# Leisure battery question



## andytw (Sep 30, 2009)

Battery is quoted as being 12 v 110 Ah leisure battery.
It is fully charged

If I discharge it at 5.5 Amps for 20 hours then that would exhaust it's stated capacity.

What state is it deemed to be at now, fully discharged ?
What would be it's voltage now, somewhere about 11.9 to 12 v ?

Thanks


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

Yes to all your questions although also worth pointing out that fully discharging a leisure battery will in all likelihood cause it permanent damage.


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## andytw (Sep 30, 2009)

peribro said:


> Yes to all your questions although also worth pointing out that fully discharging a leisure battery will in all likelihood cause it permanent damage.


Yes that is understood, thanks. I am checking a battery that has been fairly well abused (not by me). The user has no hook-up at home and tends to wild camp, so the leisure battery does get stressed. Only charging it gets is during driving.

We are, in the first instance, checking if this battery is any good then making a plan based on removing the battery (or it's replacement) to the house and putting it on charge until it is required.

andytw


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Here's what I would do:

1) Check acid level in cells and top up if required with distilled water. If the levels are well below the top of the plates just throw it away and save your time.
2) Fully charge (at least 24 hrs) using a good quality 3 or 5 stage charger.
3) Rest for 24hrs and check O/C terminal voltage - should be 12.8v or above.
4) Attach a steady discharge of 5 or 6 amps (headlight bulb or similar).
5) Monitor on-load voltage every hour and stop when terminal voltage reaches 12.0v.
6) Allow to rest for an hour and measure O/C terminal voltage which should have recovered to at least 12.4v.

I'd renew the battery if the voltage under load falls to 12v in less than 10 hrs.

Just my opinion and based on experience rather than any scientific data.

Batteries are comparatively cheap and it's false economy to persevere with a suspect battery that you have no confidence in.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

HTH


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Basically if it gets to below 12v too often it's goosed, most will do it a couple of times if it gets a charge sooner rather than later, but stay as much above 12v as possible, that's why many of us have two or more (I go for 2x 125ah and a 100w panel as a rule) with a panel and have few problems, wild camping needs to have more in reserve if you want to stay put for more than 2-3 days in case the yellow thing doesn't show up.


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## andytw (Sep 30, 2009)

Not looking too good, but not surprised.
I had checked fluid levels and battery was charged for a couple of days via the Electroblok charger in the van. I drew 5A for 6 hours and the voltage went from 12.8 to 12 volts. 12 volts seems to be considered about totally discharged so the battery is currently worth about 30 Ah.
Before all is lost I have put it back on charge using a "Hein Gericke Optimate" charger. Will leave that for a couple of days and re-test. Thanks for the replies.



Mmmm..just noticed the charger is rated as "up to 32 Ah"


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

andytw said:


> Mmmm..just noticed the charger is rated as "up to 32 Ah"


That shouldn't make any difference, the Optimate is a good charger - but you'll need to leave it on for a long period on a 110a/h battery. Usually if you can get to the "green light" stage on an Optimate the battery will have some useful life left in it.

Sounds to me as if the battery is past its best, probably better to cut your losses and get a new one. Nothing worse than finding your battery flat in the middle of a field miles from anywhere (except of course for finding the toilet cassette full to the brim at 6am on a Sunday morning when you're bursting for a pee). :wink2:
In any case the two events usually coincide. :surprise:


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## andytw (Sep 30, 2009)

andytw said:


> Before all is lost I have put it back on charge using a "Hein Gericke Optimate" charger. Will leave that for a couple of days and re-test. Thanks for the replies.
> "


Haven't used one of these before. It is still running this morning. It will be interesting to re-test and see if it has improved the 30 Ah or not.
All points about knackered/goosed batteries fully understood and taken on board.
It is not my battery so I am not making the ££ decisions.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

If you have any doubts about the battery then replace it so you will KNOW its good. They can be bought on line fro well undef £100. 

Yes I know others will swear that you simply must use this or that (expensive) make and they are so good etc etc but at under £100 they will last for 3 years plus !!! Thats what I did for many years!!

Andy


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I'm with you Andy, 2 x 125ah on Ebay £150, why pay more.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Quite right - too many firms want to *charge* you too much for a battery!


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

gaspode said:


> Nothing worse than finding your battery flat in the middle of a field miles from anywhere (*except of course for finding the toilet cassette full to the brim at 6am on a Sunday morning when you're bursting for a pee).* :wink2:
> In any case the two events usually coincide. :surprise:


If that happened, I bet you wished you had kept the spare one Ken:wink2::laugh:[Private joke - all others can ignore]


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

nicholsong said:


> If that happened, I bet you wished you had kept the spare one Ken:wink2::laugh:[Private joke - all others can ignore]


That incident was before (and in part why) I bought the spare one Geoff. :smile2:


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Kev_n_Liz said:


> I'm with you Andy, 2 x 125ah on Ebay £150, why pay more.


