butch Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Hi folks, Can you please let me know the prices of say 110amp leisure batteries, I been into my local dealers and he tells me that prices are going through the roof - due to increased cost of Lead. He would only hold the price for a couple of days and even then said it would be subject to the price when delivered to him. He won't keep them in stock at this time of year as demand is very low, but he also feels that they deteriate if left standing unused for 4 or 5 months. My 2 110amp batteries have just completely crashed following the hard frosts that we experienced a couple of weeks ago. I have checked the acid levels which were down slightly and attempted to recharge but only getting about 8 volts on the meter !! So any advice on how best to keep the batteries in good order would be appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 I'm guessing you are not using van at moment, best way to keep bateries in good condition is to keep them charged, normaly I use van all year round, but for first winter ever van has become a 'tool shed' but with solar panel batteries are kept charged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butch Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Good guess !! Motorhome hasn't been out since end of October, but i have been charging them up every couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Battery prices vary so much its difficult to give you an accurate price. At some of the outdoor shows you could pick up a (claimed) 110 AH battery for as little as £40. An Elecsol 110AH will cost you about £110 though. If you need to have a gel battery then you can add even more to the price. Yes metal prices are high at the moment and this might well push battery prices up. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 A GOOGLE search suggests an on-line base price for a 110Ah leisure battery of around £70 (ex. delivery charges). The following link may be useful: http://www.tayna.co.uk/catalog/459/0/Leisure-Batteries-Caravan-Batteries-page1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Please correct me if I am wrong. I recently purchased a new leisure battery. I was looking for a 110 amph one but was told that manufacturers were being more accurate/honest when stating the amperage of their batteries and that the 110 amph battery is now 105amph from "reputable" manufacturers. Something to do with changes made to the way the amperage is measured at manufacture I believe I did check from another totally independent source who did not sell batteries but through their work had a close connection to battery manufacture and was told that this was correct I bought one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 The Amp Hour (AH) rating of batteries is something of a movable feast. Normally 12Volt lead acid batteries are rated on what is called the 20 hour rate. Basically they take a fully charged battery and fully discharge it over 20 hours. The AH rating for the battery is calculated as being total Amps supplied divided by 20. So a 100 AH rated battery could, in theory, provide 5 Amps for 20 hours. you might think that the same battery could provide 10 Amps for 10 hours but this is not the case. The reason is that the battery's actual capacity in AH reduces the faster you discharge it. A 100AH battery rated as such on the 20 hour rate could well be only 75AH at the 10 hour rate or 125 AH at a 30 hour rate. Ambient temperature also plays a huge part in a battery's actual capacity which falls off as the temperature goes down. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 davenewell@home - 2007-12-29 10:26 AM Ambient temperature also plays a huge part in a battery's actual capacity which falls off as the temperature goes down. D. Hi Dave Yes I knew most of what you posted but as I understood it there has been a change in the "format??" (if that is the right discription of what I mean) of the testing procedures. Ambient temperature was mentioned so maybe there has been a change there. Anyway I don't suppose it's all that important to us wallies really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 davenewell@home - 2007-12-29 10:26 AM Ambient temperature also plays a huge part in a battery's actual capacity which falls off as the temperature goes down. D. Slightly O/topic, but I thought I would ask a man that might know. I watched Jermy Clarkson (& friends) driving to the North Pole last night in Toyota Hilluxes (or Hilli ?). His little friend, Roger Hammond, used the dogs. To get the dogs started I assume you just give them a kick, first thing in the morning. How do the Toyota batteries manage to start after standing overnight in -minus 30 deg centigrade temperatures. I am sure that my motorhome bateries would have the acid frozen at those temps. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Maybe they do not switch them off or have a warming system fitted plus their oil is greatly different to that used here too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 tonyishuk - 2007-12-31 4:21 PM davenewell@home - 2007-12-29 10:26 AM Ambient temperature also plays a huge part in a battery's actual capacity which falls off as the temperature goes down. D. Slightly O/topic, but I thought I would ask a man that might know. I watched Jermy Clarkson (& friends) driving to the North Pole last night in Toyota Hilluxes (or Hilli ?). His little friend, Roger Hammond, used the dogs. To get the dogs started I assume you just give them a kick, first thing in the morning. How do the Toyota batteries manage to start after standing overnight in -minus 30 deg centigrade temperatures. I am sure that my motorhome bateries would have the acid frozen at those temps. Rgds Quite simply they have big heavy duty batteries (some 4X4s have two) but they only have to supply a high current for a few seconds typically around 90 to 100 Amps for up to 30 seconds or so for pre heater plugs then 300-400 Amps for a couple of seconds to crank the motor. They also have low viscosity oil to minimise drag at low temperatures. I'm not sure what the freezing temperature of battery acid is but I'd expect it to be lower than -30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 It's possible that the vehicle batteries used during the Top Gear polar adventure were gel-type as these are supposed to be much more resistant to problems caused by extreme cold. I did come across the following: http://www.batteryweb.com/faqbw.cfm#q30 This says that "The freezing temperature of the electrolyte in a fully charged battery is -92.0°F", which is pretty darned cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I believe that in polar expeditions the engines are NEVER stopped. Certainly the trans Alaska lorries leave the engines running 24 7 unless they are laid up at the workshops for a long time where there are heaters and BIG starting systems to kick them into life. You hear stories of lorries that have nestled several feet into packed snow over night because of the constant vibrations caused by the engine running. The fear here is that air or exhaust inlet/outlets get blocked by the snow. There have been reports of drivers being killed by carbon monoxide inhalation after going to sleep with the engine running and the vehicle sinking into the snow such that exhaust air got drawn into the sleeping acomodation. Severe cold also affects fuel, lubricants, plastics, cooling system and metals adversely. I believe that the Top Gear Hilux vehicles ran on a blend of diesel and aviation fuel. Lubricants would have been special full synthetics. No cam belt on those engines as they have chain cam drives. (As do all Toyota D4D engines) It rough out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I love this forum, Thanks guys :-D Rgds and A Happy Touring New Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Read the suzy manual other day, it says don't try to start engine if battery fluid is frozen as it may explode, if it's -92deg I don't think I'd bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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