mike 202 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I have an 85watt solar panel and the van is in Spain for 4 months of the year, April/May plus Sept/Oct so charging level is at 2-3amps, less in the UK. I have to top the batteries fitted by Autosleeper from new (Varta 85amp + 60 amp) every 6 months with about 1/2 litre of distiller water for each battery. I have looked on a site which gives a rate of double that amount for lead acid batteries. so although I thought that this was a lot it seems that my batteries usage of water is ok. still not convinced that all is ok. I have not needed to top up the engine battery, silver calcium, in 6years, although it may have been topped up during the vans annual service at the Ford main dealer. Any comments from the forum on battery water usage rate much appreciated. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Sounds like your leisure battery is gassing off from being overcharged, I've got a 140 watt panel and a 110 amp ( allegedly ) battery, never have to put water in............ I'd check your solar regulator out . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thanks Joe, from your comments a bit of further information, the meter which shows either Amps or Voltage registers 14.3 volts maximum. When the volts are at 14.4 at mid-day in Spain I have switched the meter to Amps and it rapidly cycles 1to 2 seconds from approximately 2.5 Amps to .5 Amps and then back to 2.5 Amps, so I have always thought that it is properly regulating the charge. If I then put lights on the dance from high to low input amps stops and it charges a the maximum.The regulator is a Morningstar SHS Controller, which I believe is a good quality item and the meter is a FOX-D1 by SUNWARE, both fitted by the dealer before delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dipsticks Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 We have two Varta Flooded Leisure batteries and solar panels controlled with a Morningstar MPPT regulator. Likewise I top up the batteries all 12 cells 2-3 times a year and they take between 0.5 and 0.7 litres of water each. I have a switch across the flooded/ gel terminals so I can switch to gel when parked up at home to reduce the charge voltage to help reduce gassing. Both batteries are coming up for 8 years old now and still perform well, the topping up is a bit of a bind but I am forever delighted with the performance of the whole set up. Make sure the batteries are well vented to outside when 100% charging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Thank you dipstics, that gives me peace of mind to know that you use similar amounts of water for your batteries. One of my leisure batteries is under the drivers seat on my mk7 transit based Auto-sleeper and with the seat fully back I still have to use a mirror to check the levels, a total pain but worth while as the people who do the annual habitation check said they topped up the habitation battery, but when I questioned them about the under seat 2nd battery they said it was the engine battery and it was therefore not included in the hab check. Were they unaware ( or could not be bothered). Who knows but by doing it myself at least I know it is done properly and with distilled water. Mike (>) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I'm on my third leisure battery in 20+ years and I've yet to top one up 8-) ............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 After reading this thread I realised I have never topped my 2 x 100 AH 6 year old leisure batteries up, and never checked them or the 3 year old main battery for 3 years. So I have just been out and checked them all but none need topping up. People try to sell you a fancy charging system, but all I have is a 100 amp voltage sensing relay which connects the leisure batteries direct to the main battery through hefty (25 mm2 ) tinned copper welding cable. It works very well, charging the batteries rapidly even on tickover. No need for solar panels, B to B chargers, or any of that palaver :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Rule of thumb is that the more power you take out of a battery and the more power you put into a battery (what goes out must come in), the higher the rate of electrolyte use. So called maintenance-free batteries work as advertised when they are used as per the manufacturers specification, but if you stray outside that spec, then topping-up will be required. mike 202's water consumption does not sound excessive for batteries in regular use in a warm climate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 mike 202 - 2015-02-26 9:30 AM One of my leisure batteries is under the drivers seat on my mk7 transit based Auto-sleeper Isn't that the vehicle battery? It is on my Transit. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Muswell - 2015-02-26 5:31 PM mike 202 - 2015-02-26 9:30 AM One of my leisure batteries is under the drivers seat on my mk7 transit based Auto-sleeper Isn't that the vehicle battery? It is on my Transit. . See the final posting of this 2007 thread http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Leisure-battery-mismatch-on-2007-A-Sleepers-/6338/ (I suspect that the Transit chassis delivered to Auto-Sleepers came with the Ford factory-fitted twin-batteries-beneath-driver’s-seat arrangement comprising a dedicated starter-battery plus a secondary battery for powering the Transit’s ancilliaries (so not really a ‘leisure battery’) and that Auto-Sleepers added a 3rd battery linked to the Ford-fitted secondary battery to provide additional capacity to deal with the motorhome’s 12V habitation requirements.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 On my mk7 Transit --- Of the 2 batteries under the drivers seat their functions are as follows:- Battery 1------ at rear of seat is the engine starter battery and is isolated from all other batteries by a split charge relay. so that when the engine starts the relay closes and both batteries under the drivers seat charge. Battery 2------at the front of the seat is Fords auxiliary battery (isolated by the split charge relay when engine stopped)-- this battery was fitted to power auxiliary items such as a winch and stops Bob the builder from draining the engine battery while on site. Apparently with only one battery (engine) too many builders etc were unable to start the engine at the end on the day when it was time to go home. Battery 3------ Connected in parallel to battery 2, under the accomodation seating, fitted by Auto-Sleeper to give extra capacity to battery 2 for the diesel heater etc. so on mine with solar panel and battery master fitted charging is as follows:- Engine running batteries 1/2/3 charging. Engine stopped batteries 1/2charging with solar panel with the battery master topping up the engine battery with any excess power from the solar panel. I had the diesel heater removed and a Truma gas/electric heater fitted to reduce any problems with high current draw required by the diesel heater. Hope the above clarifies the Battery situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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