johnlc Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I have used two Banner Energy Bull 955/51 leisure batteries in my East Neuk Camper for many years, but they now need replacing. I can't seem to find this particular model in stock at any dealer I have contacted. Banner haven't got back to me about whether it has been discontinued. As this particular battery (x 2) is a perfect fit for the space under the floor where they are situated, and seems to deal with the demands of the compressor fridge well, I would really like to use the same again. But if it is not available what would you recommend instead? This is the spec with size being a crucial factor - 256mm long x 170mm wide x 205mm high https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/85ah-banner-energy-bull-leisure-battery-95551/ Thanks in advance for any responses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I have always used Varta leisure batteries in my MH and got the last one, the older LFD90, from Tayna batteries. The replacement for this is the LED95 but I see it is slightly longer than your Banner. https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/varta/led95/ This true deep cycle battery seems to be the nearest in length at 260 mm to your Banner https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/varta/?ordering=&A-1=260 Or the LED60 at 242 mm https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/varta/led60/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Keith Thanks for the recommendation about Varta. It's good to hear from someone who has used them rather than just reading spec sheets. Best Wishes John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) Hi, Yes I find Varta good, as do I Yuasa and I personally tend to use Yuasa , Getting sizes to suit can sometimes be problematic, Sometimes these Guys that just as you say just reads the spec sheets do a lot of work behind the scenes looking up data and the web to maybe help someone here. Quite often they may just come up with the size that just may suit your needs. John, have Banner or any official distributor got back to you since ? Maybe the ones I have posted may be of help to you size wise But only 62Ah. Yours= 256mm long x 170mm wide x 205mm high Length 245mm . Width 175mm . Height 190 mm Also Banner battery available here https://www.carfeature.de/en/batteries/11784/banner-energy-bull-95551-72ah Regards Edited January 24 by onecal Attachment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 The 955/51 battery was discontinued a while back and is no longer in Banner's UK 'camping/caravan' Energy Bull range - so any UK on-line adverts for the 955/51 are either incorrect, out of date, or the batteries are old stock. Nowadays, the nearest equivalent in the Energy Bull range is the 955/01 that is smaller in length, height and capacity. https://www.bannerbatterien.com/en-gb/Products/Starter-Batteries/Energy-Bull/221-955-01 The dimensions of the Banner 955/51 were unusual for a battery with a 'deep cycle' capability that are usually much larger and higher capacity. 242L x 175W x 190H is more common, but there still aren't many of those. For normal wet-acid leisure batteries with those dimensions, Tayna suggests Enduroline EXV70, Powerline POWERLINE-60 or Banner 955/01. Or for EFB leisure-batteries batteries with those dimensions, Tayna suggests Enduroline EXV70EFB or Varta LED60. There are any number of batteries with dimensions of 242L x 175W x 190H, but these are intended for vehicle starting, not 'deep cycling'. If it's only practical to fit a pair of batteries in the East Neuk campervan (rather than one much longer single battery with 175W x 190H dimensions) probably the logical choice would be a pair of Varta Professional Dual Purpose EFB 930 060 064 batteries. https://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/products/varta-professional-dual-purpose-efb/930-060-064 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Onecal - thank you for your recommendation. I appreciate both of you helping. Knowing you have found them to be good batteries is the crucial thing for me to know. I've just realised that the positive battery terminals are on the opposite side to the Banner on the Varta and Yuasa batteries. Presumably, I could just turn the batteries round so that the terminals would line up with the wiring system? Thanks again to both of you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Derek - thank you, as ever, for your detailed helpful response. I don't know how you do it, whatever the topic! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Does anyone check that batteries actually meet the specifications the manufacturers claim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) When my 2 x 957 51 Banner batteries packed in a couple of years ago I replaced them with 2 Yuasa 100ah EFB Leisure Battery (L36-EFB) and they were a perfect fit and, fingers crossed, I've had no problems. Edited January 25 by stevec176 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpyman Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Have you contacted East Neuk and asked what they now use as a replacement. Grumpyman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) Hi John The exact battery you quote is available and in stock from https://www.carfeature.de/en/batteries/11784/banner-energy-bull-95551-72ah