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| GREENI Member Since: 22 Aug 2010 Location: staffs Posts: 10364  
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Cool.
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2nd Aug 2012 10:13pm |
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| Landlord Member Since: 27 Oct 2009 Location: Hampshire Posts: 582 
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Exactly the same set up I have / had in my 2007 TD5. As it was one of the last built had to use the Puma battery tray from D44. Couldn't fault the Odyssey for the first 4 years but they became tired this year. Now running a yellow top and a red top which fit in the same tray. Can't really fault the Optima but should have paid the extra and stayed with Odyssey for the greater capacity. Although 4 years life doesn't seem long for a battery - unless I'm mistaken ? 2007 TD5 90 Hard Top |
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14th Aug 2012 10:17pm |
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| bpman Member Since: 21 May 2008 Location: Oslo Posts: 8069 
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good choice Simon. what controller are you planning on using ? MobileCentre & Leeds sell BlueSea controllers - I can recommend, they are automatic but you can also override: Force Disconnect, Force Connect and they are pretty easy to install.
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15th Aug 2012 7:22am |
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| SimonR Member Since: 28 Jun 2012 Location: Horsham, West Sussex Posts: 74
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I had two Numax batteries under the seat, held in place with the original battery clamp. I currently only have one as the Van needed a new battery more than the 110 needed two - otherwise I'd post a photo!
I partially filled in the dip in the bottom of the tray with some rectangles of MDF board and arranged both batteries in opposite directions such that the +ve terminals sit down in the dip, perhaps 10mm lower than the -ve terminals. Numax Batteries are a little taller than Odyssey or Optima and there is a danger of the +ve terminals touching the underside of the seat lid. Dipping the +ve end a little prevents this. It also means the two batteries form a slight valley in the middle which the retaining bar sits in neatly. Someone suggested using the biggest truck battery you can fit into the space instead of a pair of smaller ones. While this might give you the capacity, most of them will not deliver the peak current of a smaller battery, let alone a pair of batteries! The thing that sets aside Numax, Odyssey and Optima batteries is the CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) rating. At 0 deg F, they will each deliver about 800A (and more at higher temperatures). Even your starter motor can draw 500A - so you need a battery which will deliver that with some spare capacity to keep the ECU etc alive while cranking. Particularly in cold weather when the glow plugs are drawing another 100A or so. The reason for having a split charge (of whatever type suits your application best) is two fold. First is that it allows you to discharge the second battery (running your Engel etc) without compromising the chances of starting the vehicle in the morning. More importantly however it to protect the batteries long term. Lead Acid batteries of all types do not like being 'trickle charged' It causes damage to the battery over long periods and can destroy a battery in a couple of years. You see this with computer UPS and emergency lighting batteries which sit being trickle charged continuously. Even if you never use them, you have to replace the batteries every couple of years. Why is this an issue in a vehicle? The two batteries, even if the same type and same batch are not perfectly matched. After charging, they will have slightly different terminal voltages. When the charging has stopped, the higher voltage one pushes a small 'trickle' of current into the other one - so at least one battery is being trickle charged all the time the vehicle is not running. They reckon this can halve the useful life of a battery - and when your batteries may have cost £200 each, a split charge seems pretty good value for that alone. You can buy batteries (Hawker Cyclon for example) which are 'laser trimmed' to be perfectly matched so you can run them long term in parallel - but they are at least double the cost of a regular battery. A split charge means you can run two completely different batteries without a problem. This is not an advert for any particular kind of split charge - they all have plus & minus points depending on your application but which is best in what application would take a whole thread! Si |
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15th Aug 2012 8:36am |
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| leeds Member Since: 28 Dec 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 8578
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Good post Si 
However would question your comment about the emergency lights type batteries being replaced every 2 years. Now is that really due to the batteries being destroyed in a couple of years due to trickle charging or it due to H & S/insurance companies etc covering their rear orifice? Just a thought, or is it also down to manufacturers getting service costs up? In another field H & S wanted various webbing items replaced which were unused, kept in poly bags, in dark cupboards every two years. Totally not required from strength point of view, but maybe justified someone's job in H & S?? Best split charging system? You would never get agreement on that subject no matter how big the thread Best thing is to get the good batteries and charging system which suits the individual needs. Peoples needs and budgets, plus technical skills are all different. Brendan |
