Jump to content

Battery recommendations please


Recommended Posts

8 minutes ago, Mick Forey said:

I drove the TR6 to Halfords and bought the highest capacity battery that fitted nicely and had the terminals in the right place. Job done, has worked well for years but I do use a smart charger for extended layups, also Halfords for £14 but sadly no longer available. 

Mick

The Aldi or Lidl smart chargers are great value. Normally cost about £12.99 (they compete) and if you check the label on them (mine anyway) are made by Medion a well known electrical producer who make quite reasonable electrical gear and they have a 3 year warranty. They are on sale periodically and I keep a couple spare, one in caravan one in car etc as well as those in daily use keeping the classics charged.

Mick Richards

PS: get a Halfords Trade card, you get 20% or more off various car orientated "if it goes or slows" electrical parts, batteries, bulbs additives (Wynns diesel EGR cleaner) etc. Well worth it.

Edited by Motorsport Mickey
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi BigBogan,

thank you for the background and explanation. My battery was leaking a bit of acid through the vent and made a bubbling noise so I did not trust it.
I went to my local car parts store, and bought a Varta E24, 70Ah and 630A (EN).

It is probably manufactured in the same plant as my old Bosch S4-027, and it made a day and night difference compared with the old (neglected) Bosch battery. It came with a voltage of 12.6 V, and when charged with my 8A charger for 2 hrs the voltage rose to above 13 V. When I started the car my Bosch 55A alternator (new, remanufactured by Bosch) beefed it up to 13.8 V, and it will probably go up a bit further on the road once fully charged.

Regards,

Waldi

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5/5/2020 at 7:03 PM, RobH said:

Perhaps if you reverse the J bolts so they are outside the brackets......?.   Those batteries are a bit big and you don't really need anything so large. The standard 072  size battery should be perfectly fine. You don't need a super-large Ampere-hour rating unless you intend using the battery a lot with the engine off but a big CCA is good.

Avoid calcium batteries as they are not matched to the charging system. They will work OK but you will never fully charge them, so you pay more for something you never actually use. 

With any lead-acid battery it is imperative that you keep it at full charge, by using a battery conditioner if the car is only used intermittently. That will prevent sulphation of the plates, which is the reason many people find batteries do not last long.

Thanks for your explanation on calcium batteries, I had to buy a battery in hast as my nearest Halford's did not have any ordinary lead acid types. As you indicated my 18 ACR could never fully charge it even after a 2000 mile trip! When my car was laid up for the winter I always had to leave it on trickle charge but that also did not fully charge it.? I still had to give it a dose of full power with automatic cut off to fully charge it. But it did last 8 years?

Bruce.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

My Halfords hb015 battery is coming to the end of its useful life (7 years, which I am happy with) I would like to replace it with either a Bosch or Varta, can someone advise me what the model number I require 

many thanks

kc

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi KC,

tbh I do not know. But I was told the Bosch and Varta are made in the same factory and indeed, the new Varta casing looked exactly the same as the old Bosch.

Cheers,

Waldi

Link to post
Share on other sites
16 hours ago, kcsun said:

My Halfords hb015 battery is coming to the end of its useful life (7 years, which I am happy with) I would like to replace it with either a Bosch or Varta, can someone advise me what the model number I require 

many thanks

kc

037

Link to post
Share on other sites

While on the calcium batteries, what's the best trickle/charger or high rate charger, I don't seem to see ones that have the big boost for these batteries, unfortunately I still have a 15 AC alternator, its always showing a charge on the gauge, but perhaps not enough pok is going in, this is without lights on and current day time use, and even long trips 100 miles + a day.

John

Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, John L said:

While on the calcium batteries, what's the best trickle/charger or high rate charger, I don't seem to see ones that have the big boost for these batteries, unfortunately I still have a 15 AC alternator, its always showing a charge on the gauge, but perhaps not enough pok is going in, this is without lights on and current day time use, and even long trips 100 miles + a day.

John

Ctek.

Edited by ntc
Link to post
Share on other sites
13 hours ago, John L said:

While on the calcium batteries, what's the best trickle/charger or high rate charger, I don't seem to see ones that have the big boost for these batteries, unfortunately I still have a 15 AC alternator, its always showing a charge on the gauge, but perhaps not enough pok is going in, this is without lights on and current day time use, and even long trips 100 miles + a day.

John

Assuming your car has an ammeter, it's possible that may not be showing charge going into the battery John. If you have any extra loads which have been added but which have been wired to the battery side of the ammeter rather than the alternator side, any current drawn by that load will show as a 'charge'.   ( Perhaps a new direct feed for the fuel pump?)

Edited by RobH
Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, John L said:

While on the calcium batteries, what's the best trickle/charger or high rate charger, I don't seem to see ones that have the big boost for these batteries, unfortunately I still have a 15 AC alternator, its always showing a charge on the gauge, but perhaps not enough pok is going in, this is without lights on and current day time use, and even long trips 100 miles + a day.

John

Hi John,

I went over to a 18 ACR years ago for the reasons you state, you will notice the difference straight away. The fuel pump whine does not play a high/low tune anymore when stopped awaiting to turn right or left with the indicators on. In my view an ACR15 is not much better than a C40 dynamo.

Bruce.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 years later...

Evening all

Rather than start a new thread I thought this old thread worth updating.

After using a series of dubious old batteries to test bits and bobs over the years while restoring the old girl (69 TR6 PI) its time to consider buying a new battery for her and conditioner as mine has given up for some strange reason.

So what's peoples more recent experience and recommendations for a reasonable battery to go with a 45A alternator and fit into a plastic battery tray along with a decent conditioner?  

Thanks

Andy

Edited by PodOne
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Andy

I bought one of these batteries a couple of month's ago it fits in a battery tray ok and come's with a 5year warranty,

They have gone up in price by £10 now,

Hope this helps

Cheers Dave.                                                                https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201207669462

Link to post
Share on other sites

Optima Red Top or similar quality battery like a bosch or yuasa and an EBay £20 Chinese battery trickle/conditioner. I have this combo on old my old cars and some have lasted nearly a decade. If they get parked up for more than 2 weeks they go on the trickler. Being left flat is the kiss of death for a lead acid battery. Avoid that and they can go for many years.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Mike,

That’s good, all my charges have to have the 12 volt car programme selected after power is turned on so can’t put them on a timer. What trickle chargers are you using ?

Mick Richards.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi all - having had a number of well known chargers/trickle chargers fail over time and/or ruin a battery, I found this company:

 http://www.batteryfighter.com.au/pages/battery_fighter_a_series.htm

 

I have successfully used one of their battery maintenance chargers for over 6 years on my TR4 with no problems and a battery still performing as new - accepted not cheap, but nor is a ruined battery.

No connection other than a very satisfied customer

Cheers Rich

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 6/24/2020 at 11:38 PM, kcsun said:

My Halfords hb015 battery is coming to the end of its useful life (7 years, which I am happy with) I would like to replace it with either a Bosch or Varta, can someone advise me what the model number I require 

many thanks

kc

My experience with Varta is NBG. I have had 3 that have failed in the warranty period??? on my daily drivers.

Bruce.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just goes to show.

Had two Vartas over a period of 12 years on my 3A with no problems. Not on a daily driver admittedly. Second still going strong. Hooked up to a conditioner from Aldi or Lidl when the car is not in use. That too has lasted about 7 years so far without problem. 

Miles

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please familiarise yourself with our Terms and Conditions. By using this site, you agree to the following: Terms of Use.