Battery types

[Greybeard]

These are telecoms/UPS batteries not Leisure batteries, like buying a second hand car don't do it unless you know how good they are or have a warranty. Also the biggest user of these batteries in the UK is BT and you might be supprised at how many go missing after they are put in the scrap bin. So again like a used car if you don't know its not been stollen don't do it.

 

Daren

 

Thanks for the info.

 

They're on ebay and they have 88 of them for sale.

 

LEISURE BATTERY POWER SAFE 12V 105AH (12V105F) Item number: 180210100967

[Keeping Up]

Maybe it was a big scrap bin

[jeb]

Hi

I am in the market for some batteries 4 x 135ah and 1 x 110 starter.

 

Well I have been doing the usual web search to get some prices and then decided to call some of the more local battery suppliers that do not have a website.

 

I spoke to one of the local suppliers and he told me that he could supply the 135ah batteries for £115 + VAT each. I asked what make they were and he said Varta and that they weighed 35kg each. Having already looked at Varta on the web I replied Oh I didnt think Varta made 135ah as I have only seen 110ah on offer to which he replied , thats correct they make them but do not sell them we have to put our own label on them.

 

Now the question is ,is this man telling the truth or porkies and would I be able to tell if I looked at them ?

[bottle]

I am not calling the man's reputation in to question and he may be right for all I know.

 

BUT

 

If Varta make them but are not willing to put their name to them ???????????????????????

 

You could always call Varta and ask them.

[Nickhlx]

I am not calling the man's reputation in to question and he may be right for all I know.

 

BUT

 

If Varta make them but are not willing to put their name to them ???????????????????????

 

You could always call Varta and ask them.

 

 

Perhaps they are ? 90 ah but with Peukerts law in mind he is labelling them up at 135 ah

 

Nick

[smileypete]

Hi

I am in the market for some batteries 4 x 135ah and 1 x 110 starter.

 

Well I have been doing the usual web search to get some prices and then decided to call some of the more local battery suppliers that do not have a website.

 

I spoke to one of the local suppliers and he told me that he could supply the 135ah batteries for £115 + VAT each. I asked what make they were and he said Varta and that they weighed 35kg each. Having already looked at Varta on the web I replied Oh I didnt think Varta made 135ah as I have only seen 110ah on offer to which he replied , thats correct they make them but do not sell them we have to put our own label on them.

 

Now the question is ,is this man telling the truth or porkies and would I be able to tell if I looked at them ?

 

He could well be telling the truth about being made by Varta, though he should be upfront about not being labelled as such.

 

Having said that Adverc do Numax 135Ah 42.5kg for £76 + VAT, carriage may be extra.

 

http://www.adverc.co.uk/products/batteries...3&Submit=Go

 

cheers,

Pete.

Edited April 10, 2008 by smileypete

[Keeping Up]

He could well be telling the truth about being made by Varta, though he should be upfront about not being labelled as such.

 

Having said that Adverc do Numax 135Ah 42.5kg for £76 + VAT, carriage may be extra.

 

http://www.adverc.co.uk/products/batteries...3&Submit=Go

 

cheers,

Pete.

Adverc's prices are pretty good, and so is their advice. Their technical guy advised me that although the Varta's are about 50% more expensive than the same-size Numax, most boaters seem to find that they last about twice as long. To me it made sense to get the Varta's (although as you say, there isn't a 135Ah version available).

[chris w]

Perhaps they are ? 90 ah but with Peukerts law in mind he is labelling them up at 135 ah

 

Nick

 

That's actually not a daft remark. Check that any batteries, which you are comparing, are all rated at the same HOUR rate (usually 20 hours). A battery that is rated at a HIGHER hour rate (eg: the 50 hour rate) will have a larger nominal capacity stamped on the label. This will look like good value but if one does the maths to convert it to a 20 hour rate, it would be a much smaller capacity.

 

Chris

[Ex- Member]

So whats a good price for a 110 leisure if buying just 1 of them?

 

So whats a good price for a 110 leisure if buying just 1 of them?

 

So whats a good price for a 110 leisure if buying just 1 of them?

 

.. Sorry, i really need to know

 

I did a deal in an auto spares shop in Dorchester on 3x 110 amp for £150 originally £59.99 each, it seems batteries have shot up sharply in price recently, the same battery is now £75 in the same shop.

 

Lucas main outlets will also give a good deal if you haggle. Or find a middleman wholsale supplier who will always do a good deal for cash if you can fine one.

[sueanddaren]

Hi

I am in the market for some batteries 4 x 135ah and 1 x 110 starter.

 

Well I have been doing the usual web search to get some prices and then decided to call some of the more local battery suppliers that do not have a website.

 

I spoke to one of the local suppliers and he told me that he could supply the 135ah batteries for £115 + VAT each. I asked what make they were and he said Varta and that they weighed 35kg each. Having already looked at Varta on the web I replied Oh I didnt think Varta made 135ah as I have only seen 110ah on offer to which he replied , thats correct they make them but do not sell them we have to put our own label on them.

