chris Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 We have had 2 x 85 leisure batteries for 3 and half years and they are constantly topped up with solar panels and kept charged up overwinter too so how many years would you expect them to last? Might have a problem at the moment so just double checking. chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi. Replaced my original starter battery last year, thats after twelve years. Still have the original gel leisure battery, must be on borrowed time now though I think. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Open ended question, depends on type and quality of battery how good the charger is at correctly maintaining them, the useage, how low they have been discharged on a regular basis. In our last van a pair of Exide Gels were still going strong at nearly 6 years, I did an extensive test on them at 5 years old performed not far off what you would expect from new batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank McAuley Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Lenny has it absolutely right: you need to establish your operational requirements and then fill the gaps from there. I've just finished the debate on this site after replacing two leisure batteries so may I suggest you have a look at the recent pertinent thread - it gave me valuable guidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 lennyhb - 2014-04-06 9:01 AM Open ended question, depends on type and quality of battery how good the charger is at correctly maintaining them, the useage, how low they have been discharged on a regular basis. In our last van a pair of Exide Gels were still going strong at nearly 6 years, I did an extensive test on them at 5 years old performed not far off what you would expect from new batteries. I have two Exide Gels on a Hymer, which has a built-in Schaudt charging system which seems to settle at 13.6 volts once fully charged. The MH lives in a garage plugged into the mains when not in use. They've lasted eight years so far and still seem to be performing well. I suspect durability it's down to the quality of the battery and the charging system/practice. I have ruined other batteries (non-gel motorcycle batteries) simply by leaving them on continuous charge over winter, even though the special charger was supposed to be OK for doing that. If your batteries are non-sealed I think keeping the electrolyte levels topped up will be a critical factor too. Loss of water was what did for my m/c batteries. You might want to read this: http://www.gl1800.org.uk/off-topic/engine-and-leisure-batteries-testing-and-buying/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Overnight check shows we had the tv and satellite on standby and not much sun in last fortnight. Hopefully that is what it was as battery reading is 13.6 this morning after charging yesterday and disconnecting electric last night. Will keep an eye on it though. it was 11.7 yesterday morning chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 chris - 2014-04-05 10:38 PM We have had 2 x 85 leisure batteries for 3 and half years and they are constantly topped up with solar panels and kept charged up overwinter too so how many years would you expect them to last? If an "economy brand" and it runs the length of the warranty....i'm happy. If it goes beyond that, great. Much depends on where you buy from rather than what label is stuck on the front. I had an "economy" car battery warranted for 2 years. Eventually it began to show signs of dying on me so i rooted out the receipt (proof of warranty) only to find it had expired just a few days before. Just my luck! *-) I went back to the dealer i'd bought from who confirmed one of the cells had gone, showed him the receipt to which he replied, "no problem, we can overlook that" and handed over a new battery complete with a further 2 year warranty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Bulletguy - 2014-04-06 2:40 PM"no problem, we can overlook that" and handed over a new battery complete with a further 2 year warranty! I don't think you can rely on that happening very often! Battrery warranties usually only provide a pro-rata contibution to a new battery, based on the unexpired warranty period! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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