Do I need a larger Leisure Battery?

[T28dov]

Hoping someone will be able to help, I think I may currently have an agm 110ah. I bought from Cambridge campervan and I haven’t checked with them yet.

I’ve got a solar panel on the roof and a little MPPT box.

everything is normally fine until I get a cold night and want to use the heater and then it seems that the initial surge on the battery kills it enough to make the heater error out and not start up.

I’m after something with more ‘beef’, maybe a 220ah agm is the right answer?

I don’t often hookup to electric and do a little of wild camping from time to time.

any suggestions that I won’t have to remortgage my home for would be welcomed!!

thanks.

 

[t0mb0]

Can you clarify what you mean by heater? Is this a diesel heater or do you mean you're actually trying to power an electric heater off the leisure battery?

 

[T28dov]

Can you clarify what you mean by heater? Is this a diesel heater or do you mean you're actually trying to power an electric heater off the leisure battery?

Sorry, it’s a webasto diesel heater!

 

[t0mb0]

Sorry, it’s a webasto diesel heater!

In that case, your leisure battery should have no trouble coping with firing it up. It implies that there's something wrong somewhere, either with the heater itself, the wiring to it or the battery. Depending on where the problem lies, replacing the battery may not help. Firstly, is the battery in a good state of charge? If you don't have a battery monitor, just measuring the voltage should give some idea.

 

[AussieMick]

You should be able to see the ah of your battery written somewhere on it, usually a label giving details.
My diesel heater only draws higher current (about 8A )on start up to get glow plug going then drops to 1ish to run heater.
A healthy charged battery should easily cope with this.
Are you assuming your battery is fully charged or have you measured it by battery monitor or multimeter.
Do you also run a fridge, water pump etc as these can draw more power from your battery than you realize.

 

[Pete C]

How is your leisure battery charged when you are driving ?
Pete

 

[Mud Digger]

Hoping someone will be able to help, I think I may currently have an agm 110ah. I bought from Cambridge campervan and I haven’t checked with them yet.

I’ve got a solar panel on the roof and a little MPPT box.

everything is normally fine until I get a cold night and want to use the heater and then it seems that the initial surge on the battery kills it enough to make the heater error out and not start up.

I’m after something with more ‘beef’, maybe a 220ah agm is the right answer?

I don’t often hookup to electric and do a little of wild camping from time to time.

any suggestions that I won’t have to remortgage my home for would be welcomed!!

thanks.

A 220Ah battery is very big and very very heavy have you left your existing battery flat for long periods it shortens it's life Nick

 

[oldiebut goodie]

The Webasto will shut off if the volts drop down to 10.5 for several seconds, normally a glow pin will knock the voltage down to 11.5ish when first started so there must be a voltage drop due to poor installation or the battery is on the way out. Check the voltage at the battery and at the heater whilst it is starting to see if there is any difference in voltage - if there is the wiring is suspect. If the same but is below 10.75v the battery is likely to be pooped.

 

[mommabear]

Hoping someone will be able to help, I think I may currently have an agm 110ah. I bought from Cambridge campervan and I haven’t checked with them yet.

I’ve got a solar panel on the roof and a little MPPT box.

everything is normally fine until I get a cold night and want to use the heater and then it seems that the initial surge on the battery kills it enough to make the heater error out and not start up.

I’m after something with more ‘beef’, maybe a 220ah agm is the right answer?

I don’t often hookup to electric and do a little of wild camping from time to time.

any suggestions that I won’t have to remortgage my home for would be welcomed!!

thanks.

Hi mate

Many Moons ago - in St iVES, at a cliff top campsite in November, with a gale 6 wind coming straight off the Atlantic - our heater wouldn't fire. Ohhh what a treat.
What we discovered after partially disassembling our electrical system in a half drunk/half hungover stupor, was that despite having a solar panel, the battery was low as we hadn't moved / started the van in a couple of days and had been relying on the solar for our 12v system. Quick start of the engine and the heater fired up lovely. We rand the engine for 20-30 mins once a day after that and had no trouble - Some models suck a ton of juice on startup which can be a pain in the arse. It it were me, I wouldnt replace anything to start with, see if you can get by just making sure your battery is in a good state of charge. I've got to say, I wouldnt rely on your solar on its own all the time for running big juice sucking stuff.