Hope this helps Edited January 25 by onecal Attachment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Steve - thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Hi John I have no idea as to the shipping cost to UK but a quick call to them will confirm same Glad we were all able to help you Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Thanks for the further responses - really appreciated. East Neuk stopped making my van a few years ago. Onecal - thanks for the link to Germany. Suspect shipping costs may be high for two batteries but I'll investigate as well as the other suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Johnlc, When I needed to replace my two Banner 955/51 batteries last year, I looked at what I could squeeze under the front seats with minimal modification. The limiting factor was 306mm absolute maximum length. I have used ABS supplied batteries as starter batteries for my lawn tractor over several years without any problems. ABS were able to supply a suitable dual purpose battery with increased capacity, and a CCA of 1000A which would be a condideration if the battery was to be used for jump starting. A contender was an Exide ER450. I eventually decided on the ABS labelled battery. Here is a link to a similar ABS 85Ahr battery, but with a 275 x 157 footprint, it is slightly larger than your posted requirements. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) Hi John Again I have no idea as to shipping to the UK . They are exactly what size you are looking for without doing any modification's to your battery box and you are fitting like with like as you requested These batteries are also available in stock by quite a few Motor factors within the EU but sadly they will not courier outside the EU as i have been informed by phone this afternoon As to https://www.carfeature.de/en/batteries/11784/banner-energy-bull-95551-72ah I was unable to contact them today , but they do say the do cover international shipping Sorry I can't be of further help Regards Edited January 25 by onecal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Johnic I believe your East Neuk campervan is a 2008 model that you bought secondhand and, if that's correct, it's most unlikely to still have its original leisure batteries. I don't think you've ever said when you obtained the vehicle, nor which model it is, but I'm guessing that it's a "Fifer" as early versions had 2 x 85ah Banner leisure batteries and that would tally with Banner's data-sheet for their Energy Bull 955/51 (85Ah(K100)) I vaguely recall that later Fifers had a single enormous Banner Energy Bull battery (possibly the 180Ah 963/51) which is why I wondered earlier in this thread if it would be practicable to shoehorn a single large battery into the under-floor space. (The Banner 963/51 is BIG - 514L x 223W x 195H and HEAVY - 44kg.) As you've noticed, the Banner 955-51 has a Type 1 terminal layout, rather than the more common Type 0. (Energy Bull batteries nowadays have a Type 0 layout.) Whether choosing 'Type 0 terminal layout' batteries instead would require significant modifications would depend on how East Neuk installed the cabling originally. Tayna marks the 955/51 battery as no longer available and (to the best of my knowledge) no UK-based vendor can provide it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 For what it's worth, I 'ordered' a pair of Banner Energy Bull 955/51 batteries via the German website onecal provided a link to above and the shipping cost to a (spoofed) UK address was shown as zero at the payment stage. I'm wary of this, unless the German advertiser has access to a battery supplier in the UK, particularly as the overall price for the TWO batteries was just over €200 and even on-line specialist battery suppliers in the UK will normally impose a delivery charge. Personally, I wouldn't dream of buying a 12V battery outside the UK , but if johnic wants to explore this avenue, I strongly suggest he contact the German advertiser. https://www.carfeature.de/en/contact-form Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 John, it has not been mentioned but, while you are contemplating which batteries to replace the Banners with, you may also wish to consider whether you want to carry on with flooded batteries that require regular checking and topping up (many Banner batteries are of this type) or now go for a maintenance free type such as Varta or Yuasa - I have used both and had excellent results. I once had a vehicle with the leisure batteries beneath the front seats. Could often smell battery fumes and investigating further found them to be Banner wet acid but the only way to top them up was to remove the seats. Never used Banner since. