Each compartment houses a series of positive and negative lead plates. These have a grid construction so that lead oxide paste can be pressed into all the apertures. Most caravan control panels have a light display or battery condition meter, some of which don’t provide a precise indication of its charge level. More accurate information is obtained by taking a reading across a battery’s terminals using a digital meter. When using a hand-held meter, note the following points: The greater amount of lead in a genuine leisure battery and its more elaborate separators is reflected in its higher price and increased weight. Non-wet leisure batteries

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Car batteries at Kwik Fit

Now you need to interpret the reading and although we talk about 12V batteries and accessories, this description is only nominal. If a leisure battery achieves a 12V reading, it is considered to have reached a discharged state. 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. 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 As Lifesure notes, the best leisure batteries also can smooth out and correct irregularities in a power supply. How long should a battery last?

The average car battery will have an Ah rating somewhere around 50Ah. The 50Ah means that it can push 12 volts out at a rate of 50 amperes in an hour. An AGM battery has lead plates in each cell and the manufacturer uses a machine to add highly compressed glass fibre into each compartment. The fibre then absorbs the acid electrolyte. During manufacture, air is also drawn from the casing and a pressure relief valve is fitted. These processes render the finished product more costly than a conventional ‘wet lead-acid’ leisure battery but AGM products can generally achieve many more recharging cycles – thereby achieving a longer working life.

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. Battery manufacturers often strongly advise that a battery receives a re-charge when its capacity falls below 50 per cent of its full condition. It is also added that you should never run a leisure battery until it is virtually ‘flat’. Further details are covered in the battery charging guide. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4) batteries are another form of very deep cycle battery. They're self contained units with their own on-board charge manager. Having elminated lead they typically weigh half as much as an equivelant output lead-acid battery so the weight saving is a benefit. They can also be fully discharged and recharged and during the discharge cycle they can retain a stable voltage level and they can be rapidly recharged.