Brian Peters Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 hello all, im hoping someone can help with a leisure battery fault that i have just expeirienced. i own a sprinter based burstner t-star 710 (2005). when i bought the van from a private sale i noticed that the cells in the leisure battery were almost dry so i topped up with distilled water, i found that i had to top up on a fairly regular basis.but the battery was holding its charge today i was in the van and noticed a burning smell, on investigation i found that the battery was bone dry and overheating badly the volts were down to 9 volts my leisure battery alarm was showing on my display panel. I leave the mains on the van to give the leisure battery a trickle charge and also the mercedes battery a float charge, this is all controlled by an electrobloc unit in the van, i also have a solar panel giving a charge to the battery. my question is this, did the battery fry because i have it on constant charge via the electrobloc/solar panel, or was the battery on its way out when i bought the van? the battery is a varta 12volt 75Ah (5h) 90Ah (20h) i hope someone can shed some light on this, in the meantime im looking for a replacement battery. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Brian I bought a motorvan from someone who had the mains permanently connected to it in the belief that this was the right thing to do. The result was exactly as you have described. Mains to 12-volt units (for example the Zig type) are not designed as permanent battery charge / monitor devices and will, over time wreck the battery through overcharging. If you add a solar panel charger into the equation then you have a case of double jeopardy. The solar panel + its regulator should be sufficient to keep the battery(ies) topped-up when the van is not in use. My basic advice is, a) use the solar panel to maintain the battery(ies) b) do not use the mains when off site and c) fit the largest battery that you can. Another point to consider is to check that the solar panel regulator and your mains to 12 volt power unit are set to match the type of battery that you have i.e. are they lead-acid or gel batteries and are the chargers set accordingly. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Peters Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 thanks for your sound advice, i will not put the new battery on permanent charge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abb Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Brian Peters - 2008-09-11 4:30 PM thanks for your sound advice, i will not put the new battery on permanent charge My M/H is fitted with 2 batteries exactly the same as yours with a 100w solar panel. I never had any problem and rarely use the mains. So check the system and keep to the same make of battery. By the way although the make is Varta, they are identical to bosh batteries and bosh batteries carry exactly the same reference as Varta. They slightly more expensive but everything Bosh is, and so is the quality..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Peters Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 varta replacement is £131.94 inc delivery, i will check the price of bosch. many thanks brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey72 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 My on board charger fries the battery as well. Even on site for a fortnight prematurely ages mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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