Hulguly Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Leasure battery 16 months old suddenly dropped to 0 v it's been in storage for 4 months happily kept topped up by solar 80w with a duo battery solar controller I have it on mains unit charge it seems to now have 12.9 v after 22 hrs Cab battery is fine Question: 1/ Halfords leasure battery is under warrenty should I ask for replacement although at this stage not sure why it failed 2/ How long should I leave the battery on mains charge to attempt recovery 3/ Ideas why it should catastrophically fail to 0v when it' had been fine for 4 months Cheers in advance Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I am not sure I qualify as a Batter Guru, but I did once have a Saturday job working in a Fish and Chip shop where it was my job to stir the Water into the batter mix? I also make a mean Pancake, but then again rubbish at Yorkshire Puddings, so maybe not? I do know a little bit about Batteries though? It is very rare for a Battery to drop to low volts without suffering permanent damage? Even the highest strength super expensive batteries, will at least suffer severely shortened life. I would suggest you don't try and recover it, but get it back to Halfords and get your money back to buy a better battery? An 80w solar panel would have had very little output the last few months, even if it is installed in the most efficient manner and many are not. Sometimes not enough charge to even keep a battery like the Halfords one (these usually have a higher self discharge rate than the best) especially if you have things like a Frost Protection valve or similar drawing a bit of power? Maybe that is why it has run down now when in earlier months, with longer Solar days it was ok? An 80w Solar system in December is unlikely to generate more than about 0.5a, and then only between 09:30 when the sun comes up and 15:30 when it gets dark, just 0.5a for 6 hours = 3Ah a day, if you are lucky. If the Solar regulator is more than 1 metre from the batteries using thin cable, or it's an overcast day, that paltry 3Ah could be slashed by half. So if you have been relying on Solar through the Winter and the Battery is not ideal, plus some minor drain, that might explain why it went flat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Ahh! Someone has updated the title from Batter Guru to Battery Guru after I posted my reply. :-D As you can see from the title of my reply it was Batter guru and I really did have a Saturday job in a Fish and Chip Shop!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulguly Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thanks aa- Sounds reasonabl your assessment, maybe I should have returned it yesterday with 0v It was not really a cheep battery £89 what is a good make circa 120 ah? Tha battery is under warranty until September so I guess it's better to take it back when it fails again as there isn't much to test if I return it charged. Seems strange the cab battery was in good order though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulguly Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Batter me a kipper I'll be back for breakfast (lol) Can I leave it plugged in to electric Andy on the van charger for a long time (I.e months) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Hulguly - 2017-01-06 3:50 PM Batter me a kipper I'll be back for breakfast (lol) Can I leave it plugged in to electric Andy on the van charger for a long time (I.e months) Who is Andy ? If you are referring to the "Batter Guru" his name is Allan :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I am not a Batter Guru, I can't do Yorkshire puddings, they never rise properly :-o You can leave the battery on long term charge if you wish as the battery has probably already had it, but it's not usually a good idea? I would suggest you take the battery off charge and leave it a week to see if the battery voltage stays at 12.9v. I suspect it will drop very low in a week once you remove the charge? Kippers for breakfast does sound good!! I don't mind what I am called, even 'oi you stupid', will get my attention. Is the Solar charger priority set to give the Starter battery the Lions share of the charge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Hulguly - 2017-01-06 3:36 PM..............I guess it's better to take it back when it fails again as there isn't much to test if I return it charged. Not sure about this. Returning a battery showing 0V would indicate that it has been allowed to become flat, and no-one can tell how long it was left in that state. So, most likely conclusion would be that it has been abused by being allowed to become flat and left to stand. I'd take it off charge, and then test it under load. Make notes of the starting Voltage, the actual test load, the duration of the test, and the end Voltage. You will then have some facts to present to Halfords. First, check the rested Voltage (about 8 hours after you remove the battery from charge), then turn on enough lights in the van to put about a 4A load on the battery (20W @ 12V = 1.7A, so 2 - 3 lights should be about right - assuming 20W halogen spots), and then check the voltage hourly. Stop the test when the voltage drops to 12.3V (equivalent to approx. 50% charge - you should not take it below 50%). If you know the exact Amperage you applied, and for how long, you will know how many Amp Hours you have consumed. Double that, and you will know the present fully charged capacity of the battery. As it seems it is nearly new, it should be very close to the claimed capacity, in Ah, of the battery when you bought it. It's a little rough and ready, but it will tell far more than the proverbial "drop test" that a) is really only suitable for starter batteries, and b) tells little about the battery's ability to deliver low levels of power over time - which is what leisure batteries are all about. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulguly Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thanks for excellent advice and jolly japes chaps excuse my typo (Andy "and") I will be carefully preparing my case before I attempt the return of the corpse ?? Cheers?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulguly Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 More very fat finger stuff .????? Or the old Amber nectar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulguly Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 More very fat finger stuff .????? Or the old Amber nectar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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