Replacement Leisure battery

[EddieG]

I need to replace the leisure battery in my 2002 VW Gatcombe Autosleeper. The current battery is an ER550 EXIDE Dual Purpose Marine Leisure Battery 12V 115Ah. Should I replace with exactly the same battery or are there better options now available. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 

[Derek Uzzell]

Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, Eddie.

 The Exide ER550 size is (Length: 349 mm x Width: 175 mm x Height: 235 mm) putting it in Battery Group 31 dimensionally.

This link advertises several Group 31 leisure batteries

https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product-category/leisure-batteries/group-31/

some of which are said to have a significantly higher Ah than the ER550's 115Ah and a longer warranty (eg. the Powerplus XD35). However, it's worth saying that the XD35 battery has been around for at least 7 years...

You haven't said why you need to replace your Gatcombe's Exide battery, but if it has just died of old age, I'd be tempted to fit another ER550 as Exide has a proven reputation for quality and keeping up to date technology-wise.

It's stating the obvious, but if you decide to do this check for the best price and make sure to take into account delivery charges. For instance, this advert

https://grovesbatteries.co.uk/product-category/caravan-and-motorhome-batteries

 lists the ER550 at £125 and, if I bought one, I'd be able to collect it as the supplier is based in Cheltenham and quite close to where I live.

[EddieG]

Thank you Dennis this is extremely useful and I will check your suggestions out.

I had the garage check the battery as I was having problems like like going out when the toilet is being flushes when we used the leisure battery because we had no hook up. They said that a full charge was being delivered to the battery but it was not charging up or holding charge.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and help me.

Eddie

[flyboyprowler]

I am also changing my leisure batteries but upscaling our solar panels and changing to LiFePO4 lithium batteries. This takes a fair amount of modification, but is probably worthwhile if you need, or want to get more out of your batteries, especially when not on hook up. However these batteries are expensive, and you get what you pay for. Be very cautious if you think you are getting a bargain because these batteries are expensive to produce and with manufacturing, transport and profit, some prices seem too good to be true! The cells that make up the battery can be graded A and B. B cells are second grade but will perform as first grade for at least the first year, and then start to degrade. I add this YouTube video by way of caution should you choose to go down the lithium route.

LITHIUM BATTERIES | Don't make our mistake! (youtube.com)

It certainly sounds like your battery is well past its best, and normally lead acid batteries have a life span of around 6 years, with lithium coming in at 10 years plus.

Good luck with your choice.

Ainsley

[Derek Uzzell]

Ainsley

It's perhaps worth highlighting that your motorhome is a large, very expensive and sophisticated 2018 Neismann+Bischoff Flair 830 A-class model and, consequently, it is understandable that you are prepared to spend a considerable amount of money enhancing its specification by modifying its solar panel system and 'going lithium'.

Conversely, diverging significantly from the original specification of a 22-years-old Auto-Sleepers Gatcombe would (in my view) be a very high-risk strategy and I would never suggest 'going lithium' with a motorhome that elderly.

I did (briefly) wonder if opting for an EFB-type battery might be worthwhile for Eddie's motorhome (rather than a 'standard' wet-acid battery like the Exide ER550) but as the Gatcombe's complete electrical system - vehicle and habitation - was based around old technology and wet-acid batteries, I decided there were no clear advantages to justify the extra cost. Better the devil you know...