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[omega3000]

Looking to buy a leisure battery for the tin tent but would a heavy duty car battery do the same job .. I only need it for the lighting 

[4x4]

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/technicalhelp/power/your-leisure-battery/
 

[YZ250]

My belief is that a car battery is designed for high output/load for a short time (for cranking starter) and a leisure battery is designed for low output/load over a longer period (lighting etc). 

[05omegav6]

Have a look here...

http://www.sterling-power.com/

On the boat I had a split charger, two 110 Amp leisure batteries and a Sterling 1000W invertor for the mains power, lighting was 12V, cooker, fridge and telly.  Batteries fully charged, the invertor would run the fridge for two days without running the engine.

Fridge was an A rated Bosch 55litre? slimline one fwiw only a smidgen wider than the Electrolux gas/electric box of carbonmonoxide leaking crap that it was. Barely enough room for two days food in it. The replacement was almost three times larger inside, and more importantly, actually worked

[JasonH]

If it's only for occasional lighting I tend to use an old car battery. An old Omega battery with say half it's original capacity does a fine job for a weekend of lighting only. If it isn't enough then buy a battery.

Only a few makes are true leisure batteries (with thicker plates) more suited to heavy discharge. From memory you're looking for YUASA or VARTA leisure batteries as a safe bet.

[biggriffin]

Halfords do leesure batterys.

[05omegav6]

Halfords do leesure batterys.

Oddly enough, that's where I got mine

[omega3000]

Power is only needed for 4 lights and 1 water pump that wont be used that much , i dont intend using the caravan on the battery alone . It will be straight to the site and hook up to the power supply 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Halfords do leesure batterys.

So do ECP and ebay who are probably cheaper than Halfrauds! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leisure-Battery-12V-100AH-SuperBatt-LM100-Battery-Caravan-Motorhome-Marine-Boat-/321342007200?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM&hash=item4ad179e7a0

Sorry Emd couldn't find one for 99p   

[Taxi_Driver]

Halfords do leesure batterys.

Oddly enough, that's where I got mine

And about 1/2 price if you use a trade card, or was when i bought a 110ah a few years ago 

[omega3000]

Halfords do leesure batterys.

So do ECP and ebay who are probably cheaper than Halfrauds! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leisure-Battery-12V-100AH-SuperBatt-LM100-Battery-Caravan-Motorhome-Marine-Boat-/321342007200?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM&hash=item4ad179e7a0

Sorry Emd couldn't find one for 99p   

Hmm thanks mr tig , i could not find one as cheap as that    seems like a good buy and loads sold .. wonder if the Bay do a discount card 

Halfords do leesure batterys.

Oddly enough, that's where I got mine

And about 1/2 price if you use a trade card, or was when i bought a 110ah a few years ago 

Now who's got a trade card to borrow 

Oh and i dont quite get how the Inverter thingie works ? Is it necessary 

[Andy B]

.....

Oh and i dont quite get how the Inverter thingie works ? Is it necessary 

an inverter is a box of electrickery that makes 240 volt mains from 12 volts DC ........ it uses black magic  It depends what you want to plug in when you're away on if one is necessary   

[omega3000]

.....

Oh and i dont quite get how the Inverter thingie works ? Is it necessary 

an inverter is a box of electrickery that makes 240 volt mains from 12 volts DC ........ it uses black magic  It depends what you want to plug in when you're away on if one is necessary   

So the blue power lead that i already use to power up the van will be no good when hooking up at the camp site 

Am totally lost now as what ill need and not need , all i have is the blue power cable and thought this was all i needed to power everything 

[Auto Addict]

I presume you still have the charger that came with the van?

Do not use an ordinary battery charger as it will burn out the 12v system in the van.

If you are not going to use the van if it's not hooked up to the mains, and you're not going to fit a mover, then a good (branded) 75 amp leisure battery will suffice.

[05omegav6]

Sorry to confuddle you Emd the inverter is, as Andy says, a reliable way of producing 240v from 12v. You would only need one if you weren't planning on plugging the 'van in. Even with an inverter you would need some way of recharging the battery. You would use either the car or mains hook up. The arrangement on the boat relied on the engine for hot water and electrickery, with no mains hook up.

Whether you need an inverter or not depends entirely on how you intend to use the van (ie your reliance on campsites), and whether you have a domestic fridge fitted instead of a 12v one