Replacing Leisure Battery

[PeterV]

I need to replace the leisure battery. Searching the internet for 12V 80Ah gel I have come across sellers offering AGM batteries, claiming that these are just as good and suitable but cheaper. Hymer of course specifies gel.

Has anyone fitted an AGM or have opinion/advice?

Thanks

Peter

[Barry & Maggie]

Have a read of this, Peter, from Atlantic motorhomes…

https://tinyurl.com/ycohrmv6

And then read about the Varta Professional Dual Purpose 930 090 080 battery they recommend…

https://tinyurl.com/y9akhups

• This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by Barry & Maggie.

[nozzi]

maybe look at the other thread “leisure battery running out”

https://tinyurl.com/yca5vevk

Nozzi

[PeterV]

Thanks to Barry and Nozzi for the replies. Reading all this and the links it looked to me that the safest thing would be to replace it with a gel battery again. The only suitable I found was the G80 (ES900) Exide Gel Leisure Battery 80 Ah. Not cheap, £180 fromm Alpha batteries or Tayna.

 

Peter

[Fred & Gill]

We have been away and I hope that this is not too late.

The original battery fitted to my 2006 SG was an Exide gel 80AH it lasted less than 2 years.

Many folks over many brands (not just Hymer) suffered from this problem at that time and the reason as with current  new technology batteries AGM & Lion is that motorhome manufacturers fitted  them before charging systems had caught up.

My van and probably yours is fitted with the Elektoblok EBL 99  and that is not designed to cope with the gel charging regime (even though there is a setting for it on the unit) – Hymer got it wrong.

You will be better off with a Varta LDF 90,(on lead/acid setting) which is what I have fitted and I am very pleased with and its a lot cheaper. It has a special ‘Powerframe ‘ technology particularly suited to leisure batteries – also for motorhome starter batteries as they spend a lot of time ‘off charge’. Another more recent contender is the Yusa L36 – EFB, but it is more expensive and not not as well proven as the loads of feedback and recommendation of the Varta LDF90.

I am not an expert on vehicle electrics or batteries and all my information is gleaned from the OutandAbout Live motorhome forum(bigger than this), but in particular there is expert info here

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-technology.php

Fred

[Author]

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