# Leisure battery



## patman (Jan 1, 2007)

Evening all
I noticed today when I went to disconnect the leisure battery on my 1993 Autoquest from the hook up that the battery was really hot. It was actually bubbling. I always hook up when it's on the drive and haven't noticed this problem before. Has anyone any experience of this problem?
Regards Patman


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Is your charger a multi-stage one that reverts to a safe float charge?

Check your batteries with a hydrometer for a duff cell.

Dave


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## patman (Jan 1, 2007)

DABurleigh said:


> Is your charger a multi-stage one that reverts to a safe float charge?
> 
> Check your batteries with a hydrometer for a duff cell.
> 
> Dave


I don't know about the first bit but I've got a battery hydrometer, I'll check that and have a poke around with my multimeter tomorow


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## blackbirdbiker (Mar 12, 2007)

Also check the voltage from the charger.....if it's too high it will boil the battery
Keith.


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

You say you leave it on hook up whilst its in the drive. If your charger is not an intellegent stepped charger, as DABS mentioned, it will just keep charging your battery at full whack whenever its plugged into the hook up.

You need to check your levels in the battery... I boiled one dry doing the exact same thing. Little tip, don't buy your deionised water from a motor factor shop, nip to tesco, its so much cheaper!


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## spooky (May 1, 2005)

You need to check your levels in the battery... I boiled one dry doing the exact same thing. Little tip, don't buy your deionised water from a motor factor shop, nip to tesco, its so much cheaper![/quote]

Even cheaper is to use melted ice

Malc


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## 106390 (Aug 11, 2007)

Worth getting a Better Battery Charger in the Van that stops any Overchaging ? I looked in my Merc Sprinter and it had ac cheap ( £10 ) Battery charger hooked up to 2 110 Amp Leisure Batteries ... so replaced it with a £60 one that wont overcharge and put a Gizmo on my Solar Panel to stop overcharging as well !


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

Sterling do a range of quality battery chargers. We have recently ordered and installed the ProDigital 40amp charger plus remote control/display. Its a quality piece of kit.


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## 106390 (Aug 11, 2007)

Batteries .... I keep hearing about ' Gel Batteries " being good .. but rather Pricey ? 
Anyone know where i can buy an 85 Amp one as i fancy having a 2nd one in my Fiat just to run my 240 Inverter and keep it charged up from another solar Panel !


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Who says gel batteries are good other than deep sea sailors and motorhome & accessory dealers?

They hold no advantage AFAIK. It is easy to arrange venting with FLA, even if the compartment is internal. If you want minimal maintenance, then get FLA and ensure your charger setting ensures you don't go above 14.4V (when I might be tempted to say you don't need venting either, but while I would be prepared to take that risk, note that I don't recommend it for others). If you want maximum capacity, then get FLA and a multistage charger with a setting that takes you up to ~14.8V.

Dave


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## patman (Jan 1, 2007)

Thankyou all for your advice, I'll get stuck into it on my next day off.
Regards Patman


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## patman (Jan 1, 2007)

Evening all
I have taken the battery off and checked it ( with a hydrometer and a charger) and there is a dead cell. Did the dead cell cause the overheating in the battery or did something else cause the battery to overheat and die? I'll have a poke about with the meter tomorrow to check voltages on the two leasure battery leads. Something else which is puzzling me is the control panel inside the 'van which appears to change the power (or charging?) from vehicle to caravan. It also has the isolation switches and fuses on it for the pump, lights etc. Without the leisure battery being on I switched it to the caravan side and the lights still worked. I wouldn't have thought they would with the battery being off. Any info or ideas gladly received.
Regards Patman


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Do I get the prize? 

The dead cell I suspected indeed caused the "boiling". IF your charger is a multistage one, get new a new battery (I recommend cheap flooded lead acid leisure) and you're done.

If you are thinking about a second battery, get two together now.

Dave


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