davidmac Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 We went away for our second trip in our motorhome Tue/Wed this time with no e/h and found that the trauma heater would not work, water pump sounded sluggish and generator would not start. After driving home, about 45 min, generator started and trauma worked. I am thinking that the leisure battery is past its use buy date and needs replacing. I have taken the battery to a freind who was an auto electrician before he retired to check it out to see if it is any good or not . If I have to replace it I am wondering if it is worth getting two while I'm at it.The motorhme is a Luxor and has an electric start generator (starts off leisure battery) and a 135 watt solar pannel. As we have just started our motorhome travels I do not know what our power requirements are likely to be . At the moment the idea is that we will go for 2-3 week trips moving on every 2 or 3 days probably just a few miles at a time, using e/h sometimes but wild camping where possible. I have read through other threads about leisure batteries (one from a couple of years ago that went on for 6 pages,a lot to digest) but could not find anythig to give me an idea of how long a110amp is likely to last so the question is 1or 2? Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 IMO you should have as much battery power as possible, thus more batteries or bigger batteries in terms of amp /hr.subject to pay load, you may want at some point want to add an inverter to run serious things like your wife's hair dryer etc so if you already have the batteries you are almost there, Solar panels are also a good thing to have as you will need to keep said batteries charged , moving every few days as you suggest will help to keep the batteries charged too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 As you already have a 135w solar panel I'd certainly recommend a 2nd leisure battery (a matched pair) to get the most out of the power being generated from it. As for your generator, I wonder it it could be altered to start from the engine battery instead - it seems weird (well, to me anyway) to have it linked to start from the leisure battery when you may be using it specifically BECAUSE the leisure battery is low .... ! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 You can have as many batteries as you like, but you need to able to recharge them that's the problem, shortish drives are not going to bring them back up to capacity. Much better to invest in things like a 12 volt LED TV, and switch all your lighting to LEDs to lessen your power usage first. Also don't forget many cheaper leisure batteries will only give you around 150 charge/ recharge cycles in any event so you can bet your life your existing one is shot. So one or two, yes go for two if you want to extend the time away from the mains, but then you'll need to go an EHU every few days, or get some serious mileage done in between to recharge them, I'd also get the solar panel / associated wiring checked out as it may not be doing it's job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugga Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I think you will be better off going for two as you can never have too much power and I also think you need to go down the LED route too as this will save you power like has already been mentioned. We started off with 50% LED's to spread the cost as they are expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 We are very, very rarely on a hookup. we manage just fine with a 90 watt solar panel and 2 x 110 Ah batteries. We have changed to LED lights but only on the ones we use regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 The amount of battery you need is related to your usage. You mentioned your Truma boiler which if is the blow air type heater will certainly deplenish the battery very quickly. As mentioned above low power consumption lights/tv etc help eek out your battery capacity but the blow air heater is the killer if you have it running full tilt all the time. Perhaps modifying your usage and paying attention to the battery voltage before you are unable to start the generator and rewiring so from vehicle battery start will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 With 2 x 110 ah leisure batteries and your 135w solar panel you will not need to worry about faffing about changing bulbs to leds - as long as the batteries, panel, wiring and fuses and regulator are all working properly. Check the solar panel output both before and after the regulator and check the voltage at the battery terminals whilst charging and if all is well continuity and voltage wise it is probably the battery getting old. On my 60w panel the pre regulator volts are about 19 to 20 v and at the batteries its about 14.4 v in full sunlight if that helps. We just had a Thurs to Mon weekend away and with the Eberspacher heating (VERY power hungry!) on a lot as it was none too hot outside battery power was never a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Remember, generators are the invention of the Devil, smelly, noisy, and sure to upset your neighbours. If your set up is working as it should you simply do not need a generator, (unless you run a microwave, 2kw electric kettle, electric hob and air conditioning that is :-D ). We manage for about 5 days with a similar solar panel and batteries set up, TV, satellite receiver, water pump, and LED lights in most places. If we use the heating it might draw the batteries down a bit quicker but since we only have it on for maybe 2 hours at night it doesn't seem to make much difference. 135w @ 12v is 11amps (in bright sunlight) assuming a 6 hour sunny day that's 66amp hours, 66 amp hours per day should be way over the top. Please publish you registration number so we can all ostracise you and avoid the generator;-) H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Thanks to all for your replies.It seems that the batterey is u/s so I think 2 Bosch 4018 110ah will be on the shoppiong list. These were recomended on another thread although are now priced at £85 each not the £70 they were in March. Might get a discount buying 2. I have to chose where to fit the second battery. There is a locker in the side of the M/H that houses the battery and the inverter,it is a plastic box with no spare room but if I modify the box by extending it, 2 batteries could fit at 90 degrees to the standard fit.The problem would be making this weatherproof as it is just behind the rear wheel and would get a lot of spray in wet weather. The plus would be short connecting cables. The other option is in the underbed locked above the wheel, this would mean cables about 3 ft long. Is it ok to link the batteries together this way battery to battery or seperate cables from the inverter? Hallii I like the quiet life both physically and mentally,the generator will only be used for the wifes hairdrier.and the odd chicken ding.There are not too many Luxors about so if you do see one just walk over with a bottle or two of wine and you can tell me how evil generators are. regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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