tonyg3nwl Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Yesterday, I went to check level of electrolite in leisure battery, only to be reminded that there doesnt seem to be any access..the top of battery only has the 2 terminals accessible, and there seems to be a fixed cover over the area where I would expect to get access to individual cells. is this what is called a sealed cell battery..can it be topped up..does it need to be?. I dont seem to have a problem as voltage is 14 volts and is kept up by solar panel and 1/2 hour daily via on board charger when at home.. Van is Autocruise Stargazer 59 plate, battery is unknown vintage and make, tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Defiantly it's very empty :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Tony You should find this link useful http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/technicalhelp/power/a-guide-to-leisure-batteries/ If you look at the section headed “Maintenance-free batteries” you’ll see that certain types of vehicle battery (gel and AGM) cannot be ‘maintained’. It’s also the case nowadays that many conventional wet-acid batteries are maintenance-free with a cover over the cell caps preventing the electrolyte inside from being topped up. Plainly, if your battery is gel/AGM type (and it should say somewhere on the battery if that’s so) you can’t maintain it. And if it’s a wet-acid battery with a non-removable cover over the cells’ tops, you won’t be able to top it up even if electrolyte has been lost (eg. if the battery has been charged at a voltage that has caused it to ‘gas’) A 12V battery won’t hold a charge of 14V. This link http://www.chargingchargers.com/tutorials/charging.html advises that a 12V battery can be considered to be fully charged if its voltage is 12.7V - you might see approaching 13V, but not 14V. That you’ve quoted 14V suggests a number of possibilities, the most likely being that you are either reading the voltage when the battery is being charged by the solar panel or by the on-board charger, or you are taking a voltage reading much too soon after the battery has been taken off charge. You need to allow several hours (the link suggests a 12 hour lapse) after charging has stopped to allow the battery’s surface charge to disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-08-07 6:40 PM Defiantly it's very empty :-) Reason for my comment when I opened your post yesterday, it was just a blank page. About time they updated the forum software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Lenny, twas my fault, I pressed go button too soon and then had to edit it to get message in.. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Hi, re 14 volts , it is as you say because of solar panel continuously charging when I was looking into the possible topup. regarding make of battery, I cant see a name in situe, and would have to disconnect it and remove fixing wedges to lift it up..it is down the hole under nearside bunk. as they say, "if it aint broke, dont fix it", and as it seems to hold charge ok, and take charges ok, why worry. if/when it fails, I have an almost new replacement leisure battery from my caravan, stored in workshop and ready for use if required. ( and regularly given a short maintenance charge) Tonyg3nwl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 tonyg3nwl - 2015-08-08 11:08 AM Lenny, twas my fault, I pressed go button too soon and then had to edit it to get message in.. tonyg3nwl :D :D :D :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 tonyg3nwl - 2015-08-08 11:22 AM Hi, re 14 volts , it is as you say because of solar panel continuously charging when I was looking into the possible topup. regarding make of battery, I cant see a name in situe, and would have to disconnect it and remove fixing wedges to lift it up..it is down the hole under nearside bunk. as they say, "if it aint broke, dont fix it", and as it seems to hold charge ok, and take charges ok, why worry. if/when it fails, I have an almost new replacement leisure battery from my caravan, stored in workshop and ready for use if required. ( and regularly given a short maintenance charge) Tonyg3nwl. Solar doesn't normally cause a problem, for a start the max output is only available for an hour or two either side of midday, and there is no output overnight so it is not constantly charging the battery. If you are really worried fit a better quality solar regulator that cuts out when the battery is charged, will mean spending around a hundred quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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