Battery replacement Elecsol 220

[lesrollins]

Just wondered if anyone can help regarding ideas with battery replacement. The batteries in the boat now need replacing there are 3 x 220 elecsol batteries. I was going to replace them with the same brand of battery but seem to be having difficulty getting hold of any elecsol,s unless anyone knows where there are some. The battery sizes are L520 x W230 x H220. I have looked at the Varta 180 any thoughts ? I was offered the Enduroline exv 220 as a replacement but the reviews seem poor. Do I go for sealed, agm, gel, wet type. Thanks for any help.

[Naughty Cal]

We replaced our leisure batteries with Varta sealed batteries about 18 months ago and have had no problems with them. After 18 months there is no noticeable drop in capacity.

 

That said we do have a decent battery charger that looks after them for us and when we are out cruising we do longish days so they dont really get abused

[smileypete]

Just wondered if anyone can help regarding ideas with battery replacement. The batteries in the boat now need replacing there are 3 x 220 elecsol batteries. I was going to replace them with the same brand of battery but seem to be having difficulty getting hold of any elecsol,s unless anyone knows where there are some. The battery sizes are L520 x W230 x H220. I have looked at the Varta 180 any thoughts ? I was offered the Enduroline exv 220 as a replacement but the reviews seem poor. Do I go for sealed, agm, gel, wet type. Thanks for any help.

Unless you're a liveaboard without a shoreline, it seems the general concensus is to go for el-cheapo leisure batts, ideally wet non sealed ones, whilst avoid the very cheapest 'barrel scrapings' with no or little known branding.

 

For comparison it can be useful to know what a truck batt with same size, same terminal layout, and similar Ah costs. (eg clicky)

 

cheers,

Pete.

[STUBAG]

Just wondered if anyone can help regarding ideas with battery replacement. The batteries in the boat now need replacing there are 3 x 220 elecsol batteries. I was going to replace them with the same brand of battery but seem to be having difficulty getting hold of any elecsol,s unless anyone knows where there are some. The battery sizes are L520 x W230 x H220. I have looked at the Varta 180 any thoughts ? I was offered the Enduroline exv 220 as a replacement but the reviews seem poor. Do I go for sealed, agm, gel, wet type. Thanks for any help.

Ashbridge has 3 220 Elecsols, originally the "yellowtops" which were wet, open cell. Last year I replaced them with the new Elecsol 220 which are sealed.Spoke to Elecsol of my concerns re topping up and their reply was "dont worry, just hammer them!" So with that in mind, I shall do just that and fall back on the five year warranty as and when necessary! Elecsol can be contacted on 0800163298.

[lesrollins]

Pete

I am a liveaboard without any mains hookup so looking for something decent.

As for ringing elecsol i have done that but the conversation was short the guy seemed unhelpful and was supposed to ring back but so far has not but it was only about 4 hours ago perhaps he is still having a break

[ditchcrawler]

Ashbridge has 3 220 Elecsols, originally the "yellowtops" which were wet, open cell. Last year I replaced them with the new Elecsol 220 which are sealed.Spoke to Elecsol of my concerns re topping up and their reply was "dont worry, just hammer them!" So with that in mind, I shall do just that and fall back on the five year warranty as and when necessary! Elecsol can be contacted on 0800163298.

Good luck on the 5 years

[Eeyore]

Pete

I am a liveaboard without any mains hookup so looking for something decent.

As for ringing elecsol i have done that but the conversation was short the guy seemed unhelpful and was supposed to ring back but so far has not but it was only about 4 hours ago perhaps he is still having a break

Hello Les

I have recently attended a boat that had 4 of the new elecsol 220 bateries fitted.(to replace an 8 year old set of the previous model)

The owner had shopped around and found that the best price was from elecsol direct, so it might be worth trying them again.

The paperwork supplied with the new elecsol batteries specifies a max charging voltage of 14.4 volts, so check what your alternator(s) are producing before going down the sealed battery route.

For the record I am not a fan of sealed batteries; and a quick search on this forum should give you plenty to read on the subject.

Steve (Eeyore)

[dmr]

There are several posts on this forum, and extensive articles on the www, that suggest that it would be very foolish indeed to rely on the Elecsol warrantee.

My own experience confirms this.

Note that Elecsol Never answer the phone, but might choose to phone back if you leave a message.

If you must buy Elecsol then get them via a reputable dealer who might replace them when required, if you buy direct from Elecsol you may experience severe problems with replacement.

