Exide Excell EB950 95Ah Car Battery Maintenance Free

Product Information

This is why a caravan’s 12V accessories should not be run directly from a charger – i.e. without a battery installed in the supply system. Battery anatomy We are unable to ship to the following post codes on any service but may be able to obtain a quote: Enhanced Flooded Batteries - EFB products are an enhanced version of standard lead acid technology. They offer improved charge acceptance and greater durability with charge cycles. Conventional lead-acid starter and leisure batteries have inspection caps so that the level of acid can be inspected in each of the cells. This also enables the cells to be topped-up using de-ionised water (also sold for steam irons) so that the electrolyte just covers the top of the lead plates.

Lead Acid - Lead Acid is the most common type. They require maintenance and need venting. They take damage if left to run flat. Valve Regulated Lead Acid batteries operate in the same way but do not require venting.Absorbent Glass Mat - Absorbent Glass Mat, or AGM, combines compressed glass fibres with acid. This extends that battery's lifespan. As sealed units, maintenance is of a minimum. They can sit on their ends and sides, just not upside down. Therefore, an AGM charger is required; and these units tend to be more expensive than Deep Cycle batteries. We offer a range of batteries that vary in terms of size and capacity including various types of car batteries. All of our batteries are graded according to the NCC Leisure Battery Verification Scheme which classifies them into three categories according to their capacity and intended purpose. Class A batteries are suitable for frequent off-grid usage and power-hungry appliances like kettles and TVs; Class B and C batteries are better for limited off-grid use.

Battery specialists sometimes diagnose a lead-acid battery’s condition using a hydrometer to obtain the specific gravity of the acid. Although this method has some advantages, it cannot be used on a sealed battery and the procedure is not discussed further here. Your leisure battery needs to be maintained in good condition to give consistent performance. In fact, running a leisure battery down until it’s empty could cause unnecessary and permanent damage. It’s safe to use up to 50% of your leisure battery’s charge, after which it’s advisable to recharge it. Needless-to-say, if a battery box is mounted inside, heat in the living area will help to improve its performance. However, many batteries are mounted externally where ambient temperatures can be much lower. In contrast, a leisure battery has to provide a steady flow of current over a prolonged period and seldom gets replenished until the user recognises that its voltage level has substantially fallen. That’s when a re-charge is duly provided. If left long in a discharged state, a battery will generally not regain its former condition. Furthermore, manufacturers often recommend that re-charging is commenced when a battery drops to 50 per cent of its full condition. Let’s take an example. If a battery which is nominally rated at 60Ah is operating in temperatures of 15C, this ten degree reduction will bring about a 10 per cent reduction in its capacity. This now means that it effectively performs like a 54Ah battery. The temperature issue can have adverse effects for caravan and motorhome users who enjoy winter sports. Not only will a battery face greater demands when providing their lighting, fan-assisted heating, and evening TV entertainment during long, dark evenings; its effective capacity is significantly lower than it would be in warmer conditions.

So bear in mind that conventional lead-acid batteries are not able to perform both starting functions and accessory supply functions with equal effectiveness. However, products called AGM batteries, described later, are better at performing both operations. Leisure batteries’ two-fold tasks Temperature– The stated capacity of a battery is expressed in Amp hours (Ah) but the quoted figure is only applicable when the ambient temperature is 25C. In reality, there are many occasions in the UK when it’s much colder than 25C and for every one degree drop in temperature, there’s an approximate one per cent reduction in a battery’s Ah capacity. Portable solar power has gained a lot of traction in recent years. However, they're better suited to keeping smaller power stations topped up for powering gadgets like phones and laptops. Plus, with solar, there's no guarantee that you'll have enough sunlight to keep up with heavy usage. Sparks sometimes occur when connecting up a battery and good quality clamps are needed. Temporary crocodile clips, often supplied with battery chargers, are not suitable for permanent connections. Also note that a spark can cause ignition of releasing gas or residual gas left in a cell. As its name suggests there's broadly the same basic chemistry going with a reaction between lead and an acid but with these the acid is in a crystal form. This means there's very little liquid content with no risk of spillage making them safe to transport. The unique chemistry enables them to be very deep cycled with little risk of sulphation. They can be be around twice the price of a good quality deep-cycle battery but as they were originally designed for UPS use they're robust against continuous charging from a solar supply and can tolerate heavy discharge loads from an inverter for example.

The 12V equipment in a caravan or motorhome relies on a leisure battery. This important item is not normally supplied with a new caravan whereas most new motorhomes have one as standard. Batteries that are designed to start a vehicle are made differently from batteries specifically intended to run caravanning appliances. This is because their operating requirements are different. For instance a vehicle battery has to provide a high current surge to start an engine, but once that has been achieved, a vehicle’s alternator immediately replenishes the power it provided. The classification of every Halfords’ battery is clearly marked giving you confidence that you’re buying a battery that’s fit for purpose and will provide you with the performance and the power you’re paying for - not leaving you short changed and underpowered.

Halfords Battery Guarantee 

Gel - Like AGMs, Gel batteries are sealed units so can be laid on their side. They are leakproof and can recharge if ran flat (though still not advised). Gel batteries are the safest option and are commonly in campervans and motorhomes from Europe. They are one of the most expensive battery types.

Regardless of the type of technology a leisure battery has on the inside, they're normally grouped into categories based on their best use case. So, for example, if you are planning on caravanning and would like to make sure that you can watch TV for 3 hours, your equation would look like this:When inspecting battery cells, wear safety clothing including eye protection and gloves. Battery acid also damages clothing. The standard (i.e. ‘wet’) starter and leisure batteries described here usually have a polypropylene container (available in standardised sizes) and moulded with compartments. Class A - Higher capacity batteries for those who frequently spend extended time away from an electrical hook-up. With the car electrics – most modern cars have sat-nav and a fairly good stereo. 20 years ago this would not have been the case. Additions such as a powerful stereo were usually added later and sat nav’s didn’t even exist. In doing so the driver 20 years ago would probably not have found his or her battery going flat prematurely because the rest of the vehicle had less electronics on-board. Firstly, it's a great idea to line up your most-used electrical items and find out how much power they'll use up. Obviously, if you're topping up your onboard heating with a portable oil-filled radiator in the winter, you'll need to have factored that into your battery requirements. Caravan Motorhome has put together a handy equation that should help guide you to which leisure battery is best for your needs: