HI there,

I'm having some battery problems at the moment (basically it doesn't seem to be storage charge....) and I am looking to get a replacement. My hand has been forced a little bit here as I was thinking mulling over the red top/yellow top options, but come to no conclusion other than it is a lot of money.

Currently we have two 'normal' batteries set up, one for starting and one for the electric gizmos etc.

So, question is, are there any other options i should be mulling over as well? Any recommendations out there?

Thanks

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Hi Ollie,
Ive use a few different set ups over the years and the one that works the best for me, is....

2 Exide Ultra (70 AHR ish each) linked as you have in parrallel -for starter/winch (sat front to backin Rover, side by side in battery box) - and one 85 AHR deep cycle battery (sat across the back of the others) on a split charger for the fridge,flourescent strip light etc - so it cant drain the starter/winch batteries with the ignition off.

As for the Optima, they are pretty expensive, though im sure there vibration resistance is good and they work well, Ive found the Exides to be a good battery and a lot cheaper. (which means I can buy more Tanglefoot......hic!!!)
There are alot more companies that make spiral cell batteries - Exide included, so if yo ugo down this route, check out the competition and pricing.

If you are not running a winch, you could use one larger battery (as youve been doing) for starting and one deep cycle for the fridge on a split charger. Though for me in the boonies, having 2 smaller (starter) batteries is piece of mind if one packs up - the other one is there and I still have the fridge on a separate one.

go along to your local battery specialist,(you wont get a deal in Halfords!) take a tape measure, try a few different sizes into the Rover (remember the battery box in the Defender has different height front to back!) and see if he will cut you a deal on a couple of batteries.

This might sound daft, but also take a volt meter and check the volts on what you are buying - if it reads low (just above 12v) its probably been sat on the shelf for a long time and will have a shorter life in use - pick the ones with the highest voltage (13-14v is nice!) that suit your purpose.

Also, any decent battery shop will give you 5 quid for your old battery under the recycling scheme in the UK - get hold of another (if you buy 2) and blag a tenner from them !!! (throw this in after youve beaten his price down!)

I ended up getting the best deal from 'Motabitz', much to my suprise....

Ive not used them, but try these guys in Eastliegh, if they dont cut you a deal, try somewhere else -theres quite a mark up on batteries:

Eastliegh Auto Electrics
Address: 6 Nightingale Avenue, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 9JA
Telephone: 023-8061-2423

Cheers
Grif

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Cheers
Grif

'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.com/

Thanks for that. Yet more for me to digest and think about. I think soon my brain will explode I think we will probably stick to the dual battery set up, as we haven't gott rond to even thinking about the winch yet. Poppa Deity is hopefully going to to explain that over Easter.

Nice to know that there are more options available to us. I think we will pop on down to Eastleigh, and see what they have. Our mechanics course is also in Eastleigh so that works nicely.

Thanks again.

Cheers

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

what will you use the battery for?

starting?(halftrack isperfect)
winching?(look for deepcycles as battery wil be drained quite often)

gel battery is better to my opinion than conventional one

Ol we used this company.

Auto Split Charge

Cyclic GEL batteries

the split charge drawa nex to no power and controls the system, the bty we have is 100ah and has been running an engle water pump and fluresent lighting for the last 1 year no problems as it is totaly sealed it can be fitted in the vehicle cab with no worries.

we have been hammering it as we wanted to make sure that when we leave on our RTW there are no problems.

We thought that at first we would need solar power but the Bty copes well with pumps lights and fridge for at least 5 days.

Hope to get the website published next month more info will be on there then.

Andy B

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www.landroveradventure.co.uk
Land Rover Discovery 2, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere

Nice one Andy! I think I could be shopping there soon.

When are you off? And your route? I suppose if I wait for your website I'll get my answers Give us a nudge when it is published, I jsut can't get enough of other peoples plans!

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Now - jsut looking round for a deep cycle batteries and my local 4x4 shop suggested that I get a Deka Glass Mat battery, which is some sort of crazy hybrid, allowing plenty of discharging, yet ability to start.

I have had a quick search on the net and found some information, and it looks kinda good. Anyone got any experiences with these or similar?

This is what I could find, although I'm not sure that its them Deka Intimidator Battery

Anyone know anything?

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Ollie,

Never heard of Deka Intimidator batteries but if the name is anything to go by, I suppose the brand must be popular with those adolescent pimped ride bass junkies.

There's a brand called ORBITAL. They seem to be rebranded Excide Maxxima batteries sold at a more reasonable price. Check this link:
Orbital Batteries/Orbital Battery - R Thursby Autoelectrical

On a trip involving travel almost every day or two, the starter battery is not critical, as long as it does not supply loads when the vehicle is stationary. Have you considered rewiring those loads that should rather be run from the deep cycle battery, like interior lights, cigarette sockets, etc?

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Roman (UK)
www.overlandcruiser.com

I have positive experience with Exide X-treme battery. It is kind of hybrid battery beween deep cycle and ordinary one and costs much less than deep cycle one, plus being vibration proof and robust design. I have single 100 Ah unit on my Defender, but I don't have winch or freezer to worry about.