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15th Aug 2012 9:23am |
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| SimonR Member Since: 28 Jun 2012 Location: Horsham, West Sussex Posts: 74
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In the past I had wondered about exactly that - however - earlier this year we had a 60 minute power cut and the UPS for my server which is nearing 4 years old only lasted 30 mins, where it should have had enough capacity for 6 hours based on 250W nominal draw. The batteries perform OK with a drop test - they still deliver just as much current and have the correct terminal voltage but the Ah capacity has dropped to less than 10% of the original value. I've replaced the batteries, 4 x YPC45-12 45Ah in series to give 48v nominal (which cost more than the UPS in the first place) and now it gives about the same time as new. The server is supposed to shut down safely when the UPS thinks it still has about 30 mins life based on terminal voltage. Unfortunately it powered down seconds after starting the shut-down. I'm going to replace the batteries in 2 years this time! The trickle charge issue is well known - and it is a problem with the solar battery chargers too. Lead Acid batteries like a good kick up the whatsits when charging (constant voltage Bulk Charge), followed by a current limited Absorption charge followed by a short float charge to maintain full capacity. With such a managed charge profile they can have a very long life. So, for standby use either disconnect the battery or use a mains charger on a time switch so it comes on for 30 mins every 24h. I think a lot of the standby chargers are almost designed to shorten the battery life! Si |
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15th Aug 2012 9:50am |
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| Glynparry25 Member Since: 16 Feb 2009 Location: Miserable Midlands Posts: 3015  
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I am also running twin Odyssey PC1500 in a D44 tray. It was all an easy fit and must say I haven't had any of the 'bending bracket' issues. But then again I only tighten it up as much as needed (which isn't much).
The only issue Ihave had is that when transporting my Land Rover out here one of the batteries got drained to 0.2v.... and as a result nothing would charge it- I have recently been able to charge it up by linking it to another good battery to fool the battery chgarger (most won't charge a battery under 2v). Once it was holding voltage above 6v I then hooked up the C-TEK on recondition mode and as a result it is now fully working again- good job really as you can't get decent batteries out here without considerable cost. I can't fault the batteries- even when I went away for 3 months I left them connected, and when locking the car I used the key so the alarm was on the lowest power consumption. When I got back it started straight away- after the other 4 months I had to link the batteries because the primary one didn't have quite enough in it as I locked the car with the fob. Mine are conected by a IBS split charge which does the job just fine (also displays battery voltages and charge voltage)- but am tempted to upgrade to a C-TEK one as it has an aditional charge input for a solar pannel. Good luck with the fitting
Glyn   |
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15th Aug 2012 9:55am |
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| SGH Member Since: 27 Sep 2010 Location: Hellingly-Sussex Posts: 1527
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Fitting a Traxide split charge relay had one in my D3 worked well and easy fit. 993 Varioram - Guards Red
Defender 2.5 300TDI 110 HCP - Keswick Green Defender 2.2 TDCI 130 HCP - Orkney Grey - GONE Discovery 4 SDV6 HSE LUX - Corris Grey/Black Pack - GONE Discovery 4 SDV6 HSE LUX - Montaciano Red/Black Pack - GONE |
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15th Aug 2012 11:08am |
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| davew Member Since: 02 Jan 2012 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 888  
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I use one of these and an off-on-on carling switch on the dashboard to activate it "disconnected", "connected when ignition on, oil light out", "connected when ignition on" respectively.
http://www.devon4x4.com/index.php?page=sho...;Itemid=14 I use a second one for winch isolation when the winch is not being used. From observation on my challenge truck (which also has twin Odyssey batteries) the only downside I can find with them is their low charge rate when compared to traditional Lead Acid batteries. When they are discharged they can take a couple of hours to charge back up again on a vehicle, even with a 150A continuous alternator. This behaviour can lead you to think the battery has a problem when it actually just needs a lot longer to get it's charge back. http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net/ |
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15th Aug 2012 11:54am |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11240 
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Emergency lighting is typically subjected to a three hour soak test every six months. Any that can't maintain operation for that length of time have to have their batteries replaced. It can depend on the installation and the quality of the components, but it's not uncommon for batteries to fail after two years or so. It's not the default though - it's only when they fail the test, so no H&S or insurance company involvement. An awful lot of 'H&S' as dictated by British Standards is much more sensible than people give credit for. Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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15th Aug 2012 1:14pm |
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