We need to buy a new battery for our van (the old one was in it when we purchased van). When we free camp we run lights, pump, maybe tv. Our fridge is 3 way so no fridge. We have 2 solar panels up top. But being a naïve female (hubby wont use computer) am not sure what type of battery to buy. Looked at site suggested in previous topic ???so many- gel, deep cycle, agm, etc. Help please.
Simple answer is if the old one was doing the job well just get another the same or maybe a few more amps if there is room to fit it in but if there is two batteries you must replace both do not put an old one with a new one it will wreck the new one
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When the power of Love becomes greater than the love of power the World will see peace ! 24ft Trailblazer 5th wheeler n 05 Patrol ute and Black Series Dominator camper trailer ( for the rough stuff)
Simple answer is if the old one was doing the job well just get another the same or maybe a few more amps if there is room to fit it in but if there is two batteries you must replace both do not put an old one with a new one it will wreck the new one.
Just replaced both mine two weeks ago with same as previous owner assured me they were more than enough for 3-4 days free camping but I am putting two more panels on the roof to make sure.
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When the power of Love becomes greater than the love of power the World will see peace ! 24ft Trailblazer 5th wheeler n 05 Patrol ute and Black Series Dominator camper trailer ( for the rough stuff)
When we bought van and tried the 12v/240v hws on 12v it drained battery in 2 secs and battery doesn't seem to charge anymore. So not sure if bad choice of battery or old or ?? Anyway only have one battery at present so only need to buy one until we see how that goes. We are not using hws on 12v anymore so should last.
dragonfly1 wrote:a good battery to get would be a full river agm 120amps they perform well and have a very long life
Which Fulriver? They make several. If you get landed with the model that is designed for standby use it will not last as long as the model designed for cyclic use.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Should have mentioned that I have full river batteries 2 x 225 amp
Gandy yes I assume that the 240 water heater was going through an inverter and it would drain battery very quickly seems od having a 240 v heater in a van any way I wonder if many are fitted with them? ours is gas
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When the power of Love becomes greater than the love of power the World will see peace ! 24ft Trailblazer 5th wheeler n 05 Patrol ute and Black Series Dominator camper trailer ( for the rough stuff)
When we have to replace our current 100 amps???? I think.... battery we will buy 2 new ones as we wish to increase our power supply for our bush camping. Jay&Dee
-- Edited by JayDee on Thursday 9th of April 2015 08:36:10 PM
Suggest finding out how big the solar panels are ..
If batteries don't fully charge through the day with some load..
Then there's no chance the batteries will last without generater etc
With our recent bus renovations I found we didn't need "more battery's" we just needed more solar. By adding another 300watts of panels to the 200 we had we can very comfortably live for 2-3 days in the shade without worrying about low battery's. Compressor fridge is the big consumer during the day, when the sun is shining, were at full charge by mid morning now instead of late afternoon with plenty of spare to use.
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Ours is a 100 amp hour AGM deep cycle, from Battery World, they are a sealed battery and don't need ventilation, maintenance free, and our van is fitted with a CTek smart charger, so the battery gets recharged, and rejuvenated, whenever we are connected to mains power, we are not wired up to charge it off the car.
These batteries are not cheap, but ours is now 6 years old and still good, we have replaced all the van lighting with LED lights, which use negligible power and give better light than the old ones.
Before making a decision, might be worth talking to an auto electrician, or a good 12 volt shop if you have one in your area, because a lot depends on how you are going to use it, and what equipment you have on board.
Our set up is as advised by our caravan electrician based on how we travel and use our power, yours may be different, good qualified advice is essential to get the best set up.
Bevan
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Bevan
Friendship is not a relationship with someone whom you've known for a long time, but with someone you trust, under any circumstances.
you need to look at what the power is going to be used for...
Take the time to answer the questions that get thrown your way, and maybe they will be able to give you a good idea of what you need....
-- give them all the information they need..
---- 1 question.. What size are the solar panel on the roof of the van..? what size are the current batteries... Ah rating and also the size of the batteries you currently have.... length, width and height... that will give us an idea of what space you have for batteries..
Juergen
Psst Lead acid Batteries are not suitable for any form of consistent LARGE loads.... unless they are backed up by LARGE Solar systems to supplement the power...
-- Edited by SnowT on Saturday 11th of April 2015 11:20:15 PM
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Hi Snowt I did put all the things we would be using the battery and solar for on initial post(you must have missed that) and have also added further down that I don't know what size the 2 solar panels are as no paperwork from previous owner, and asked if anyone could tell me if the size would be stamped on them somewhere. I think the only thing I missed was the size of the battery we had which I am not sure as my husband threw it out when it died.
