Leisure battery only 2 days use ?

[Garby]

Hi
I’ve got a T6 van and was converted approx 2 years ago with a decent size leisure battery. The van has not been used that many times, however I did a test the other day , I fully charged the battery up for 48 hours, the battery was showing a full charge, I switched the fridge on with nothing else connected, The battery only lasted two days.
I would of thought that you would/ should get considerable longer, especially the battery has never been hammered or used to often

Can anyone advise please any help or advise as to the longevity of a battery being used please under normal operator parameters.
many thanks Phil

 

[t0mb0]

Probably going to need more details than that, which charger, which battery, which fridge and what kind of ambient temperatures.

 

[Qnapper]

Phil as stated to many parameters:

How was the battery used ie: discharged below 50% and if so how often. When you say charged for 48hrs with what?
When not using van was battery being charged? mains/Solar
What sort of fridge? was it on full setting?

I'm sure others will have the answer and ask more questions.

 

[Nigel W]

if the fridge was turned on from warm full of products (not Pre-run on mains to chill) and it was was warm weather so you were diving in and out for a cold beer then two days would be about right.
likewise if you were test running with an empty fridge then again it’s about right. (It would last longer if filled with cold products).
so many different parameters but we work on a max of 3 days if pre chilled on mains, full of product and not opening the door too often.

 

[t0mb0]

The other thing to note is that running a lead acid battery right down to empty generally doesn’t do them any good so it’s worth avoiding as far as possible. Hopefully in this case, a low voltage cutoff in the fridge activated before the battery was hammered down too low.

 

[Garby]

Thanks for the replies.
The fridge was completely empty when did the test, the Battery was charged from nothing in the battery, the battery has been run completely down a few times ( I thought I was correct in using all its juice before recharging ) temp was approx 20 outside. Setting was at number 3 on the fridge , the brand is ISOTHERM, the battery was charged via a house 240 v supply. Generally when we get back after a trip the van is not put back on charge until we are ready to go away again which could be up to 3 / 4 weeks. was thinking of maybe solar power next year. The thing is we don’t want to use electric hook up going forward (well not all the time) if I got solar I suppose I could run for a week at least,
again any advice is much appreciated as this T6 is new to us as we have downsized from a large motorhome
thanks Phil

 

[t0mb0]

Thanks for the replies.
The fridge was completely empty when did the test, the Battery was charged from nothing in the battery, the battery has been run completely down a few times ( I thought I was correct in using all its juice before recharging ) temp was approx 20 outside. Setting was at number 3 on the fridge , the brand is ISOTHERM, the battery was charged via a house 240 v supply. Generally when we get back after a trip the van is not put back on charge until we are ready to go away again which could be up to 3 / 4 weeks. was thinking of maybe solar power next year. The thing is we don’t want to use electric hook up going forward (well not all the time) if I got solar I suppose I could run for a week at least,
again any advice is much appreciated as this T6 is new to us as we have downsized from a large motorhome
thanks Phil

You don’t say what battery it is but it’s possible running it down and keeping it run down won’t have done it much good. Hopefully it’ll be ok if it hasn’t been hammered down too low too often. Try and keep it well topped up in future.

A solar panel is definitely the way forward if you want to avoid hook up.

 

[Nigel W]

If you have let the battery completely discharge a few times then you have probably killed it.
if you have access to mains when at home you are best to leave the charger turned on so that the battery is on a trickle charge, likewise the vehicle battery.
What electrical system do you have in the camper? (There will be a name and model on the box, Sargent perhaps?)

 

[The_Lad]

My fridge can drain the battery over a 2 day period I’ve got a waeco cr50 and a 110ah leisure battery. I added a single solar panel 110w and now I can run the fridge 24/7 over the summer months and it’s switched off over winter.

Only when the ambient temp has been high 28 degrees ish I see the battery becomes drained

 

[widu13]

Thanks for the replies.
The fridge was completely empty when did the test, the Battery was charged from nothing in the battery, the battery has been run completely down a few times ( I thought I was correct in using all its juice before recharging ) temp was approx 20 outside. Setting was at number 3 on the fridge , the brand is ISOTHERM, the battery was charged via a house 240 v supply. Generally when we get back after a trip the van is not put back on charge until we are ready to go away again which could be up to 3 / 4 weeks. was thinking of maybe solar power next year. The thing is we don’t want to use electric hook up going forward (well not all the time) if I got solar I suppose I could run for a week at least,
again any advice is much appreciated as this T6 is new to us as we have downsized from a large motorhome
thanks Phil

I'm going to guess that you have a 110Ah-120Ah lead acid battery of some type. You should not discharge to below 50% as a rule of thumb, some makers claim a depth of discharge (DoD) but they don't use any magic chemistry so I'm always doubtful of those claims. So based on a 120Ah batt, that gives you an available 60Ah...but, if your charger is a non smart one (ie. not 3 stage or above) then it will only charge to 85% of it's max capacity, so 102Ah - 50% (60Ah) means that you only have 42Ah of available power.

That fridge if its similar to my compressor fridge, will use around 4.5Ah, but dependant upon the weather will only run for 25-50% of the time, so lets be generous and say 25%, so at a constant powered on state the fridge will only run for around 9.5 hrs, multiplied by 4 (for running 25% of the time) and your fridge would last 40.5 hrs.

It sounds like you have been lucky and the battery might not be completely knackered as the battery is performing ok, but it does looks like it's performance is negatively affected (remember after that time it should be at 50%, not totally discharged). The battery can be checked out, but it does sound like a new battery is needed. Have it looked over by an auto spark, ideally someone who knows campers.

 

[t0mb0]

If the battery ran the fridge for two days it’s unlikely to be completely knackered so I wouldn’t be rushing to replace it, especially if you’re still getting to know the system. I think most fridges will stop based on low voltage before the battery is really in trouble.

 

[Pete C]

As above, 2 days for a fridge is about right on a 100 Ah battery in my experience.

Pete

 

[Garby]

Many thanks for all the replys, at least I understand how a battery works now. I will renew now in April and get solar fitted, anyone know a good supplier to fit on a VW in the north west
cheers Phil

 

[moomin-j]

Many thanks for all the replys, at least I understand how a battery works now. I will renew now in April and get solar fitted, anyone know a good supplier to fit on a VW in the north west
cheers Phil

Brandon @ AJC Conversions in Glossop, Manchester will sort you out

 

[czmate1999]

Just a note that the test was not fair as an empty fridge would cause more of a drain. If you had cold stuff (beer) in there then it would retain the cold and stay cooler longer.

If you are using an AGM battery then you would only get 50% of the stated capacity...

FYI - my plan is to run a portable compressor fridge off of a lithium battery pack that will be powered by a 175w solar panel. While i already have solar on the van, this will be an additional panel that I will store in my pop top when not in use.