Not quite so straightforward Kev.

I made the mistake of buying a cheap (about £70) 125a/h leisure battery off an Ebay seller a couple of years ago. It was pathetic. After using it for one trip (and not being impressed) I measured its performance against a good quality three year old 100a/h battery and the time it would sustain a steady 5a load was only two thirds that of the old battery. Needless to say, chasing the Ebay seller was a waste of time.

So don't buy the cheapest, get one with a known brand name and buy it locally, returning one to a distance seller can cost more than the battery is worth.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

gaspode said:


> Not quite so straightforward Kev.
> 
> I made the mistake of buying a cheap (about £70) 125a/h leisure battery off an Ebay seller a couple of years ago. It was pathetic. After using it for one trip (and not being impressed) I measured its performance against a good quality three year old 100a/h battery and the time it would sustain a steady 5a load was only two thirds that of the old battery. Needless to say, chasing the Ebay seller was a waste of time.
> 
> So don't buy the cheapest, get one with a known brand name and buy it locally, returning one to a distance seller can cost more than the battery is worth.


I only buy from one seller, he's been selling on Ebay since we started in 07, and we've never had a problem, I went to collect first time as I wanted to know what sort of an outfit they were.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DEAL-PAIR...hash=item1c1c5bef69:m:m3qj_jVsdXepRyEGCg3aiFA


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

It's good if you know a seller that you can rely on and is close enough for you to return to if you have problems.

I bought off this seller:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/autocarpartrus?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2754

The battery was rubbish and the seller turned out to be completely uninterested unless I returned the battery (at my own expense) for "testing". The cost of returning it was around £40 IIRC so not worth the effort.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

gaspode said:


> It's good if you know a seller that you can rely on and is close enough for you to return to if you have problems.
> 
> I bought off this seller:
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/autocarpartrus?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2754
> ...


Feedback is everything, mine has 6 negs, yours 85 admittedly on different sales numbers.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Yes, I agree about feedback being important - but not infallible. At the time I bought the battery his feedback was much better, if you look at his stat's you'll see that most of the negative feedback has been given over the past 12 months - after I used him. My advice to members would be not to use this seller. I did follow up on his business and he's actually just a small high street car accessory shop who drop-ships batteries so probably no expertise and never actually comes into contact with the products he sells.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

As we are in the power storage business, making industrial chargers (but not consumer products) and DC Backup systems, we have access to a very wide quantity of batteries, some very good, some better off as boat anchors.

In general, basic branded batteries from the major players like Varta tend to be OK, and like ALL lead-acid batteries they must be protected from overdischarge.

The really cheap batteries are not really worth the money as they tend to be batteries that have tested below capacity and sold on cheaply.

In our market, batteries tend to be replaced as soon as they reach 80% of new capacity, that is the benchmark for the end of life, but in consumer land they can be used down to much lower levels without problem.

We have to use the major brands, and currently we use sealed batteries for most jobs. We've just got through 540 batteries on one job alone, so we do get a fair discount!

Peter


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Just a reminder to the OP, which he may not need, is to check the voltages with a multi-meter directly onto the terminals and not rely on the voltmeter on the MH panel. 

I find in our MH there is normally a difference of nearly 0.2 volts. The direct check on the terminals being higher.

Geoff


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## andytw (Sep 30, 2009)

nicholsong said:


> Just a reminder to the OP, which he may not need, is to check the voltages with a multi-meter directly onto the terminals and not rely on the voltmeter on the MH panel.
> 
> I find in our MH there is normally a difference of nearly 0.2 volts. The direct check on the terminals being higher.
> 
> Geoff


Its in standalone mode in the middle of the garage floor !:smile2:
Fluke meter too !


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## andytw (Sep 30, 2009)

andytw said:


> Before all is lost I have put it back on charge using a "Hein Gericke Optimate" charger. Will leave that for a couple of days and re-test. Thanks for the replies.


Almost exactly 2 days later...the charger has given the battery a green light so the charger 'thinks' the battery is good.

I will repeat the 5A lightbulb discharge again tomorrow and see where that goes.


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## robbosps (Mar 10, 2014)

I have no experience in dead leisure batteries but I kill motorcycle batteries frequently. I use an intelligent charger and the magic green light suggest the battery is ok. I've had batteries that wouldn't get past stage 2. They were skipped.


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