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) On 25/01/2024 at 10:21, John52 said: Does anyone check that batteries actually meet the specifications the manufacturers claim? Looks like thats a 'No' then. From what I have read Trading Standards has become a victim of Government cuts, and so the UK has become a dumping ground for substandard crap. There was going to be a separate UK system to replace the EU CE marks. Huge amount of new red tape etc so under pressure from UK manufacturers it appears to have been quietly abandoned in favour of continuing to use the EU CE system? Resisted for years as an embarrassment to Brexiteers because every time the EU updates the CE specs we are effectively taking orders from Brussels 😂 But if no one is checking they meet CE specs...... The late Alan Evans on this forum tried to do their job for them and cut a few batteries open to look inside. Of the ones he cut open he liked Bosch/Varta the most, so I switched to those. But that was years ago and he didn't test them all. I had been fitting 'Lion' (thats a brand name of wet acid batteries marketed by Euro Car Parts) batteries, which were good. So I can only recommend those 2 brands, simply because I don't know much about the others. For all I know there may be a better choice. So I can't disagree with any recommendations here. Edited January 26 by John52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) 1 hour ago, david lloyd said: John, it has not been mentioned but, while you are contemplating which batteries to replace the Banners with, you may also wish to consider whether you want to carry on with flooded batteries that require regular checking and topping up (many Banner batteries are of this type) or now go for a maintenance free type such as Varta or Yuasa - I have used both and had excellent results. I once had a vehicle with the leisure batteries beneath the front seats. Could often smell battery fumes and investigating further found them to be Banner wet acid but the only way to top them up was to remove the seats. Never used Banner since. David Yes David, My PVC has that configuration. However I did choose Banner because they could be topped up, so can't complain except to mention that they were rather thirsty. The ABS dual pupose battery that I linked to previously is sealed, and has the correct terminal orientation. @johnlcPlease not that I made a typographical error in my previous post regarding ABS batteries. Their Advanced XD85 is only 257mm long, and not 275mm as previously posted. Also their height is quoted at 220mm, which could be too high. I remember carefully checking the clearance over my old Banners by using selected timber scraps to fill the gap, and then carefully measuring them. Alan Edited January 26 by Alanb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 Thankyou to everyone for doing so much work on my behalf. I really appreciate it. I am away at my elderly mother's and struggling with internet connections but will investigate all this on my return. Coincidentally, I have had her car MOT'd and they say it needs a new battery (even though it is still starting the car) I can't escape battery replacements at the moment!! Thanks again John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Hi John You will have to make contact with the German Motor Factors I gave you directly . I have a friend who purchased batteries from same in 2023 and had no issues with them. Again please be advised they were within the EU, this is why it may be prudent you make contact and check if you have to pay any taxes on entry to the UK or shipping costs . The batteries like for like and exact fitment as you requested without making any alterations for other sizes of batteries within your motorhome's battery compartment . Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlc Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 Thank you again to everyone who helped me with this. Banner replied weeks later confirming what Derek had said ie that the battery I wanted was no longer available in the UK. Onecal - I contacted the German supplier but they said "Good day, Unfortunately, due to the dangerous goods law, we cannot ship lead-acid batteries abroad." So, after looking carefully at the Yuasa, Varta and ABS batteries that had been recommended, and careful measuring of the space the batteries are to fit into, I went with the ABS battery that Alan B suggested. It is maintenance free, virtually identical in size, and had more power than the other batteries of that size. Value also came into it as it was just under £90 each delivered. Thanks again to everyone for your support. On the car battery for my mother that the garage said was unserviceable, I used my charger in repair mode and the battery seems fine, for now, anyway. It was a small Yuasa 40ah battery and the garage had quoted £180 for one. I could get one from Tayna, should I need to, for under £60 delivered!!! Best Wishes John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 I'm guessing that your mother's car has a Type 054 battery (187mm (Length) x 127mm (Width) x 223mm (Height)). Yuasa markets two wet-acid batteries with those dimensions YBX3054 - 36Ah (Yuasa RRP £71.68) YBX5054 - 40Ah (Yuasa RRP £82.31) Tayna do not offer the YBX3054 but it's advertised on-line for £50-£60 (inc. VAT and delivery) and the YBX5054 is on-line priced similarly. There is also the 40Ah capacity Yuasa YBX7054 (197mm (Length) x 128mm (Width) x 227mm (Height)). This battery is one of Yuasa's EFB Start/Stop Plus range and the Yuasa RRP for it is £189.11 Tayna's website states that the YBX7054 battery is no longer available from Yuasa (which is probably correct), though it's still advertised elsewhere on-line (£80.20 inc. VAT and delivery). Given that Yuasa's RRP for the YBX7054 is over £180, it's possible that this battery was what your garage was basing the quote on and not the YBX5054. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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