# Elecsol 110 or something else?



## richardsnow

My Compass Avantguard is a 2003 model and most of the lighting is now converted to LEDs and with a 60w solar panel on the roof; power requirements (even when wild camping) are on the light side!

We purchaaced the motorhome nearly 4 years ago (with a new 110v lead acid battery) and feel that the battery is now beginning to deteriorate.

Looking to replace with a good quality battery I have been attracted to the Elecsol 110v one, not least because of the 5 year warrantry. Before rushing of to spend the best of £120, is this the best one for the job please?


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## javea

I have 2 x 110ah Elecsol batteries and am not convinced that they are the best around, despite what the Caravan Club say. They have proven to be erratic in operation, sometimes holding charge for a long time, other times losing it all very quickly. The chap at Elecsol can be abrupt to say the least and the conditions to activate the warranty in the event of failure are difficult to comply with. If you do a search on the forum there is a lot of info on batteries, I think perhaps Banner have been suggested recently.


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## Fatalhud

"Barge pole" and "wouldn't touch" for me
Ignore the 5 year warranty, even Dealers that sell them admit they are not the best to deal with

Alan H


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## richardsnow

So if it is not to be an Elecsol do you agree that a Banner is the one to go for?



Fatalhud said:


> "Barge pole" and "wouldn't touch" for me
> Ignore the 5 year warranty, even Dealers that sell them admit they are not the best to deal with
> 
> Alan H


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## cabby

I think that the point made about the elecsol batteries some time back was,ok if you buy through a dealer to whom you have recourse if needed to complain, but not to buy direct as it is a painful process to return the batteries under warranty.

cabby


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## bob23

Hi Richard,
On the phrase" you get what you pay for" have a look at Odyssey batteries www.odysseyfactory.com.
I have 2 X PC2250 fitted as leisure batteries they are AGM military grade and when fully charged can be stored for 2 years at temperatures below 25c.

The best price I could find in 2009 was at www.devon4x4.com with free delivery at £299 each.

They have a design life of 8 to 12 years and a 3 to 10 year service life.

If you plan on keeping your van a long time worth the money I hope, time will tell.


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## Andysam

I had these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....790782&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1612wt_932

in my camper for 16 months. They were genuine deep discharge and as I didn't believe they were maintenance free, they were checked every now and again and were erm, maintenance free!


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## wakk44

I have 2 x 125A/H Elecsols and they have been fine up until now(nearly a year).Having said that I don't think they are worth the extra expense.

Before that I had 2 bog standard 110A/H lead acid leisure batteries from Towsure which gave excellent service for 5 years.IMO the extra expense is not worth it added to the fact that the 5 year warranty is difficult to claim under.

One of our members had a problem with his Elecsol battery and bought a new m/home before the warranty claim was sorted :roll:

When the time comes I intend to buy my leisure batteries from a local supplier so if a problem occurs I can take them back easily.


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## teensvan

Hi.

I have just purchased from ebay 2 110Ah Lead acid batteries for £129 with 4 year warranty. My last batteries lasted from Jan 04 until now, and only one has failed. Not a bad life from them as we have fulltimed for nearly 5 years.

steve & ann. ------- teensvan


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## icer

Steve

Did you do any research into these batteries or did the price swing it for you

They seem very good value for money!

Ian


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## teensvan

I looked for batteries of the exact size of my old ones as i did not wish to start altering the battery tray,and holding straps.

Only time will tell how good they will be.

Steve & ann ---- teensvan


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## icer

Hi 

Fair enough,
They look good value and the 2 x 120ah are the same size as well for £149.99

Ian


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## gerardjanice

At about the same time (2004), I bought two new NUMAX from Manbat as starter batteries and two 110Ah ELECSOL from a retailer (AVA Leisure?) as leisure batteries. They are linked together with a voltage dependant relay (TECSUP) (to prevent discharge of the starter batteries) and both charged by solar panels via a Fox 3-step Solar Charge Regulator. 

I did a discharge test in the autumn on the leisure batteries and they lasted for 9 hours on a constant discharge at 10A, before the leisure battery safety discharge relay (MOTORMATE) dropped out at the setting of 11.5V.
The van has started after 2 or three tries every time I have started it in our current below zero temperatures.

I think that keeping the batteries constantly maintained by the solar panels has contributed to the long life of these batteries. In other words, if you have a reasonable battery to start with and maintain it properly, it will give you good service.


