nixhege Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Hello. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced same problem as me! i have a 2002 rapido 962 with 2 banner 110amp leisure batteries. It has a scheiber control panel for battery/water level readings. Problem is when not on ehu and running truma heating and watching tv the batteries seem to drain to quickly! Batteries only last for about 6-7 hours of use. Ive checked the draw with a multimeter and tv and heating use approx 2.5 and 3.5 amps at maximum. The control panel reading for the batteries can often be 0.5 volts lower than when batteries are read with multimeter. I have a solar panel as well to assist the batteries but realize that this is not much help in the winter months. Am i expecting too much from the batteries or is there something else i should investigate? I should say that with everything switched off on the control panel the multimeter still registers a draw of around 0.05amps. I assume that this is acceptable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkyrunner Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Hi, I have got a Rapido 924 and similar set up and I find the biggest drain is the heating,we do get up to 4 days on a rally in summer but would probabaly not in winter as there is too long a draw down on it, I have been looking at the new French power outfit battery sized on offer at road pro but pricewise it is £2500 but sounds goodespecially as it easily transferred van to van and it replaces 2 batteries and only takes the space of one. I find when we use aires abroad we are travelling on a regular basis so do not have a need for solar panels so and as you say winter time does not help them much here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianj8793 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 i have a 9048 but similar set up to you. I had almost the same battery discharge as you last year when I was running heating, my batteries were usually lasting one evening but two a stretch and they were 2 x 110 Elecsol's bought about five years ago. I replaced them with 2 x 95 Excide AGM stop start ones during the summer. We have just returned from France and several times stopped without EHU and no sunshine for three or four nights at a time each night using heating and and of course lights on all evening, also charging my laptop and our phones from the inverter. The batteries never missed a beat and never went below 12.3 so I was very impressed with their performance. Have you considered how old your batteries might be, could it be time of a change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixhege Posted November 15, 2015 Author Share Posted November 15, 2015 Hmmm... I looked at the Roadpro offering just now. Sounds impressive - but at a price! Batteries i have are just a year old. I replaced the existing Banner batteries for new ones. Can't say that I've noticed any difference. I'm going to get the batteries checked at a supplier tomorrow to see if the 'new' batteries are the problem! Thanks for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 You don't say if you replaced the Banners like for like with new Banners. With two 110Ah batteries, assuming a matched pair, you should have about 130Ah safely usable. If you are exhausting that in one night, you are using a lot of power. Are you using an inverter, and are you leaving it switched on when not using 230V power? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixhege Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Batteries are 110amp rating and no inverter being used . Tried to get them independently checked today without much success. First place i went to just put a multimeter on!! Second place needed to know the CCA rating to test with his machine. I thought CCA only applies to starter batteries. Anyway, CCA not shown anywhere for banner batteries. Back at base hooked up one battery (13.0v according to multimeter) to motorhome and switched heating and tv and a few lights on. Drawing around 5.5 amps according to multimeter. After a few minutes the warning beep came on the control panel! Removed multimeter from the circuit and tried again. This time ran for a good hour or so with heating blasting out at full tilt plus tv and lights. Checked battery with multimeter whilst all this was going on. Battery reading just over 12v. Turned everything off and checked battery again after a few minutes - 12.3v. Will start another test tomorrow first thing with fully charged battery and just let it run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I would suggest your batteries are past their best if they drop to 12.3 (recovered voltage as well) after just a short while. I know it goes against general opinion but we would not recommend Banner batteries. Are they AGM batteries by any chance? You are likely to see a small current draw from the control unit itself, but also if you have a Solar regulator. All charging devices tend to take back a small amount of current, despite the 'blocking Diodes' or whatever other electronics they deploy. 0.05amps idle draw is well within spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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