We need to buy a new battery for our van (the old one was in it when we purchased van). When we free camp we run lights, pump, maybe tv. Our fridge is 3 way so no fridge. We have 2 solar panels up top. But being a naïve female (hubby wont use computer) am not sure what type of battery to buy. Looked at site suggested in previous topic ???so many- gel, deep cycle, agm, etc. Help please.
Kim
Hi,
Had some good replies already but here is a summary !
You must get a deep cycle battery, whatever type. I think a AGM is a good type, a bit more expensive than a plain lead type but not as expensive as GEL or others. The AGM type charges easily, is NO maintaince and good all round. Somebody said Fullriver, which are a premium brand of AGM and should go well. As also said check the type is for cyclic use not standby use(some cheapies sell these).
Probably need a minimum of 120AH capacity but put in as big a battery as you can afford and fit ! 200 AH perhaps. The bigger it is the longer it will last up to a point. Just ensure you can charge it up OK most days to full. If not then more solar !
What sort of charger do you have normally ?? There must be a charger for 240V use as well as the solar. Should also have some charge from the vehicle too. The solar panels have the specifications on the rear usually but that is not easy to see If you measure the size of them, length and width, we could probably estimate the power to an approximation. A photo may help if possible.
A comment on the hot water system use. The batteries store limited power. If you plug in an inverter to produce 240 v power out of them, that power is used up very fast. A hot water system needs big power to run. It is not suitable for an inverter on a battery with any system. Look at the power needed to run anything from a battery system using an inverter and do not use 'big power' things. 100-150 watts is OK for a while but more than that will drain the battery power quickly. The solar is limited to some hundred(s) of watts so must balance the power you are using every day.
I recommend having a meter of some sort to tell you what the battery condition is so you know what is going on. You may need to learn how to read it correctly though.
Jaahn
-- Edited by Jaahn on Sunday 12th of April 2015 09:08:14 AM
-- Edited by Jaahn on Sunday 12th of April 2015 09:12:03 AM
We need to buy a new battery for our van (the old one was in it when we purchased van). When we free camp we run lights, pump, maybe tv. Our fridge is 3 way so no fridge. We have 2 solar panels up top. But being a naïve female (hubby wont use computer) am not sure what type of battery to buy. Looked at site suggested in previous topic ???so many- gel, deep cycle, agm, etc. Help please.
Kim
Hi,
Had some good replies already but here is a summary !
You must get a deep cycle battery, whatever type. I think a AGM is a good type, a bit more expensive than a plain lead type but not as expensive as GEL or others. The AGM type charges easily, is NO maintaince and good all round. Somebody said Fullriver, which are a premium brand of AGM and should go well. As also said check the type is for cyclic use not standby use(some cheapies sell these).
Probably need a minimum of 120AH capacity but put in as big a battery as you can afford and fit ! 200 AH perhaps. The bigger it is the longer it will last up to a point. Just ensure you can charge it up OK most days to full. If not then more solar !
What sort of charger do you have normally ?? There must be a charger for 240V use as well as the solar. Should also have some charge from the vehicle too. The solar panels have the specifications on the rear usually but that is not easy to see If you measure the size of them, length and width, we could probably estimate the power to an approximation. A photo may help if possible.
A comment on the hot water system use. The batteries store limited power. If you plug in an inverter to produce 240 v power out of them, that power is used up very fast. A hot water system needs big power to run. It is not suitable for an inverter on a battery with any system. Look at the power needed to run anything from a battery system using an inverter and do not use 'big power' things. 100-150 watts is OK for a while but more than that will drain the battery power quickly. The solar is limited to some hundred(s) of watts so must balance the power you are using every day.
I recommend having a meter of some sort to tell you what the battery condition is so you know what is going on. You may need to learn how to read it correctly though.
Jaahn
-- Edited by Jaahn on Sunday 12th of April 2015 09:08:14 AM
-- Edited by Jaahn on Sunday 12th of April 2015 09:12:03 AM
Jaahn, Please Don't make such a Broad statement when you don't have all the fact's....
Juergen
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IF I say something Dumb.. Just Smack me..
I'm full of Knowledge.. I don't profess to know EVERYTHING, but I'm constantly Learning new thing's..
Thanks for all the info. We will only be running a 12v plug in shower out of a bucket of hot water. We wont be using the 12v/240 system that had been installed in the van. We realised it depleted battery quickly. We do have a metre installed in van to gauge the battery level. Will check on the solar panels soon. Ta.
If you measure the size of them, length and width, we could probably estimate the power to an approximation. A photo may help if possible.