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## dewaltman

I have to agree with javea I have 2 elecsol 110volts and not convinced they are worth the money mine also seem erratic in length of time they take to discharge when in use


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## icer

Steve&Ann

Thanks for the tip have gone for 2 X 120ah

Ian


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## Codfinger

*Elecsol or Banner*

Ok so my 2x110 Elecsol's gave up at the Shepton show after a few hours use, they were purchased in May 08 so I went back to the supplier to see about warranty........guess what they dont deal with Elecsol any more due to trouble with waranty claims. I've been recomended to change to Banner energy bull 135 a/h has any one used these? are they worth £120 each or should I go for cheap jobbies as suggested by D.B?
Chris


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## airstream

*Barge pole comes to mind*

Elecsol - buyer beware 
Manufactured in Europe NOT by Elecsol 
Elecsol is a one man band who operate from a tiny unit on the Wirral and supply an ok battery at an inflated price with dubious advrtising claims and a good luck five year warranty
The 110 amp battery is actually by industry standard c20 testing a 95 amp hour rating !!!!
Claiming under warranty is a nightmare and the replacements are as good/bad as those they replace 
Still some may have a good experience - Google Elecsol warranty or look at the many reports on marine forums not a happy story

Best of Luck
Ray
PS I have documented evedence of the above and my personal experience in dealing with Elecsol


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## javea

If you have a look at the Sterling Power website there is a very interesting article about leisure batteries. Might save you a few pounds.


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## erneboy

Airstream, I am interested to hear what you say. I was highly sceptical that their web site was a fair representation of the company. When I bought a couple of batteries from them I could only speak to one rather bad tempered guy with a child crying in the background. That didn't quite square with the image projected by the web site. Also they don't answer emails nor do they have any means of tracking deliveries even to overseas destinations.

I hope my second two last longer than the two years my first two did, as I was in Germany when they failed sending them back under warranty was not an option for me, Alan.


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## seanoo

hi chris, i've put two energy bull 115's in my van last september and i can say that they are the best performing leisure batteries i have ever used. i wouldnt hesitate in using the same again when the need arises (hopefully a long way off!) all the best sean


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## Codfinger

*Re: Barge pole comes to mind*



airstream said:


> Elecsol - buyer beware
> Manufactured in Europe NOT by Elecsol
> Elecsol is a one man band who operate from a tiny unit on the Wirral and supply an ok battery at an inflated price with dubious advrtising claims and a good luck five year warranty
> The 110 amp battery is actually by industry standard c20 testing a 95 amp hour rating !!!!
> Claiming under warranty is a nightmare and the replacements are as good/bad as those they replace
> Still some may have a good experience - Google Elecsol warranty or look at the many reports on marine forums not a happy story
> 
> Best of Luck
> Ray
> PS I have documented evedence of the above and my personal experience in dealing with Elecsol


Well the thing is up till last w/e the Elecsol's seemed fine maybe all that cold weather we have just had messed them up even tho the van is left on hook up in the drive, I'm not going to try to chase the warranty as its just not worth the hassle even tho they only lasted two and a half years. Talking to D.B over the w/e he was saying the Elecsols seem to have an issue with the voltage not the amps remaining and as a lot of the electrical stuff in m/h's is voltage sensitive which lead to equiptment cutting out.
Chris


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## CliveMott

Get two 6 volt golf cart traction duty deep cycle batteries and connect them in series.

C.


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## sallytrafic

CliveMott said:


> Get two 6 volt golf cart traction duty deep cycle batteries and connect them in series.
> 
> C.


But at what price Clive? The best I could do was nearly £500 for a decent make.


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## DABurleigh

I also mentioned that option to Chris, Clive, but outside the US the much smaller 6v market means they are much more expensive.

Dave


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## Codfinger

I did look at the 6volts but ...............wow they are expensive  
Chris


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## sallytrafic

Yesterday I ordered two powermax 110Ahr flooded lead acid batteries from a local battery supplier.


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## wakk44

sallytrafic said:


> Yesterday I ordered two powermax 110Ahr flooded lead acid batteries from a local battery supplier.


That is similar to what I intend to do when the time comes to replace my pair of Elecsols,even though they have been fine up until now I have taken note of other members experiences trying to claim under the 5 year warranty.

Did you get any satisfaction with your claim Frank,as I notice you have abandoned Elecsols and gone back to the standard lead acid batteries.


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## sallytrafic

wakk44 said:


> sallytrafic said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yesterday I ordered two powermax 110Ahr flooded lead acid batteries from a local battery supplier.
> 
> 
> 
> That is similar to what I intend to do when the time comes to replace my pair of Elecsols,even though they have been fine up until now I have taken note of other members experiences trying to claim under the 5 year warranty.
> 
> Did you get any satisfaction with your claim Frank,as I notice you have abandoned Elecsols and gone back to the standard lead acid batteries.
Click to expand...

