2nd battery (1 Viewer)

JohnM

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Nov 8, 2008
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I am thinking of fitting a 2nd hab battery in my hobby,i have a 75amp gel fitted at present and would like to know whether to fit 2 lead batterys or to just add a 2nd gel as the one fitted at present is just 1year old.I will be interested in your views. ps i allso have a 100amp solar panel.
Thank you. JohnM.
 

hilldweller

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Both are perfectly good plans.

Though "gel" can bite you, if your chargers ( solar, mains, alternator ) are not configured for gel you won't get the best out of gel and it will probably die prematurely.

A pair of new wet batteries might be the best option.

Search on here for gel battery by Jaws - a good write up on his professional experience with gel cells.
 

cmcardle75

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I am thinking of fitting a 2nd hab battery in my hobby,i have a 75amp gel fitted at present and would like to know whether to fit 2 lead batterys or to just add a 2nd gel as the one fitted at present is just 1year old.I will be interested in your views. ps i allso have a 100amp solar panel.
Thank you. JohnM.

This might depend on your charging system. I'd prefer lead acid to gel, as they are much cheaper, so you can have much more storage for the same price.

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Mar 29, 2011
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I think they have to be the same type and one being a year should be OK if its still in good order, I put 2 lead acids in my Hobby and now leave the Genny at home:thumb:

In my last caravan I had an Optima US battery and I do wish I had gone for these again though, they charge much quicker and hold full power for longer, would recomend these if you can afford to buy them at £210 each on ebay
OPTIMA YTS5.5 HIGH PERFORMANCE BATTERY - OPTIMA YELLOW TOP BATTERY
 

movan

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:Blush: I lead-acid the same as one you don't add anything to please ... i.e. maintenance free?
 

cmcardle75

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:Blush: I lead-acid the same as one you don't add anything to please ... i.e. maintenance free?

Maintenance-free are the ones the can't add water to, even when they need it. But they are basically the same. Maintenance free ones do have extra bits to cope with the produced gas, but have lower charge ratings as it can only cope with a bit of gas at a time.

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hilldweller

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Maintenance-free are the ones the can't add water to, even when they need it.

I had to buy one in a hurry ( the ferry was nearly leaving ) but I hate them, it's a way of selling more batteries in my opinion.

Good old inspection covers tell you a lot about what is going on. Acid goes down quickly and your charger could be faulty. A gently fizzing battery is a happy battery.
 
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JohnM

JohnM

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Nov 8, 2008
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I had to buy one in a hurry ( the ferry was nearly leaving ) but I hate them, it's a way of selling more batteries in my opinion.

Good old inspection covers tell you a lot about what is going on. Acid goes down quickly and your charger could be faulty. A gently fizzing battery is a happy battery.

The problem with that Brian is having to remove both swivel seats to keep checking them.:Sad:
 

hilldweller

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The problem with that Brian is having to remove both swivel seats to keep checking them.:Sad:

Ah. We just have a trap door in the floor. I can see the attraction of sealed for you. This sealed one is now over 2 years old but whether it will outlast the original German one that made it to 8 is debatable.

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maz

Jan 26, 2011
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I am thinking of fitting a 2nd hab battery in my hobby,i have a 75amp gel fitted at present and would like to know whether to fit 2 lead batterys or to just add a 2nd gel as the one fitted at present is just 1year old.I will be interested in your views. ps i allso have a 100amp solar panel.
Thank you. JohnM.

I have near enough the same van as you but mine came with 2 gel leisure batteries already installed, one under each seat. After a cock-up by the dealer who installed a solar regulator that would not work properly with gel batteries, I had them swapped for lead-acid. One bonus was that you could then get a 110Ah lead-acid battery to fit in the same space as the original 80Ah gel one. :thumb:

If you do decide to swap for lead-acid batteries, make sure they are vented (the vent tubes for mine go out through the same gap as the starter battery under the floor). Also that the battery charger and solar regulator are switched to lead-acid settings.
 

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