK
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26,797
MH
A class
Exp
Since 2013
Having said that, we intend to keep this van long term so solar may be worth putting on. What year is your Coral? Ours is 2005, but I have not noticed any wiring or connections for solar.

Ours is 2008.

Is your charger unit a Schaudt Electrobloc? If so you may not need the pre-wires we had. Instead you can run the electrics through the wardrobe and up through the roof. Most Electroblocs have a pre-wired block for solar input. Have a look at the handbook for the charger. Just buy a Schaudt solar controller and it is easy. They do an MPPT one now which is quite expensive, but makes it easy for wiring.

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westy77

westy77

Free Member
Feb 17, 2014
247
180
Essex
Funster No
30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
Ours is 2008.

Is your charger unit a Schaudt Electrobloc? If so you may not need the pre-wires we had. Instead you can run the electrics through the wardrobe and up through the roof. Most Electroblocs have a pre-wired block for solar input. Have a look at the handbook for the charger. Just buy a Schaudt solar controller and it is easy. They do an MPPT one now which is quite expensive, but makes it easy for wiring.

I'll have a check what we have. Not sure I have a handbook for the charger itself. I remember seeing test certificates but not a handbook.
 
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westy77

westy77

Free Member
Feb 17, 2014
247
180
Essex
Funster No
30,146
MH
C class
Exp
2008
On my charging unit it does have a socket for solar for if I get a panel at some point.

Battery arrived today, while I was having a look for a suitable route for the vent tube I found a dead mouse between the back of the battery enclosure and the gas bottle box! I found further evidence of his travels at the rear of the van around the boiler where bits of insulation had been nibbled. It doesn't look like too much damage has occurred as no wires look chewed and everything works so I'm hoping it died soon after moving in and was alone!

Anyway I noticed the handbrake cable went though a hole near the battery, so I bought some windscreen washer hose as I needed the pipe to be a bit longer, routed it out that way and tie wrapped it yo the handbrake outer sheath.
 

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