pepe63 Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 (edited) Good afternoon all! 'long time, no post....I trust everyone is well. We have recently rejoined the MHing fray by buying an "old" (2006) Hobby 585 AK (on an Alko chassis,2.8 Ducato) and if the handbooks are to be believed it is fitted with a "CB 516" charger and I would appreciate some, hopefully basic advice, about a suitable leisure battery. The van overall has been very well maintained and serviced etc by the previous owner (same for 14 years?), however it seems that they favoured hook-up, and it turns out that the little leisure battery has had it.. The battery is located within the double floor, accessed (via a 90 degree angle!) through an extenal locker door. Currently (no pun) it is only a little 85amp Numax, and at the moment it sits across-ways to the space availble for it. Due to it being unfastend down when we bought it,and with no obvious means of securing it, since rectified, I'm assuming that this isn't the OE batteries position (peering into the space , you can see marks on the floor at the far end, where the OE one may've sat?). So, I'm looking to replace it with a larger, "longer" battery that extends into the available space, but due to the height limitations, it needs to be 210mm max, and also with the restricted access, the posts need to be at the same end (neg on the right, as looking from end on). Although we are not big users of power, we can spend 4-5 days off hook-up at a time, so we want something that'll leave us some leaway.. These are some of what I have come across... https://www.tayna.co.uk/All-SX-1.html?stype=cat&A-1=&A-2=&A-3=R195-225&A-5=IMG-6&A-6=IMG-10 I was favouring the Varta LFD140..but being honest,I wouldn't know one battery from another, so would greatly appreciate some wisdom from those in the know... As acccess once fitted, would be an issue, how much "maintenance"/topping up would/should be required with batteries such as these? and would the existing charger be up to the task of making the most of them? Many thanks (..that was word-ier than I intended!) Edited June 6 by pepe63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 I was sure the LFD line has been discontinued. Maybe not in this size. Anyway, I'd go with the newer LED line which are an EFB (enhanced flooded battery) variant. Although the super heavy duty line might work just as well (no direct experience). The charger isn't ideal for the size of the batteries you're looking at but will manage given enough time to recharge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 pepe63 An instruction manual for the CBE CB516 battery-charger in your Hobby motorhome can be found here https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/user/downloads/CBE Switch Mode Battery Charger instruction manual.pdf Your CB516 charger will have a 16A maximum output. It will have just two 'battery type' settings - ordinary wet-acid (Pb) or gel (so no AGM setting) and setting-selection is carried out by removing the charger's top cover and moving a small switch to the appropriate position. In 2005 I bought a new Ford Transit-based Hobby T-600FC motorhome with CBE-made electrical equipment that included a CBE CB516 battery-charger. The leisure-battery was housed beneath the cab's passenger seat and was an Exide 80Ah gel battery (current example here) https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/exide/es900/ and, when I checked, the CB516's battery-type switch had been correctly set to gel. I can't tell you with certainty what battery type and size Hobby would have originally installed in your 585AK, but it seems likely to have been gel-type (as this used to be pretty much the norm for German-built motorhomes back then) and probably 019 size (Length-353mm x Width-175mm x Height- 190mm) because that was the size of my Hobby's Exide battery and, again, the norm. It needs emphasising that the Varta LFD140 battery you favour is not only dimensionally large (Length-513mm x Width-189mm x Height- 223mm) it's HEAVY (36.62kg) https://www.plymouthbattery.co.uk/type/marine/varta-marine/lfd140-varta I'd be tempted to go for a Varta LED95 https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/varta/led95/ This will be more manageable weight and size-wise (24.39kg and Length-353mm x Width-175mm x Height- 190mm) and more suitable for your CB516 charger's relatively low output. The Varta LED95 and the LFD140 are both sealed, so no user-maintenance is practicable. Few vehicle batteries nowadays are designed to be 'topped up'. Most can be fitted with a vent-tube, but - as your Hobby's leisure-battery is in an externally-accessed locker - that's probably unnecessary in your case. Before fitting a new wet-acid leisure-battery (eg. the Varta LFD140 or LED95) you'd be wise to confirm that your CB516 charger is actually set to wet-acid (Pb) and not gel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63 Posted June 7 Author Share Posted June 7 Thank you very much for your responses. It was only after I had posted that I realised that the Tayna search "Wizard" had brought up batteries taller than 210mm? (And for some reason I was unable to log back in, on the laptop, to edit my post). I would have liked a battery with the terminals at the same end if possible because once slid/stuffed into position access to the furthest terminal and any cables going to it, is impossible. Maybe that's something I'll just have to put up with? (It was probably this search "requirement" that brought up the large truck type batteries?) I will have another measure-up/rethink and look at something smaller. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 The combination of height and end terminal position makes selection difficult. The "Alpha Batteries" site gives the ability to search by either height, or terminal position, or indeed both. It throws up very few possibilities for both, but plenty under 210mm high. (190mm seems the most common) You could use it to research possibilities, and then check the wider web for pricing. Just adjust the "filters" here: https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/leisure-batteries/?orderby=price I'd echo Derek's advice. My 2010 Hobby was fitted with a CBE516 and a gel battery. Check the charger settings. (The switch needs the cover taking off, so may not have been touched). (At a bit of a premium, and if the charger is/can be set to gel, I'd consider an Exide G80/ES900, which might be close to original fitment, should perform better than standard lead/acid, and is definitely "maintenance free".) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63 Posted June 7 Author Share Posted June 7 Ah! Thanks for that RobinH but I hadn't long ordered the Varta LED95, as mentioned by Derek (£140,inc delivery, from Tayna).I'm sure it will be more than good enough for our relatively light usage. You and Derek did well to mention the selector switch within the charger casing though! After much stretching and contorting (and more than a few choice words!), I managed to access the charger and get the cover off, and it was still set on the original gel setting. No wonder the existing 75amp (not 85 as I originally posted) Numax battery was duff.. Thanks again for everyone's help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 No prob. Welcome back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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