Hi....and a question about leisure batteries please (1 Viewer)

[Jansar]

Hello.
We have bought an Iveco Euro converted former Library bus. We are new to this malarkey and wanted to ask about batteries...we have been told that 12v 110ah is the right one but we don't know where is best to buy and also whether to get AGM or gell or what not ? Any help much appreciated..best wishes! Janet
.

 

[Jansar]

*leisure battery that is.....thanks!!

 

[Richard n Ann]

These are supposed to be good.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/varta/lfd90/

90ah but the same physical size as a 110ah because the plates inside are more robust.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

Gell batteries need a different charger or solar controller to lead/acid or AGM. Some chargers are switchable, if yours isn't stick to what you have now.

 

[DBK]

What batteries are already fitted? You may not want to replace them with identical ones but it will be a lot easier if the replacements are physically the same size.

These folk are also worth looking at and if you are not in a hurry they do free delivery I think. https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/

You can spend a lot on batteries but something like Varta LFD90's will cost around £90 each and will work fine.

 

[Jim]

I would avoid AGM, they seem to be very short-lived in a motorhome environment. If they are in a place where you can maintain them then I would always go for a regular lead acid batteries. Look after them and even the cheapos will give you 3 to 5 years of use. If they are under seats or other such awkward places then gel is better as they are pretty much maintenance free. I always buy as many batteries as space and payload allow. On one RV I owned I had 7 x 110AH batteries. I presently have 3 x 110.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Richard n Ann]

We've only got one 100ah yuasa battery, it's been great, never ran out of power even with the compressor coolbox set on -5c... It's good to see the sun come up though

 

[Jansar]

Thanks

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[SMB]

As mentioned above by Richard and Ann, the Varta LFD90 battery has a good reputation and I've just bought four from batterymegastore.co.uk, I picked them up from their store in Tewkesbury, similar price to Tanyas. They are maintenace-free and don't need topping-up which was important for me having not topped up my previous maintenance-free battieries which actually did need topping up (yes I'm an idiot). Amazed they lasted four years

 

[mitzimad]

have you checked if the van is 12 or24v ?

 

[Abacist]

What charges the battery? I made the mistake of buying bigger batteries, because they would fit in the space, than the built in charger was capable of charging fully. Also you need to be sure that the charger can deal with AGM or GEL batteries if you end up buying those as they need a different charging regime from standard lead acid batteries. I also think that sealed lead acid require a different charging rate from open or lead acid batteries that can be topped up.

So check out what you have first but there's no guarantee that it will all match up in a conversion.

Look into a Battery Master from @Vanbitz which will ensure that your cab battery gets a charge when your hab batteries are fully charged automatically which will be useful when the van is not in use.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jansar]

OK thanks a lot. We are now going to look at compatability with solar panels.. so would get solar panels sorted first hopefully we are thinking now ?!
The batteries will be in a locker on outside of the bus so the physical size isn't a problem..but also they will be easily accessible from outside of bus.
Thanks for advice it is very welcome! If you have more then fire away...thanks so much

 

[mitzimad]

do you know if you van is 24 or 12v electrics?as it will make a diffence to what you can and cant do