..........Dave

[lesrollins]

I think I like the sound of the Varta LFD180. The dimensions are spot on and I will be dropping 120 amps but even 540 amps should be more than enough. We have got 12v tv,12v fridge and led lighting so everything is being kept to a minimum. Am I right that you should not let the battery power fall below 80% before charging. So 540 amps - 80% = 108 amps of usage. That should be more than enough on such a low usage system. Confused.com

[Richard10002]

I think I like the sound of the Varta LFD180. The dimensions are spot on and I will be dropping 120 amps but even 540 amps should be more than enough. We have got 12v tv,12v fridge and led lighting so everything is being kept to a minimum. Am I right that you should not let the battery power fall below 80% before charging. So 540 amps - 80% = 108 amps of usage. That should be more than enough on such a low usage system. Confused.com

 

50% seems to be the accepted best compromise, so 270 amps of usage. It takes a long time to charge from 80% to 100%, so this bit is probably be best done by solar, or whilst travelling.

 

If you keep the batteries above 80%, they will likely last forever.

[mrsmelly]

Just wondered if anyone can help regarding ideas with battery replacement. The batteries in the boat now need replacing there are 3 x 220 elecsol batteries. I was going to replace them with the same brand of battery but seem to be having difficulty getting hold of any elecsol,s unless anyone knows where there are some. The battery sizes are L520 x W230 x H220. I have looked at the Varta 180 any thoughts ? I was offered the Enduroline exv 220 as a replacement but the reviews seem poor. Do I go for sealed, agm, gel, wet type. Thanks for any help.

 

Hi

 

Speaking as a liveaboard with over twenty year of experience. Buy cheapo wet batteries they can be found anywhere and last long enough considering the fact they are mooooooooooooocho cheaper than so called " Better " types. If you are plugged in any battery lasts for many years so buy the cheapest if not plugged in no battery lasts a long time if being used daily up and down so again buy the cheapest. Remember life is way, way too short to worry about wether or not you are damaging the batteries. I find even if not plugged in and continuously cruising cheap batteries last me at least 18 months or two winters which is fine at the price.

 

Tim

[DustyDave]

I spoke to Multicell in Evesham last year about a replacement for the Elecsol yellow tops I had. I also spoke to Battery Megastore in Tewkesbury but wasn't so keen on their sales style.

 

In the end I dumped the big elecsol and moved things round so I could put cheap Numax(wet) from Limekiln in. The deciding factor was the ridiculous weight of the 220ah Elecsol (and the cheap price of the numax). I couldn't cope with messing with such heavy batteries. Had to do a little woodwork and rewiring but I'm glad I made the change. I know next time I need to replace batteries it will be a simple and cheap job.

 

Dave

[Tony Brooks]

50% seems to be the accepted best compromise, so 270 amps of usage. It takes a long time to charge from 80% to 100%, so this bit is probably be best done by solar, or whilst travelling.

 

If you keep the batteries above 80%, they will likely last forever.

 

 

Be aware that the time taken to get from 80% to 100% of fully charged means that a boat out cruising should never assume their batteries are more than about 80% charged so you are working on 80% - 50% = 30% of capacity for use. So that 540 AMP HOURS (not amps) will ideally never be asked to provide more than 162 Ah.

[lesrollins]

The more you read the reviews about elecsol the bleaker it becomes. Even caravan/motorhome user,s seem to disown them even though the caravan club seem to praise elecsol,s. How do they make a profit. Spoke to battery megastore tewkesbury and they told me they would never touch elecsol,s, when asked about the varta 180,s even thou they are a stockists I was told there wasn,t any stock available anywhere and they tried to sell me the mf190 battery. But when I rang groves batteries of cheltenham I was told they could get the varta battery in a couple of days. Do suppliers endorse some batteries more than others because they make more money on certain brands.

[Keith M]

The more you read the reviews about elecsol the bleaker it becomes. Even caravan/motorhome user,s seem to disown them even though the caravan club seem to praise elecsol,s. How do they make a profit. Spoke to battery megastore tewkesbury and they told me they would never touch elecsol,s, when asked about the varta 180,s even thou they are a stockists I was told there wasn,t any stock available anywhere and they tried to sell me the mf190 battery. But when I rang groves batteries of cheltenham I was told they could get the varta battery in a couple of days. Do suppliers endorse some batteries more than others because they make more money on certain brands.

