Knaus Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Hi Looking for a 12v battery for my motorhome engine, not leisure. Want a maintenance free one. Any suggestions please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Hi, Are you asking about the base vehicle battery that lives under the floor in the cab? We have never had to change one in any of our x250 vans (some of which are 250,000 mile 4 year old vans). We would use Exide HD batteries the same as we use in our Iveco Daily vans. They are available at Euro Car Parts for about £90 plus vat. If it's habitation batteries you need there are eminently more qualified people on here to offer advice. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Hi,You could also try the Exide Gel,with very low self discharge and is as maintenance free as the come.Regards,Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 euroserv - 2011-08-03 5:43 PM Hi, Are you asking about the base vehicle battery that lives under the floor in the cab? We have never had to change one in any of our x250 vans (some of which are 250,000 mile 4 year old vans). We would use Exide HD batteries the same as we use in our Iveco Daily vans. They are available at Euro Car Parts for about £90 plus vat. If it's habitation batteries you need there are eminently more qualified people on here to offer advice. Nick Hi Nick How often would you change batteries in your vans? We have 2.3 Ducato 5 years old 30,000mles. Husband is thinking we should change it, it starts the van first time, He likes to err on the side of caution, as we only use the van on the continent We changed the domestic battery two years ago, as it blew up!! Should one go on mileage or age? PJay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hi, In short, I would not change a battery that is functioning perfectly well. If you do have a problem it would be easy enough to get another one because they are just about the most common size used in modern commercial vehicles and they don't cost an arm and a leg anyway. If it can start a van that has been sitting around doing nothing for a couple of weeks, it's conditioning itself nicely and could last for a very long time. Vans pre-x250 used to need new batteries by the time they were 3 years old regardless of mileage but those batteries were in a much more hostile environment (under the bonnet). These are under the floor in a clean and more stable place for temperature and it seems to suit them well. How environmentally friendly is that? Nick PS I should add that the gel type batteries are without doubt very nice but I think that they are complete overkill for vehicle batteries in these applications for the reasons already stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knaus Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hi My 'van is a 2004 model and the battery is under the bonnet. Does anyone know the make of the battery. It does not tell you in the handbook. There are no markings that are visable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 The gel battery is better suited to motorhomes as they do not do much mileage overall. The gel has a lower self discharge rate. Now if you keep your Bat' charged up (solar panel, charger) then yes the cheaper bat' will do. But it does need to be kept charged. This is why on some of the high mileage vans the Bat' last longer.Regards,Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Knaus - 2011-08-04 11:05 AM Hi My 'van is a 2004 model and the battery is under the bonnet. Does anyone know the make of the battery. It does not tell you in the handbook. There are no markings that are visable. Hi, The original batteries were made by Magnetti Marelli but these are not available in the UK even through Fiat dealers. We have always used Vauxhall batteries because they still made by Delco and these were always excellent. The one you need is 12 01 308 for a perfect fit and a handy 95AH. I accept there are many alternatives but this gets our rubber stamp! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossifan Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 On the subject of batteries-I have just brought home from storage for charging for the third time this year-2009 Fiat Ducato.Battery is sealed type fitted from new. The vehicle is run infrequently but it does'nt seem to hold its charge long enough.Last run 2+ weeks ago and was dead flat yesterday.Could this be the laser alarm system?No charging facility available but everything else is turned off,whilst stored. Decided to leave earth disconnected in future and hope that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 On our 2006 Ducato, we found the alarm does flatten the battery. Alarm is a Sigma PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I would suggest that it has to be the alarm causing the problem, and I will tell you why; I have a 2007 van outside our building with major front end damage. It was dropped off where it is a year ago and the engine will not start. The battery is still connected and has allowed me to remotely unlock and lock the van about 10 times over this time while it is being used a storage shed for parts. If there was an issue with these batteries losing their charge over time (even when run infrequently) I think we would have noticed by now! You either have a faulty battery or a large current draw from the alarm. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hi,No alarm should flatten your battery in two weeks unless it's faulty,Regards,Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Knaus - 2011-08-03 5:30 PM Hi Looking for a 12v battery for my motorhome engine, not leisure. Want a maintenance free one. Any suggestions please? If you want a genuinely maintenance-free battery (ie. one that you will fit and never check/remove until it eventually needs replacement), then you'll need an AGM or gel type. Both of these battery-types are completely maintenance-free, but they are also expensive (particularly the gel type). As motor vehicle manufacturers don't normally use a gel 'motor battery', there's also the question of whether a gel battery would be fully compatible with a Ducato motor's charging system. Besides being maintenance-free, other (potential) benefits of AGM and gel batteries are that they don't require venting and can be installed in any orientation. These features may be important if the battery is to be installed very inaccessibly (say under a motorhome's swivelling cab-seat), or within a vehicle's 'living space', or on its side when installation space is extremely limited. However, in your case, as your battery will be installed in the engine compartment, venting and/or lack of space won't really matter. As Nick's suggestion of a Vauxhall 12 01 308 battery is based on practical experience, it would be common sense to heed it. Otherwise, an equivalent battery from a reputable manufacturer like Bosch, Exide or Varta should provide good service. Probably best to avoid the unknown-quantity, peculiarly-branded batteries that many tyre/battery fitting companies tend to stock. It's perhaps worth adding that, although I've regularly checked the electrolyte level of my 2005 Transit's original Motocraft-branded 'wet' battery, I've never needed to top it up. OK, it's under a cab-seat, so leads a well-protected, comfortable life, but (provided that a vehicle's charging system is functioning properly) a modern, good-quality battery should need minimal maintenance. Some reading matter if you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_battery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead–acid_battery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VRLA_battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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