Best leisure battery

[hymerholidays]

Hi, I’m doing some work on my Hymer b544 over the winter hence the battery of questions (sorry about the pun but it had to be done!) I have two leisure batteries, Yuasa 100 amp for 700 amp hour, one of which has been pronounced dead so I’m looking to get it updated but my budget isn’t huge. I hear all the talk about lithium batteries but they are too expensive for me. I also need to replace one of my solar panels. I’ve been told that they are two 80 watt/amp/? Sorry I don’t know the correct terminology! Anyway, one of those has also been condemned. Could I upgrade that to 100? I prefer wild camping to sites but I’m happy to go onto a site every 3-4 days for servicing Sasha’s needs. Sasha is the name of my Moho. I apologise for my ignorance, but I’ve been left high and dry by my husband’s love of alcohol. Hopefully you can help me.

 

[Manic]

I would keep a look out for anybody swapping Gel batteries for Lithium, I got a pair of Gels that were 18 months old and they’re working well.

 

[autorouter]

If it's a Hymer it will have a distribution/fusebox called an Elektroblock, with a model number like EBL99 or EBL101. The mains charger is built into this EBL. There is probably a switch to match the type of leisure battery, so to start with that will tell you what kind of battery you can fit without changing the mains charger. All EBLs can do standard lead-acid batteries, some can be switched to Gel, some to AGM, and some to both.

Your Yuasa battery might be one of those EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) types that are very popular. Is the label visible? If you're only changing one of the batteries it needs to be the same type as the one you're keeping, and preferably the same make and amp-hour (Ah) capacity.

The solar panels I presume both feed into a single solar controller unit, that charges the batteries. Each solar panel will have a voltage and an amps rating. To connect them both to the same controller, they need to be about the same voltage. I'd imagine a 100W panel will be about the same voltage as an 80W panel, but it's best to check. A big panel, 200W or more, will have a much higher voltage and wouldn't match the 80W panel.

 

[Lenny HB]

If you intend keeping the van for a few years I would go for Gel Batteries although they are a bit dearer they have extremely long life. Just remember to switch the EBL to Gel and also your solar controller if it has adjustable settings.

As you like off grid camping it would be worth replacing both of the 80 watt panels with a couple of 150 or 175 watt panel but you may have to fit a new controller.

 

[Gaston aires]

There are some “gel” batteries on the MHF classified section. Not very old and excellent condition.
Phil