scoutse Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Hi All can i change my 85amp twin batteries to two 110 amp batteries ? thanks mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Hi- I dont see why not, bear in mind the extra weight to payload and check with a autoelectrician that your alternator would cope to charge them. chas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 [QUOTE]scoutse - 2006-08-03 1:57 PM Hi All can i change my 85amp twin batteries to two 110 amp batteries ? thanks mark[/QUOTE] Mark, Dave Newell did exactly that on my Timberland last year. No problems at all. Don all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutse Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 the reason why i ask is we went out last weekend and the battries went dead on the sunday at about 11am .Now i have recharged them and checked today with a battery checker to see how much voltage it,s giving off it say,s fair should i change both batteries to go away on my next trip? thanks mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Hi scoutse . I think you should check the charging rate to the batteries first from the alternator if O.K. then how old are they if more than say 4-5 yrs old it might be about right to renew and upgrade as well, also have a pair of the same make. chas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Hi Scoutse, I agree with Chas, you need to get the charging rate checked before making rash decisions about replacing batteries. If you do increase the battery capacity it will not require a bigger alternator or mains charger, it will simply take a little longer to acheive maximum charge level. Unless of course you have repeatedly run the batteries down to a very low point? This will have a detrimental effect on battery life. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutse Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 Hi thanks for the replies i have checked the batteries and one has to have a top up the van is only 18 months old and the batteries are the same make I I am now charging again over night to see what happens? thanks mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greynomad Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Hi Scoutse, I was recently concerned that my two 85ah batteries were not lasting as long, between charges, as they used to (they are 2.5 years old). So I took the motorhome to a battery expert who, tested the charge coming in from the mains hook-up and the alternator - both were 'normal'. When he checked the voltage at the batteries themselves, they were between .4 & .6 volts higher than the indicator inside the motorhome, so i.e. when it told me the batteries were 11.9 Fair, they actually were about 12.4 Good. So now I have stopped worrying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutse Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 HOW long would your batteries last on a weekend away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 [QUOTE]scoutse - 2006-08-03 8:13 PM HOW long would your batteries last on a weekend away?[/QUOTE] Get yourself a solar panel and all your worries about how long your batteries will last are over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 If you have been on a good run or been connected to a mains hookup then you should expect to see pretty close to 14 volts measured across the batteries with the engine running or the hookup connected. If you don,t then see a sparky as something aint right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 [QUOTE]scoutse - 2006-08-03 2:41 PM the reason why i ask is we went out last weekend and the battries went dead on the sunday at about 11am .Now i have recharged them and checked today with a battery checker to see how much voltage it,s giving off it say,s fair should i change both batteries to go away on my next trip? thanks mark[/QUOTE] What you don't say, is what you have connected. The days are quite long and light, so lighting presumably isn't on for that long. Your fridge is presumably on gas, so minimal battery load for occasional re-ignition - or is it a compressor fridge working hard because it's warm - are you running a 3Kw electric kettle via an inverter, or a 43" tele, or something?Flattening two 18 month old 85Ah batteries in one weekend seems to indicate either a high load, poor charging, or possibly, that one battery is a dud.Can you say what you are running, and what the loads are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Could someone tell me how long it would take to charge a 110ah battery from a regular mains charger? I bought a new battery recently, and ran it down to about 11 volts. I mains-charged it when I go home for 18 hours and it was still charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I think you will find that a leisure battery charges differenty to a starter battery, and will never show a complete battery charged reading. chas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Hi Mom, A conentional mains charger will never show a battery to be fully charged, the current will reduce as the level of charge increases but it will always end up with a low current (trickle) charge going in, my own basic charger (over 18 years old but still working) has a maximum charge rate of 4 Amps which it will deliver if connected to a totally flat battery but as the battery gains charge so the current supplied by the charger reduces until the battery acchieves about 75%-80% charged at which point the charger will just about supply enough current to overcome the internal discharge of the battery. I also have a CTEK 3 stage charger but it's not a lot better in fact. It will get the battery up to about 85%-90% charged but then cuts off. If left connected it will cut in and out to maintain the charge level at 85%-90% as the battery's internal discharge reduces the voltage. The 4 Amp basic charger will take more than 30 hours to acchieve 75%-80% charge and the CTEK (maximum 3.6 Amps for the model I have) can manage it in about 12-18 hours depending on the size of the battery. This is because the CTEK doesn't reduce the charging current as the level of charge increases, it remains constant throughout the main phase of charging. Once disconnected from any type of charger the battery will start to discharge because of internal resistance but this is a very slow process. It is worth bearing in mind that if you use a three stage charger to charge your batteries away from the vehicle the fully charged terminal voltage will be around 14 Volts, maybe a little more but as soon as you connect it to the vehicle it will start to discharge. My preferred method is to connect the CTEK charger a day or two before we go away and leave it on until the last moment, that way we get maximum charge into the leisure battery. Hope this helps, D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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