Leisure Battery Alternative ?

[Shayne]

I was searching for boat batteries and discovered its original 12v system was set to use something similar to these PAIR OF ABS LXD110 Dual Purpose Leisure Batteries 110ah | eBay - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

Which have somewhere along the line been replaced with heavy duty starter batteries resulting in so many lost days of work due to dead batteries over the years i don't even want to think about it .

Anyway I was thinking why not replace my truck batteries with the same ?

Be a tight physical fit but removes the need for a third battery , but then its common knowledge that eleckrickery bores me stupid so I will never have any great understanding of it so i will let those with better understanding trash the idea if its a bad idea .

Incidentally my 80's Varta G7 and G8 are not powerful enough to start the boat .

 

[thelal]

only question is how to they perform (or one of them) as starting battery (is it 12v or 24v as combo)
as different than leisure 'draw'.
Just posing the ? as I don't know the answer and have seen this before - especially in relation to complete replacement with Lithiums

 

[Shayne]

Wishful thinking maybe but i was hoping you could murder them with your fridge all night but still start your engine in the morning ?

 

[thelal]

yes if starting battery #1 from #2 leisure battery but issue afaik lithium (and derivatives) aren't "good" in engine bay and not as a starter battery. Could be wrong

 

[Shayne]

1000 amp cranking , 170 more than the varta G8 .

Obviously an independent battery through a split charge system is a safer bet , just thinking if it works for my boat which constantly runs , radar, gps , x2 vhf radios , autopilot , echo sounder , a tracker , floodlights , deck lights , navigation lights x2 chartplotters , albeit mostly when the engine is running but any of these might be turned on when the engine isn't running . Then it seems unlikely to me that running a diesel heater overnight might prevent you starting the truck in the morning .

No good for a long stay but typically I'm on the road again in the morning .

 

[Shayne]

The Batteries I used in the Test are made to American Specs by Advanced Batteries, which are 115Ah Duel Purpose Deep Cycle Batteries which have a 5 year Guarantee and they can be cycled right down to 30% SoC, The Battery I used on the Test is 2 years and 10 months old and it's Voltage when it has been on Charge and allowed to rest for 24 hours is up around 13. 345 to 13.450 Volts which kind of knocks the theory of a battery being fully charged at 12.7v in to a Tin Hat, These Batteries will Run my ARB 47L for about 6 to 12 Hours before the Voltage drops below 13.0v,

Copied and pasted from here

Dual battery in-cabin and Solar setup - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

 

[GeekOKent]

Lithium typically can't generate the high cca needed to turn the engine, but they are much higher capacity in themselves. A 50Ah lifepo4 will give you more current than a 110Ah lead leisure battery, and will do 3000+ power cycles compared to 400 on a Lead battery.

They can also be mounted in any direction, weigh a lot less, cost a lot more and can go down to 0% charge , can be charged to 80% in 45 min...

But they can't generate the cranking amps needed at 12v, which is why all these hybrid cars have a starter battery along with the drive battery.

 

[Shayne]

Yeah I get that GOK a third battery is the proper way to do it but i never needed power when on holiday , a few random nights sleeping in the truck without a blanket has me thinking now i have some time to myself that i should have a solo sleeping platform (for when parked places camping would be frowned upon) and a heater .

Like as not i will be shutting the gate after the horse already legged it but it keeps my mind occupied and i like the idea of always being prepared even if my truck is a daily driver .

 

[Shayne]

Sealed lead acid batteries (gel & AGM)​

Nobody wants battery acid leaking into the bilge, but there’s a price to pay if you want more durable batteries.


Sealed lead acid batteries are sometimes referred to as VRLA (valve regulated lead acid) and there are two main types – absorbed glass mat (AGM), where the battery plates are protected by fine-stranded glass mats – and gel, where the liquid electrolyte has been converted into a gel.


AGM batteries can be used for both starter and house applications whereas gel batteries are better suited for house applications only.


Both types can withstand many more charge/discharge cycles than conventional deep-discharge batteries – for example, a 7-10 year lifespan rather than a 4-5.


Pros: leak-proof, longer lifespan than wet lead acid, AGM can be dual-purpose starter and domestic.
Cons: twice the price of wet lead acid, up to 25% heavier, need regular charging, useless once flat.

From here Best boat battery: The pros and cons of the 5 different types of marine batteries - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

 

[Towpack]

I've not seen these before, dual purpose starter/deep cycle leisure batteries. If they physically fit then I can't really see any problem other than they're not "handed" like the Varta's are so a bit of cable rerouting may be required and also new clamps. I'm not that clued up on the boating scene other than "marine spec" anything is usually higher quality and spec than generally available motoring stuff. The extra CCA and especially the ability to withstand a deeper discharge are the two wins, the only "loss" being the higher cost,

 

[Shayne]

I still didn't get around to testing these batteries for fit in the 80 but I'm very glad I bought them for the boat which is a two battery twin engine 12v system and cannot be started with the Varta from my 80 series .

Forgot to turn isolator off which murdered all previous batteries overnight but 2 days later these still kicked engines to life .