 

[T28dov]

How is your leisure battery charged when you are driving ?
Pete

It has a split charge relay as well as the solar panel. I’m leaning towards the battery being buggered, it’s a lion battery, looks to be lower end of the market

 

[Skyliner33]

It has a split charge relay as well as the solar panel. I’m leaning towards the battery being buggered, it’s a lion battery, looks to be lower end of the market

AFAIK split charge relays don’t work properly on the T6. You need a dc-dc charger.

 

[Dellmassive]

sounds like a failing leisure battery . .

look at replacing for a new AGM battery or go Lithium if you can afford one . .

£305 ATM over here >> For Sale - Valence U27-12XP Series 12V 138ah Lifepo4 Battery

more info on dc-dc chargers . .

[Guide] DC-DC Charger (for leisure battery) -- How I Done It --

DC-DC Charger (for Leisure battery) -- How I Done It -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

mains chargers . .

Battery Chargers - How I Did It -

Battery Chargers - How I Did It - So its that time of year again, cold, rainy. . . . . . . flat battery =[ This time we look at Battery Chargers. Our vans will most likely come with a AGM style starter battery, for this type of battery we need a "Smart Charger" . . . . but what does this...

www.t6forum.com

solar . . .

• 
  Solar Pwm & Mppt Controllers - How I Done It -
• Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -

and everything else . .


**************************************************
Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread
**************************************************

 

[t0mb0]

It has a split charge relay as well as the solar panel. I’m leaning towards the battery being buggered, it’s a lion battery, looks to be lower end of the market

It might be, but without at least some voltage measurements, it's very difficult to tell. You might get lucky and replace it and magically fix it, or you might spend good money replacing it and then find you have excess voltage drop on the heater wiring, or a problem with the charging system or something...

 

[Dellmassive]

It might be, but without at least some voltage measurements, it's very difficult to tell. You might get lucky and replace it and magically fix it, or you might spend good money replacing it and then find you have excess voltage drop on the heater wiring, or a problem with the charging system or something...

Wise words

 

[T28dov]

Thanks for the tips! I’ve got a multimeter but probably going to struggle to take the necessary measurements in all the right places!!

 

[AussieMick]

Charge up your battery until you are pretty sure it is fully charged. Put your multimeter on the DC scale, take a reading across battery terminals, it should be 12.7v to 13v if you have an agm battery.
Now get someone to turn on your heater while you keep multimeter leads on battery terminals. Take a reading, it should only drop about. 2v or. 3v , say to 12.6v or so.
This is the first step.
It will prove if you do actually have a fully charged battery to begin with and what happens to it when you apply a load.
Then post results and members will give you more advice.

 

[T28dov]

Charge up your battery until you are pretty sure it is fully charged. Put your multimeter on the DC scale, take a reading across battery terminals, it should be 12.7v to 13v if you have an agm battery.
Now get someone to turn on your heater while you keep multimeter leads on battery terminals. Take a reading, it should only drop about. 2v or. 3v , say to 12.6v or so.
This is the first step.
It will prove if you do actually have a fully charged battery to begin with and what happens to it when you apply a load.
Then post results and members will give you more advice.

Thanks! That sounds like a logical way of doing it. I’ve actually got one of those 12v cigarette type volt meters. This probably does the same thing but I’ll do it the way you have suggested. I didn’t mention that I have a fridge running during all of this, I have been thinking that this and the load the heater igniting puts on the battery is what causes the issue. I’m pretty convinced the battery is the fault but I’ll get the multi meter out and do some more testing!

 

[AussieMick]

When you had the trouble before with heater start up was your fridge compressor running, if it was turn fridge off and try it.
A healthy charged battery should be able to do both at the same time.
The most important thing is to start with a fully charged battery or you dont really prove anything. Put it on a smart charger for 24hours then do tests.
A multimeter is more accurate.