 

I always use a company in Telford called Adesas for my batteries good prices and they usually supply in a day or two

 

Keith

[Richard10002]

Do suppliers endorse some batteries more than others because they make more money on certain brands.

 

Possibly, but any sale is better than no sale. If you are not buying because you want Varta, they would be crazy not to sell them to you if they can get them.

 

Having said that, there will be suppliers who won't touch particular products/brands because they cause more trouble than they're worth.

 

It's quite possible that, rather than lose a sale, the second supplier said they could get Varta just to keep you on the hook. Perhaps they are expecting some imports in a few weeks - I could be wrong.

[bottle]

Ashbridge has 3 220 Elecsols, originally the "yellowtops" which were wet, open cell. Last year I replaced them with the new Elecsol 220 which are sealed.Spoke to Elecsol of my concerns re topping up and their reply was "dont worry, just hammer them!" So with that in mind, I shall do just that and fall back on the five year warranty as and when necessary! Elecsol can be contacted on 0800163298.

 

Talking to a boater yesterday about all things boating, he had had an Elecsol that literally exploded, acid everywhere.

 

He had to get independent checking of his system, written affidavits from the boat builder and an electrical expert that the system was fitted and working correctly.

 

I gather the boater was a bit like a terrier with a bone, he just would not give in .and then very reluctantly they gave him a new battery.

 

The five year guarantee does not apply to boats, they said it was only for two years if fitted to a boat.

[STUBAG]

Good luck on the 5 years

Used the first set for 6 years with no probs, then an impoverished friend needed some, so sold them to him.He is still using them, and I've got newies, they are great.

[lesrollins]

Varta 180,s now on order pick them up friday £486 for three. Elecsols 220 new battery seems to come in a wider cage now, but if i could have had elecsols i probably would of got them and perhaps regreted it later. Elecsol need to book up there idea,s. i would love to know which stockist as actually got some elecsol batteries because i couldn,t find any. There is a company on ebay advertizing elecsol 220 batteries with a buy it now price but they don,t actualy stock them, your order is passed onto elecsol themselves and they post them to you. So hands up if you know a stockist who as got them should be interesting.

[captain death]

Used the first set for 6 years with no probs, then an impoverished friend needed some, so sold them to him.He is still using them, and I've got newies, they are great.

 

 

how did you charge them? perm hookup, or solar? or what? ;-)

[Serenity Malc]

Yello,

 

I bought 2 x 100Ah Elecsol batteries from a fleabay supplier a year ago called gssparesandaccessories .... maybe worth an inquiry for the larger sizes. They shipped them very quickly.

 

Whilst researching the purchase, I was advised by some short of civility techy from Sterling Inverters that as a live aboard, I should steer clear of cheap batteries such as Elecsol and ONLY buy Trojan batteries. His reasoning was that they supply an incredibly high percentage of all the worlds golf carts with cells and they were simply the best on the planet.

 

Trojan batteries are REDICULOUSLY expensive !! Please play nicely as I'm a new boy around here

 

Malc.

[Chris Pink]

If you price up US2200 batteries, a Trojan substitute, then they are really not that much more expensive than cheapo leisure batteries. £250 will get you 232 Ah and 700 cycles down to 70% DOD.

 

I've just been on a boat where they have a leisure battery model name "110" in big green letters on top. In small writing on the side "100 Ah 20 hour rate".

 

I used Elecsols for years as off-grid and supplied them for a while. (the first-generation black and yellow top ones) I found them to be good batteries, long lasting and robust. The one I did need to return was replaced without question.

 

 

 

..

Edited May 26, 2012 by Chris Pink

[lesrollins]

Thanks for all the help and information. I went for varta 180,s as a replacement also replaced the starter battery with a varta. In the end i got them from evesham marina who i found to be great people to deal with. Its the first time i have dealt with them and i would have no problems going back there. Cheers

[STUBAG]

how did you charge them? perm hookup, or solar? or what? ;-)

Charged by Stirling 40 amp charger when on the moorings, and by engine-driven Leece-Neville 140 amp alternator when cruising.

[blackrose]

Does anyone know anything about these batteries?

 

http://www.tayna.co.uk/US2200-Deep-Cycle-Monobloc-Battery-P4117.html

 

I was told that they were traction batteries, but I'm not so sure. I was planning on buying 4 and wiring pairs up in series and then connecting the pairs in parallel so I'd end up with a 464 a/h bank (I think!)

 

Any advice or better buys appreciated.