Sold the van before I got a result. The comments made by airstream above confirmed my suspicions.


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## eddievanbitz

And yet...

We sell a lot of Elecsol batteries and Steve has always bent over backwards to assist us and our customers when there appears to be a problem.

I have no doubt that Frank had issues because "A" he is very knowledgeable about such matters and "B" he is straight chap and he did have issues under warranty.

There is no getting away from the fact that the Elecsol range fars very well whenever tested against other leading makes.

However, there is also no getting away from the fact that Charles Sterling, who is a very experienced battery charger and inverter manufacturer is quite candid that the best bet is to get cheap, good quality lead acid batteries for good service and value for money.

I would also say that personally I like flooded batteries that I can take a peek inside and see what is going on from time to time

Eddie


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## javea

*Re: Barge pole comes to mind*



airstream said:


> Elecsol - buyer beware
> Manufactured in Europe NOT by Elecsol
> Elecsol is a one man band who operate from a tiny unit on the Wirral and supply an ok battery at an inflated price with dubious advrtising claims and a good luck five year warranty
> l


I was interested in what you said above so did a bit of research into the accounts of the Elecsol companies filed at Companies House.

There are 3 Elecsol companies which have submitted accounts, Elecsol Ltd, Elecsol International Ltd and Elecsol Europe Ltd.

The directors of each company are S J Gallimore and N E Galimore a lady whose age would suggest that she is the mother.

The companies are too small to require an audit so very little information is on record. However the following details are of interest.

Net Assets

Elecsol Ltd -£78,691

Elecsol International Ltd £1,598

Elecsol Europe Ltd £100

CCJ's are recorded against Elecsol Ltd and Elecsol Europe Ltd

I will leave it to your own judgement as to whether the above reflects a substantial organisation trading throughout the world as suggested by the website.


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## DABurleigh

I thought I'd summarise what I said to Chris at the weekend about Elecsols and batteries in general.

My perceptions of Elecsols are:
Value for money - Fair (if you need what they are good at...)
Robustness to abuse/ life - Very Good
Usable capacity without curtailing life- Very Good (same issue as robustness) 
Nominal capacity - They don't publish their nominal discharge rate; many claim Elecsol have a lower capacity than other batteries with the same nominal capacity. It was reported to me that a reputable motorhome company ran independent tests and found the same. (I can't for the life of me remember who this was) 
Use with medium to high current loads - my own experience is that despite the claims of greater effective plate area due to the carbon fibre plates, in fact they perform as if they have a reduced plate area compared to other batteries. This manifests itself with voltage sensitive loads shutting down only after ~30% discharge, say, especially at cold temperatures. 
Communications with company - individuals can find brusque over the phone (I did); supposedly better if you are a dealer.
Warranty claims - a difficult area of consumer protection at the best of times; personally I would caution against factoring in ANY battery warranty into the buying decision. 
Sealed cells - I regret the change from open cells (see below).

If people have Elecsols and they do the job you need, keep them.
Personally, unless anyone is VERY limited for payload, I will always advocate buying local, cheap flooded lead acid leisure batteries with a moulded vent to take standard clear plastic washer bottle tube from Halfords, then even if your battery locker isn't sealed from the habitation area, it is simple to vent them safely to the outside by a hole in the floor. Protect the tube with a grommet or a dab from a glue gun. The average motorhomer should have 2 in parallel - if they are well separated or you run high currents, take care over their cabling arrangement. 3 batteries are even better 
If you routinely discharge these batteries lower than 50%, their life will be curtailed. I strongly recommend battery monitors. The NASA one is the cheapest but does the job fine.

I much prefer open cells - you can stick a cheap hydrometer from Halfords in each cell and immediately know when the battery is developing a problem.

I see no advantage for motorhomers in gel batteries. 

People easily confuse all of health and safety, charging regime and battery maintenance. Despite valve-regulated-lead-acid batteries and recombinant caps, if the battery is in the habitation area personally I want it vented to outside, even if it is gel.

If you want maintenance free, this is can be achieved with the charging regime on flooded batteries; you don't need to be conned by marketing into buying expensive gels. My flooded lead acids are 6 years old. I am a heavy battery user. They are charged by alternator, a Victron mains charger (50A) and a Sterling B2B charger (~40+A). I have yet to give them a drop to drink, but check them annually with a hydrometer.

I hope this helps.

Dave


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