How long to charge leisure battery ?

deadl0ck

Roughly how long does it take to charge a leisure battery?

I had the camper plugged in this evening for about 2 hours (and the same yesterday evening).

We were putting our stuff in the camper for most of the evening, with the lights on the complete time (while on mains) and I could hear a buzzing noise from the charger (I assume it was charging the battery).

When I unplugged tonight, and turned on the lights in it, the lights started flashing on and off, and the battery indicator unit over the door for the camper part said 9.2 U (maybe that's a V but looks like a U on a 7-segment display), and the camper symbol and lights symbol on the display were flashing on and off.
I CAN run the door lights and put my step in and out but that's about it.

I know the battery was pretty low before this, but how long would I need to charge her for (approx) to get some sort of usable charge ? Just though the lights would have been OK by now....

The battery brand is DETA and I'd plain and white, and I can't see any more information on it (just some warning in German, but no numbers - unless I remove it completely, then there might be something).

wohnmobile

I would first check the battery and if necessary top up cells with some distilled water. If you have a battery charger of 8amp capacity or more connect it to your leisure battery and leave it for 12 hours. Most of todays battery chargers will reduce charge when the battery has reached full charge.


Your display shows only, I think 9.2 Volts. Normally when fully charged you will have a reading of around 13.5Volts

I am delighted to see that you are getting ready for the off.

stapeler

I'd say 7 or 8 hrs should be sufficient to put a good charge into it. Typically when we're away without electricity I run the engine for about 20mins per day which usually keeps the battery topped up for the night.
If she's not holding a charge then you're probably looking at a new leisure battery.
When not in use ensure all electrics are off, I've occasionally forgotten to turn off the TV aerial amplifier which will drain the battery over time.

deadl0ck

I would first check the battery and if necessary top up cells with some distilled water.

OK - I'm a total idiot when it comes to stuff like this....

The cells are along the top and can be screwed off right ?

If so - are they all water cells? (Don't want to put water where they should be acid or something)

Distilled water ? I presume I'd have to purchase that somewhere - is it possible to purchase in a supermarket ? (I'm assuming ballygowan and the like aren't distilled)

So - you don't think think it's strange that it had been on charge for about 4 hours total (over the 2 nights) and it's still so low ?

Also - I assume that when I'm on mains I'm solely on mains - as in it wasn't also draining from the battery when I was on mains and had all the lights on ?

Thanks guys !

peasant

deadl0ck wrote: »

So - you don't think think it's strange that it had been on charge for about 4 hours total (over the 2 nights) and it's still so low ?

Also - I assume that when I'm on mains I'm solely on mains - as in it wasn't also draining from the battery when I was on mains and had all the lights on ?

Thanks guys !

1) If the battery is already old and weak, it won't hold a charge properly any more. It'll look "full" immediatedly after charging and go back down to "empty" as soon as you put a load on it. 9.2 V under load means your battery is pretty dead. I'd get a new one, if I was you.

2) No, you're not solely on mains when on mains. All the lights, pump etc run on 12 V only. The source for those 12 V is the battery. Very, very few motorhomes have a built in converter that converts the mains to 12V for lighting etc (as this would mean a sepaprate wiring circuit)

All motorhomes have a built in charger though. If (if !) that is switched on while on mains, it will charge the battery while the lights are draining it. Only the charging current should be bigger than the drain, so you are "filling" the battery even though the lights are on.

stapeler

A lot of leisure batterys these days are maintenance free so adding water might not be an option. Not far from you is Maynooth motorhomes and they should be able to put a load on the battery and test it, sell you a new one if it is frigged. You'll also a have a good time in their shop looking at the gadgets for your new purchase:)

deadl0ck

No, you're not solely on mains when on mains. All the lights, pump etc run on 12 V only. The source for those 12 V is the battery.

That would explain a lot so - it was pretty dead, and we had all lights on when we were "kitting it out" for the first time last night.

I wouldn't be surprised if it had barely kept the low charge at it's low level....

I've attached pics of the 2 types of leisure batteries they have in Halfords - anybody bought either of them and are they any good ?

deadl0ck

A lot of leisure batterys these days are maintenance free so adding water might not be an option. Not far from you is Maynooth motorhomes and they should be able to put a load on the battery and test it, sell you a new one if it is frigged. You'll also a have a good time in their shop looking at the gadgets for your new purchase

Cool - thanks for the info !

deadl0ck

I talked to the guy in Maynooth motorhomes and he reckons the battery is knackered, but suggested I should test it with a multimeter.
He said to test it with nothing on and get a reading, then to plug the camper into the mains and test it again - this way I can check if the battery charger is working also.
I'll head home at lunch and check her out.
He said they have leisure batteries that are 85 Ah for around the €130 mark (he said he couldn't remember the exact price as they keep changing with the price of lead going up ?)
Would I be better going 200 and getting the 110 Ah one in halfords (as we'd plan to do a lot of overnight at places with no hookups when we get into the swing of it) ?

deadl0ck

Just home and I check it out. 8.5 V with everything off, 13.75 when the plugged into the mains and the charger is running.
At least the charger is working, so it just seems like it's an old battery that needs replacing.
Here the battery in her:


Are they screw off tops where I should check water levels ? If so, should they be filled to max ?

peasant

Don't bother with the water, at 8.5 V it's dead, as dead as the proverbial Dodo.

When buying new, watch the size. That old one is a rather snug fit in there, you wouldn't want to buy anything bigger

deadl0ck

Bugger... New battery then I suppose...

I've had it plugged in for about 30 mins now and the charge is back up to 12.72, but even with the Multimeter attached I could see it drop about .01 Volts every 5 seconds.
I then turned on the lights and it wen down to 12.5 in about 3 seconds....

Yep - better take measurements as you suggested as it's pretty snug in there !

peasant

Easiest way is to take the old one out and bring it along when buying new.

That way you can also hand it back / recycle it in one go.

In future, watch that all electrical users are turned off / disconnected when not needed.

Even a minimal drain from something like a radio keeping the memory alive and blinking that stupid LED can drain a big battery to the point of irreversible damage over weeks / during winter storage.

Once a battery has had one or two deep discharges, that's usually the end of it.

deadl0ck

FFS !

I got the halfords battery and it's too high for the battery compartment. :mad:

The battery I took out was only 17.5 cm High, but the Halfords I got is 23cm high. (both the 70Ah and 110Ah in halfords are the same height)

The max I can facilitate is around 22 cm high.

At least I can return the halfords one (Checked this before I bought it).

Maynooth motorhomes closed at 5 so I couldn't go out there either

So it looks like our first trip is off now until I get this sorted

Can some of you guys check the total height of your leisure battery if you get a chance please, as this may turn out to be a wee problem.....

Thanks.

peasant

Batteries (unfortunately) come in all sorts of sizes, so some random measurements aren't going to help you.

You don't necessarily NEED to buy one of those expensive "leisure" batteries (although it is recommended) a normal starter battery will also do the job.

It may not last quite as long as a leisure one, but it would be a fair bit cheaper.

If I was you, I'd go on the trip anyway(tomorrow). Just diconnect your old battery, heave it out of the compartment and have it under your arm when you buy a new one at a motorfactors (or somewhere else) on the way tomorrow... that way you can compare directly

deadl0ck

Thanks for the advice - we headed off on Friday night and got to Salthill Caravan park at 11.20pm on Friday night.

We had a great time and although the caravan park was pretty basic it was in a great location overlooking Galway bay.

stapeler

And they had electricity??? Now go off and get a battery...:)