 

Now the question is ,is this man telling the truth or porkies and would I be able to tell if I looked at them ?

 

These days Varta is just a brand name, the original Varta factory in Hargen Germany is owned by Enersys but apart from the factory they only bought the rights to the Industrial batteries that Varta made (traction, standby and defence). Johnson Controls bought the rights to the automotive side of things. Varta like some other battery manufacturers also sold battery factories and production lines, so I can think of 4 other factories that produce batteries with a brand label of Varta. So I suspect your man has a deal with one of the other producers. Confused? Try understanding Chloride, Exide and Yuasa it would take days to explain.

 

Daren

[ditchcrawler]

Hi

I am in the market for some batteries 4 x 135ah and 1 x 110 starter.

 

Well I have been doing the usual web search to get some prices and then decided to call some of the more local battery suppliers that do not have a website.

 

You could try here

http://www.shieldbatteries.co.uk/classic_cars.php

[blueprince]

I found some 2048Ah and some 1024Ah ex forklift batteries on ebay, I bought the 1024Ah for £348, it's 1',1',2' the other approximately twice as big, but I didn't buy it so I don't know exactly. It's 14v and seems to work fine, but reqires a 240v charger, I ran my fridge freezer on it for 14 days with an inverter and still didn't run it down. I expect it to die eventually, but the same Ah with conventional batts would be near a £1000.

 

I haven't got a boat yet, so don't know how it performs in reality, and am amusing myself by running everything I expect to run on my boat on it, so far with no problems. I'm going to put a blog of my build up when I get my boat so I'll keep you informed of progress and reliability.

[chris w]

I found some 2048Ah and some 1024Ah ex forklift batteries on ebay, I bought the 1024Ah for £348, it's 1',1',2' the other approximately twice as big, but I didn't buy it so I don't know exactly. It's 14v and seems to work fine, but reqires a 240v charger, I ran my fridge freezer on it for 14 days with an inverter and still didn't run it down. I expect it to die eventually, but the same Ah with conventional batts would be near a £1000.

 

I calculate that it would run your fridge/freezer for about 16 days and be about 50% discharged (below which you shouldn't run it as the battery life will be shortened).

 

What do you mean by "...but [it] requires a 240v charger"? All batteries use a 240v charger (which then generates the actual charging voltage required).

 

Chris

[sueanddaren]

I calculate that it would run your fridge/freezer for about 16 days and be about 50% discharged (below which you shouldn't run it as the battery life will be shortened).

 

What do you mean by "...but [it] requires a 240v charger"? All batteries use a 240v charger (which then generates the actual charging voltage required).

 

Chris

Chris

 

If these are from a forklift they will be tubular plate so they can take 80% depth of discharge (DoD) and still give 1500 cycles. Don't forget however that this market uses a C5 rate.

 

Daren

[Gibbo]

Chris

 

If these are from a forklift they will be tubular plate so they can take 80% depth of discharge (DoD) and still give 1500 cycles.

 

Daren

 

How many cycles at 50% though?

 

I would imagine loads.

 

Gibbo

[Nickhlx]

How many cycles at 50% though?

 

I would imagine loads.

 

Gibbo

 

 

and loads and loads ! !

 

Nick

[Tusses]

I woke up this morning thinking about batteries

 

anyway - another of my off the wall thoughts !

How about NiMi or Li ? these are getting cheap now - easily the same price per Ah as lead acid.

Can be fast charged too - as in the model car racing packs

 

are there any other battery technologies improving in price/performance that may be used for heavy 12v systems any time soon ?

[Gibbo]

I woke up this morning thinking about batteries

 

anyway - another of my off the wall thoughts !

How about NiMi or Li ? these are getting cheap now - easily the same price per Ah as lead acid.

Can be fast charged too - as in the model car racing packs

 

are there any other battery technologies improving in price/performance that may be used for heavy 12v systems any time soon ?

 

Lithium Ion is going to replace lead acid for this purpose one day. It's already starting in certain fields but not boats yet. They can be charged much faster, they have longer life cycles. Better power to weight ration and much lower Peukert's Exponents.

 

At present however they are MUCH too expensive (like about 5 to 10 times more). I'd guess 5 to 10 years they'll be here.

 

Gibbo

[Tusses]

so its not a totally mad idea then !

 

price wise I was thinking NiMi - but expecting Li to come down soon.

 

is Li it ? or are there other technologies up and coming ?

[sueanddaren]

Lithium Ion is going to replace lead acid for this purpose one day. It's already starting in certain fields but not boats yet. They can be charged much faster, they have longer life cycles. Better power to weight ration and much lower Peukert's Exponents.

 

At present however they are MUCH too expensive (like about 5 to 10 times more). I'd guess 5 to 10 years they'll be here.

 

Gibbo

 

Truble is they don't scale up very easily, 2.2Ah is curently commercial so you have to use tham in areys (still can't spell) ie lots in paralel with individual charging and monitoring. Saft have got up to 25Ah in a single cell but they keep exploding, so no one wants to go there just yet.

 

Daren