# Battery size



## jonesy1 (Sep 28, 2008)

I am thinking of changing my 90 amp hour battery with a 270 amp hour 

battery to give some independence off electric hook up. I have the room 

and the extra weight will be o.k. I also intend getting a 135 watt solar 

panel. My question is this, are their any problems that I have not 

thought about with using such a large battery, most users appear to go to 

220 amp hours max. Obviously there is the extra cost, which is offset by 

hopefully at least 5 years use. My personal usage is not excessive, but I 

do want a margin to cope with as yet unforeseen circumstances. We go 

away for a month at a time about 3 times a year. Your comments will be 

appreciated.

Thanks.


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## clodhopper2006 (Aug 13, 2006)

If your battery is too far back your front wheels will lift off the ground :lol: 

Sorry couldn't resist that. Remeber such a large capacity battery will take a very long time to fully charge once discharged.


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## gnscloz (Oct 4, 2008)

hi ive got 2x110 amps running off a sterling battery to battery charger and the origional 80 amp battery charging off the origional system and we can camp off hook up using tv in eve and charging phones lap tops etc for 6 days comfortably keeping within 50% charge, we simply go out for trip then and within 2 hours or so the 2 110 amp batteries are recharged thanks to b2b charger. we dont look for hook up at all now, so your battery will do you fine
mark


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## tramp (May 25, 2005)

hi jonsey1.
no problem at all we have a 260agm plus seperate 135agm and a 150w alden solar panel.

as long as fitted with correct gauge cable and all the correct fuses should be fine.

the agm are fast recharge unlike gel which take ages from low charge, as you said not cheap but plenty power and silence is golden.

what make are you thinking of?

tramp


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## jonesy1 (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks Tramp.

I am thinking of getting an Elecsol. Tanya Electrical Supplies are selling 

them for £275, which includes delivery, which takes 2 days.

By the way what does a.g.m. stand for.

I see you use solar power, do you use the maximum power point 

tracking, (mppt) for staged charging?

Thanks.


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## ethnicall (Dec 24, 2005)

We have 2 x 110ah batteries, 130w kyocera solar panel and a sterling b2b charger all of which combined have ensured no need for electric hookup since we bought our van almost 3 years ago and have had now more than 250+ nights away. This setup runs our all electric compressor fridge (no gas needed), lighting which is all LED or fluorescent, fan for diesel heater, laptop/internet/dvd, DAB radio and camera battery recharging etc. Longest time we have gone without starting the engine or moving is 10 days last winter in Morocco, the combined solar panel and batteries gave us just enough juice for everything we needed and once we started driving the Sterling charger had all batteries up to full charge in about 2 hours. What I like best is the freedom it gives you not requiring hookup, but knowing you can be self contained for quite a long while, what I dislike is sites that ‘include’ hookup in their price, such as the caravan club which I now never use. 

Mark


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## EddieS (May 1, 2005)

Hi Jonsey
AGM Absorbed Glass Mat Battery

Also known as Absorptive Glass Micro-Fibre

Used in VRLA batteries the Boron Silicate fibreglass mat which acts as the separator between the electrodes and absorbs the free electrolyte acting like a sponge. Its purpose is to promote recombination of the hydrogen and oxygen given off during the charging process. No silica gel is necessary. The fibreglass matt absorbs and immobilises the acid in the matt but keeps it in a liquid rather than a gel form. In this way the acid is more readily available to the plates allowing faster reactions between the acid and the plate material allowing higher charge/discharge rates as well as deep cycling.

This construction is very robust and able to withstand severe shock and vibration and the cells will not leak even if the case is cracked. 

AGM batteries are also sometimes called "starved electrolyte" or "dry", because the fibreglass mat is only 95% saturated with Sulfuric acid and there is no excess liquid.

Nearly all AGM batteries are sealed valve regulated "VRLA". 

AGM's have a very low self-discharge rate of from 1% to 3% per month

Eddie


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## jonesy1 (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks for a lot of good information, all of which is of interest to me. I 

looked at the Sterling battery to battery chargers on the Road Pro site 

they are £280. I noticed in the description that it works best with open 

lead acid batteries, although it will work with A.G.M. batteries. Has anyone 

any comment about that. It could make a difference as to what battery I 

buy. 

Jonesy1


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