Leisure Battery: EFB or AGM?

slybacon67

slybacon67

Member
T6 Pro
Hi all , help required ,my leisure battery is looking like it is on the road out and i want to replace it , the battery at the moment is a Halfords EFB and it is charged via a normal campervan charging system and voltage sensitive relay on alternator,not ideal and something i would like to upgrade at some point when funds permit. The battery is located under drivers seat so space is a premium so my question is can i replace it with a AGM battery which seems to the best choice for size and also could i then place the battery on its side. Halfords has a AGM battery that fits and i would like to fit asap but i am concerned that it affects starter battery or does not charge very well from my charging system in van fitted by outfitters. happy to look at other recommendations
many thanks in advance
 
and changing to AGM will not effect the starter battery ,bearing in mind i only have voltage sensitive relay and not a dc to dc charger.
 
It might be that the VSR is the cause of the leisure battery failing, since it will not be getting a full charge like it would get with a DC/DC charger.
I'd suggest investing in a DC/DC charger as soon as funds allow to avoid throwing money away on batteries down the line.
 
I have been on site plugged in and also plugged in at house for full charge then i only get about 12-14hrs with fridge on , possibly not getting perfect charge though i agree.
 
What sort of fridge? A compressor type should get 30-50 hours off a Lead acid battery (down to 50%) a peltier effect one could be a LOT less as they are more power hungry.
 
Couple of things.

You haven’t said what capacity your current battery is, and is the Halfords battery definitely a leisure battery ?

I also use Tayna (correct link is www.tayna.co.uk), and would recommend them. They distinguish between leisure and starter batteries as they have different characteristics for different jobs.

Pete
 
Lithium for me.

www.t6forum.com

Lithium LifePo4 12v Batteries - Time For An Upgrade?

Lithium Batteries are the future, (keep checking back for the latest news/edits) ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...
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.
 
Pete C said:
Couple of things.

You haven’t said what capacity your current battery is, and is the Halfords battery definitely a leisure battery ?

I also use Tayna (correct link is www.tayna.co.uk), and would recommend them. They distinguish between leisure and starter batteries as they have different characteristics for different jobs.

Pete
Click to expand...
It’s domestic ex50 fridge. Draws about 4a when cooling and 1 to 2 a whwn cooled. I pre cooled it at home. I have a 100ah battery just now.
 
slybacon67 said:
Okay don’t have the correct charging system for lithium.
Click to expand...
Make sure the voltage for the battery is correct during charging.
I have an Adria Alpina 763 UK and changed it from AGM to Litium. Now i don't need charging for 3 weeks. except during winter. Have 160w solar.
However, the most important thing is to see how much voltage your charger gives. Even if you have a litium charger you just can't buy whatever litium battery. There are huge differences in those batteries as well.
My charger in my caravan isn't made for litium, but the charger delivers 14.4 volt and my battery "needs" 14.6 volt. My battery will be good, maybe for 12 years. but not as long as the company says. :)
Sorry if I'm not good in English so hope you'll understand anyway.

Btw, if you looking for litium, choose HEAT, whatever you do. Maybe Bluetooth is usable? I use that a lot to make sure everything is okay.
 
What space do you have to work with? Is where you want it to go where the existing battery is? Would a bigger battery fit if you could lay it on its side? Not all AGM batteries can be laid on their sides, you need to read the manufacturers data sheets to find out.
A 100 Ah Lead acid AGM leisure battery can weigh around 32Kgs, it needs to be secured properly in use.
 
Last edited:
looking at max 345mm length 210mm height 200mm width , battery that is in just now is smaller than this and a tight fit . if i could lay battery on its side under seat i could go bigger as long as i dont go over 190 height when on its side. going off grid for week next week and have plug n play solar panels to try keep things going also but felt at the weekend my battery just didnt last very long(around 12-14hrs as fridge started going off and on during the night) going to test it today again after it has had 20 hrs of charging.
 
Sprengarfjord said:
Make sure the voltage for the battery is correct during charging.
I have an Adria Alpina 763 UK and changed it from AGM to Litium. Now i don't need charging for 3 weeks. except during winter. Have 160w solar.
However, the most important thing is to see how much voltage your charger gives. Even if you have a litium charger you just can't buy whatever litium battery. There are huge differences in those batteries as well.
My charger in my caravan isn't made for litium, but the charger delivers 14.4 volt and my battery "needs" 14.6 volt. My battery will be good, maybe for 12 years. but not as long as the company says. :)
Sorry if I'm not good in English so hope you'll understand anyway.

Btw, if you looking for litium, choose HEAT, whatever you do. Maybe Bluetooth is usable? I use that a lot to make sure everything is okay.
Click to expand...
12V 100AH POWEROAD BASE LOW HEIGHT LITHIUM LIFEPO4 BATTERY PRLR100D - Alpha Batteries do you think i could use this battery ,it says it can be direct swap for lead acid battery and i could def put on side if its to tight .
 
Yes with a caveat, the use of a VSR with a lithium battery might damage the alternator on the van, lithium batteries can take huge charging currents which can overload alternators and smoke them. If you want to go down the lithium route (and who wouldn't nowadays) you will need to factor in the cost of a DC-DC charger to make best use of it. If you have solar panels available, then one that has a solar input would be the logical choice (Redarc/Renogy/CTEK)
 
Grim Reaper said:
Yes with a caveat, the use of a VSR with a lithium battery might damage the alternator on the van, lithium batteries can take huge charging currents which can overload alternators and smoke them. If you want to go down the lithium route (and who wouldn't nowadays) you will need to factor in the cost of a DC-DC charger to make best use of it. If you have solar panels available, then one that has a solar input would be the logical choice (Redarc/Renogy/CTEK)
Click to expand...
Yes that is the route I want to go down eventually and also upgrade mains charger. Can I simply swap out the vsr for a dc to dc charger. My leisure battery is grounded out under seat so only the positive cable has been run and would be good to not have to run negative and just ground the dc to dc charger but I am unsure.
 
slybacon67 said:
12V 100AH POWEROAD BASE LOW HEIGHT LITHIUM LIFEPO4 BATTERY PRLR100D - Alpha Batteries do you think i could use this battery ,it says it can be direct swap for lead acid battery and i could def put on side if its to tight .
Click to expand...
Well, not really. Lead acid is not the optimal to just direct swap to litium. If it was AGM it could work. But as I mentioned before, the most important is how the charger works. To actually get a professional opinion you should get the information abut the charger, then ask a supplier in batteries witch battery is fitted for your charger.
I would NOT recommend to change just because they say so.

It is safer to charge litium with AGM charger. Unfortunatlly I can't recommend any page to read about chargers for litium, but google it and read as much as you can.
I hope you will get the perfect solution for you. :)
 
slybacon67 said:
Yes that is the route I want to go down eventually and also upgrade mains charger. Can I simply swap out the vsr for a dc to dc charger. My leisure battery is grounded out under seat so only the positive cable has been run and would be good to not have to run negative and just ground the dc to dc charger but I am unsure.
Click to expand...
Local grounding is fine, if you need to limit charging current to save/ satisfy the battery requirements I think the Renogy would be the best option. @Dellmassive can comment on that.
 
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