Yup, I reckon my batteries are done for!

[Drpps]

Mine is still on the original leisure batteries coming up for 10 years. It has had to have a new engine battery at 100,000 miles but not leisure. The van was well used for driving but not camping for the first 4 years before I bought it but rarely on hook up. Regularly plugged into the mains for 24 hours since. Still lasting 4 days + with fridge in summer but they haven’t had lots of deep discharge cycles. I am readying myself for the hit of new ones at some point soon. Given my experience I am going to replace like for like with the Varta.

 

[sbmcd]

LA80 for Leisure , F21 for engine.

LA80 Varta Professional Dual Purpose AGM Leisure Battery 840 080 080

LA80 VARTA Professional Dual Purpose AGM Leisure Battery <i>Innovation with Purpose, Premium Experience, Powerful History</i> VARTA was founded in 1887 Germany, and was established fully in 1904 by delivering the first electric vehicle battery, famously driven by Thomas Edison. Soon after, VARTA...

www.tayna.co.uk

F21 Varta Silver Dynamic Start-Stop Plus AGM Car Battery 12V 80Ah (580901080) (110 AGM)

F21 VARTA Silver Dynamic AGM Car Battery <i>Innovation with Purpose, Premium Experience, Powerful History</i> VARTA was founded in 1887 Germany, and was established fully in 1904 by delivering the first electric vehicle battery, famously driven by Thomas Edison. Soon after, VARTA delivers the...

www.tayna.co.uk

The Varta F21 has now been superseded by the A6, same battery, different number.

 

[sbmcd]

Mine is still on the original leisure batteries coming up for 10 years. It has had to have a new engine battery at 100,000 miles but not leisure. The van was well used for driving but not camping for the first 4 years before I bought it but rarely on hook up. Regularly plugged into the mains for 24 hours since. Still lasting 4 days + with fridge in summer but they haven’t had lots of deep discharge cycles. I am readying myself for the hit of new ones at some point soon. Given my experience I am going to replace like for like with the Varta.

I'm still on my original leisure batteries almost 10 years since I bought the van new, still working well, regularly used on and off EHU.

 

[Neelo19701976]

I got my 6.1 beach last June (new) and have had a lot of problems with the leisure batts holding charge. Also it had been telling me a low battery position on the screen with zero hours and then suddenly an hour later 17 hrs.
Very inconsistent. My rant about leaky roof I’ll leave for another thread

 

[Lambeth Cali]

So my 2008 original batteries that had gone to 0% over the winter but charged up to this

After 3 days sitting unplugged are showing this

That’s pretty good right?

 

[chockswahay]

So my 2008 original batteries that had gone to 0% over the winter but charged up to this
View attachment 119300
After 3 days sitting unplugged are showing this
View attachment 119301
That’s pretty good right?

How long did the batteries rest after charging? and not wanting to appear pedantic but that was actually less than 48 hours. At the suggested rate they will be less than 12v by Tuesday next week

 

[Lambeth Cali]

How long did the batteries rest after charging? and not wanting to appear pedantic but that was actually less than 48 hours. At the suggested rate they will be less than 12v by Tuesday next week

Ah yes well spotted. It’s been a busy week.

 

[chockswahay]

So then, as it happens my son has a Genius5 charger…… similar to a Cetek? It has a ‘repair mode’ for sulphated batteries ……… I assume I would have to remove the batteries to do this?

 

[yossarian]

So then, as it happens my son has a Genius5 charger…… similar to a Cetek? It has a ‘repair mode’ for sulphated batteries ……… I assume I would have to remove the batteries to do this?

Usually these chargers apply a current limited charge with deliberate ripple to a higher voltage than the battery is rated. Around 16.5V typically.

Some used to come with vibration motors to help dislodge the lead sulphate. I haven't seen one like that for a while though.

Safest is to disconnect from the vehicle before charging however the likelihood of damage is low.

I'd be surprised if the device improved your batteries substantially more than multi day ehu did.

 

[chockswahay]

Usually these chargers apply a current limited charge with deliberate ripple to a higher voltage than the battery is rated. Around 16.5V typically.

Some used to come with vibration motors to help dislodge the lead sulphate. I haven't seen one like that for a while though.

Safest is to disconnect from the vehicle before charging however the likelihood of damage is low.

I'd be surprised if the device improved your batteries substantially more than multi day ehu did.

Thanks @yossarian, I did wonder that too. I think I might be chasing rainbows here…….

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks @yossarian, I did wonder that too. I think I might be chasing rainbows here…….

Have you charged and checked each battery separately. I had 1 leisure battery fail at 6 yrs, but changed both.

 

[chockswahay]

Hi Team, I replaced both batteries last week https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/changing-leisure-batteries.44016/
and now they are holding charge perfectly We used the van for two days including night stop, ran the heating for a few hours each day https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/i-am-having-real-heater-and-battery-issues-help-please.51972/ and they didn’t drop below 12.6 volts……… result!