Leisure battery (1 Viewer)

ShiftZZ

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We are in Misterton, we have led lights and use very little power. 2 x 100 watt solar and 2 x110 amp battries.

Woke up this morning, red light on the control panel, checked the voltage, van battery ok. Leisure batteries 10v the solar panel controller thingies confirmed the same. Switched everything off.

Just checked them now 12.7v.

Confused or what!!!!

Thoughts
 
May 7, 2016
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If the solar panel is still in the circuit the 12.7v could be just the charging voltage, the batteries might still be discharged?
 
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ShiftZZ

ShiftZZ

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I'll try and get someone at Misterton to have a look. The alarm on the control panel has gone off.current voltage 12.9. In a very wet Misterton, zero sunlight virtually.

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Lenny HB

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Even on a bad day you will get some output from the solar panels, I suspect one or both batteries have had it and you are just seeing the solar voltage.
I would disconnect the batteries and put one in circuit at a time as one battery may have failed dragging the the other one down.
 
Feb 9, 2008
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You need to investigate further. Your set up sounds very good and you have plenty of SP to keep your battery bank charged. I have a similar set up and also a small Inverter and my battery capacity never falls below 70%. There could be a number of reasons for this occurring e.g. you batteries have reached or are nearing the end of their cycle life. (you would still get a good voltage reading but their capacity is coming to an end). It could be a simple fault that could be resolved by re booting you control panel. (switching all power off at kill switch then switching on again).
Or, it could be something else ? how long is a piece of string. My advice is to find out what the problem is before throwing money at it.
Best of luck.

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ShiftZZ

ShiftZZ

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It's showing 13.8v so it would appear that it's charging, the alarm button is now ok.

I don't have a multimeter with me at the moment.

Thanks all for the suggestions .
 
Sep 23, 2013
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Plenty of us on site with a multimeter. I would chuck a blanket over the solar panels, turn on a few lights and monitor the voltage.

If it falls rapidly below 12.2v then either you have something draining power or a duff battery. I have a clamp ammeter to check for power drain if needed.

Just about to have a late shower, but free in about half an hour. Dark red PVC.
 
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ShiftZZ

ShiftZZ

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Ok. Will pop over and have a chat. Not sure about the blanket on the roof. D

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Langtoftlad

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Too much air guitar turned up to 11 !

Is that actually the battery voltage or what your control panel reads ie could it be a fault in that rather than a duff batt?

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Feb 9, 2008
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I'm of the view your ok in sunlight due to power supply from your SP and once the sun goes down your reliant on battery power only. You need to establish if there is something pulling your batteries down or if it's a case of batteries going beyond their life expectancy.
Good luck with that.
 
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ShiftZZ

ShiftZZ

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I'm of the view your ok in sunlight due to power supply from your SP and once the sun goes down your reliant on battery power only. You need to establish if there is something pulling your batteries down or if it's a case of batteries going beyond their life expectancy.
Good luck with that.
@TheCaller

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Sep 23, 2013
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.
I'm of the view your ok in sunlight due to power supply from your SP and once the sun goes down your reliant on battery power only. You need to establish if there is something pulling your batteries down or if it's a case of batteries going beyond their life expectancy.
Good luck with that.
We covered the solar panels & checked that nothing was coming from them. Turned everything on, which drew about 10A. After about 1/2 hour, battery voltage was holding up well. Still above 12.6.

With everything off, drain was around 0.1A.

Voltage on the display appeared to match voltage measured at the batteries.

Some of the wiring could do with redoing better & one of the batteries is now past it's best, but I'm surprised it's dropped so much if all you've had on are a few lights.

If you are still up @ShiftZZ , I can bring my meter over again to see if we can discover anything that wasn't obvious earlier.
 
Last edited:
Sep 23, 2013
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In the light of tonight's experience, I'd be inclined to go for new batteries next, together with sorting out the battery interconnect wiring. But keep a close eye on it, because if there is another problem that we haven't found, it'll wreck the new batteries too if not sorted quickly.
 
May 7, 2016
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Daylight again so quite possible 13.3v coming from sp. If one battery is failing it will pull the other one down, which is why battery manufacturers recommend they are matched from new. If one is suspect, could take it out of the circuit and see if the other holds a charge.
 
Feb 9, 2008
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Reading the above, I suspect one or both batteries have reached the end of their life. (As an aside, 2 years ago I was on Shell island and one evening as dusk was approaching my low battery voltage alarm went off. I was perplexed as during the day my batteries were reading full. The cause of this I later established was that my batteries had completed the maximum number of discharge and recharge cycles. The batteries both read 12.7 volts but as soon as any draw was put on them they simply and immediately failed). However, before replacing your batteries I would establish what the draw is taken from them when you are using the services that you would normally have on all the time, or most of the time. 0.1A when everything is off sounds spot on and is similar to my system when everything is off. 10A sounds a little high when everything is on but it could still be right for your system depending on what services you have switched on. For me, having all my services switched on at the same time would be 75% of my habitation lighting (led) 1.0A. TV 4.0 A max, Fridge 1.5 A the TV would only be on for about 4 hours max and as such we do not experience much of a drop after the sun goes down. If you can establish what the average draw is on your batteries during the day this should tell you what the problem is. If one particular service is permanently on and drawing say 5 amps that could be a loss of 40-50 Amps overnight.
It's worth doing this check first before replacing your batteries as this will confirm the batteries are the problem. (As another aside, make sure your on board charger can manage 220 Ah of batteries including the type fitted Lead Acid, AGM or Gel.
Best of luck.
 
Sep 23, 2013
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@ShiftZZ I think we should swap the batteries over and leave the older one disconnected for now.

I'll wander over in a bit.

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Sep 23, 2013
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Reading the above, I suspect one or both batteries have reached the end of their life. (As an aside, 2 years ago I was on Shell island and one evening as dusk was approaching my low battery voltage alarm went off. I was perplexed as during the day my batteries were reading full. The cause of this I later established was that my batteries had completed the maximum number of discharge and recharge cycles. The batteries both read 12.7 volts but as soon as any draw was put on them they simply and immediately failed). However, before replacing your batteries I would establish what the draw is taken from them when you are using the services that you would normally have on all the time, or most of the time. 0.1A when everything is off sounds spot on and is similar to my system when everything is off. 10A sounds a little high when everything is on but it could still be right for your system depending on what services you have switched on. For me, having all my services switched on at the same time would be 75% of my habitation lighting (led) 1.0A. TV 4.0 A max, Fridge 1.5 A the TV would only be on for about 4 hours max and as such we do not experience much of a drop after the sun goes down. If you can establish what the average draw is on your batteries during the day this should tell you what the problem is. If one particular service is permanently on and drawing say 5 amps that could be a loss of 40-50 Amps overnight.
It's worth doing this check first before replacing your batteries as this will confirm the batteries are the problem. (As another aside, make sure your on board charger can manage 220 Ah of batteries including the type fitted Lead Acid, AGM or Gel.
Best of luck.
I agree with all of that. 10A is high & we had to try hard to achieve it! All the lights, 2 fans, a set of hair straighteners & various other things. Far more than the typical drain. Given that the batteries had fallen to 10V the previous night after 4 hours of minimal drain, I was expecting the voltage to fall of a cliff, but it didn't. They held up pretty well.

The charger is a CTEK 25A, so should be fine. It replaced the original charger which had failed. It's the way it & the 2nd battery have been connected that is less than ideal. If I mention croc clips .....

One battery is 4 years old. The other is of unknown age, but 6 years +. The way they are wired, the older battery will be working a bit harder than the new. We'll swap them over. It will be easy to bring the 2nd battery in or out of circuit (croc clips again!!).

Some rewiring will be called for when the batteries are swapped for new ones.
 
Sep 23, 2013
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Better half in shower. Just seen your post.
I won't rush then. She won't be pleased if the water pump suddenly stops. :ROFLMAO:

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Feb 9, 2008
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If I mention croc clips .....

One battery is 4 years old. The other is of unknown age, but 6 years +. The way they are wired, the older battery will be working a bit harder than the new. We'll swap them over. It will be easy to bring the 2nd battery in or out of circuit (croc clips again!!).

Some rewiring will be called for when the batteries are swapped for new ones.

I would change the Croc clips asap. You do not say what type of batteries you have and if they are both Lead Acid you have done very well to get 6 & 4 years out of them. I would expect Lead Acid batteries to last around 4-5 years if used moderately (assuming say 200 cycles @50% discharge). However, if your SP are preventing them from discharging more than, say 20% your going to get a shed load more cycles before their capacity comes to an end and increase their life expectancy considerably. (I'm now leaning towards your batteries being the problem which is the easiest problem for you to resolve).
I don't understand how one battery can be working harder than the other ? if they are correctly wired together they will in effect become one battery.
CTEK chargers are a superb piece of kit.
 
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ShiftZZ

ShiftZZ

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As installed by a Funsters trader.
20170723_115109.jpg
20170723_115105.jpg
 
Sep 23, 2013
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I would change the Croc clips asap.
ShitZZ will be doing that as part of fitting the new batteries. I'd do it now, but don't have any suitable terminal clamps with me.

You do not say what type of batteries you have
We'll know more when we lift them out, but from the top view (as in the photo) they look like maintenance free lead acid. Age alone would suggest a change now.

I don't understand how one battery can be working harder than the other ? if they are correctly wired together they will in effect become one battery.
See photo! All the loads are connected to the battery in the top photo. The other battery is connected to the first by 2 x 1 metre of cable & those croc clips. The charger is connected to the battery in the bottom photo. If the croc clips were proper clamps, I'd say it was acceptable if not ideal for a 2 battery bank. The work involved in moving the original -ve connections to the 2nd battery when it was fitted probably wouldn't be justified unless a DIY job - meaning free labour. The battery boxes are separate.

CTEK chargers are a superb piece of kit.
Indeed & probably a significant improvement on the original kit it replaced.

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Lenny HB

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Oct 18, 2007
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I find it hard to beleve what I'm seeing in those pics. I think you have been living on borrowed time only take vibration from driving for a clip to work loose and arc and your van could have gone up in flames. Jump leads aren't very good for connecting batteries the cheaper ones often are not copper.
 
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ShiftZZ

ShiftZZ

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Feb 19, 2008
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I find it hard to beleve what I'm seeing in those pics. I think you have been living on borrowed time only take vibration from driving for a clip to work loose and arc and your van could have gone up in flames. Jump leads aren't very good for connecting batteries the cheaper ones often are not copper.
That a worry as it was installed by a Funsters trader, who was recommended by other funsters and a lot have praised his work. I wouldn't use him to changer a toilet roll. The industry us full of cowboys. I am taking the van to an auto electrician next week. Lucky @Techno wasn't here his BP would have gone orbital.

@TheCaller , thanks again Simon.
 
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Robert Clark

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You should give them a review and post the pics.

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