Charging Leisure Battery

[wimorrison]

A bit off topic but here we go

I am told that i need to use leisure batteries for electric fences rather than car batteries as they will last a lot longer between charges and also that they can be recharged fully unlike car batteries when they are used for light loads over long periods. Apparently this is similar to the use of caravans etc, hence the use of leisure batteries.

Is my information correct and how do you charge them? Can I use a normal car battery charger?

I also wonder if anyone uses a solar charger to keep the battery topped up, if so what type and how much do they cost?

Many thanks

[SonyVaio]

Have a look at this LINKY!

I think it explains the difference quite well.

In answer to part of your question the answer is yes, you can use a car battery charger to re-charge a leisure battery. I've not got much knowledge about solar chargers.

[rogerthechorister]

You should use a modern battery charger, the sort that cycles the voltage to ensure a full charge without phosphation. Some of the modern sealed batteries and particularly gel batteries do require different voltages and not all battery chargers automatically detect the difference.

[Marmitespreader]

You would need to know how much amperage your appliance woud be taking from your battery on a daily basis.
An 80 watt panel can give up to 4.5Ah on a good day, over 10 hours that's around 45amps back battery. On a bad day, the same panel might only produce around half its maximum amount. It's a bit of trial and error. An 80 watt panel is probably overkill for an electric fence, an 80watt panel prices around £80 and then £12 for a regulator, from eBay.
The "leisure" battery, which is a glorified starter battery won't stand up to very much deep discharging, but a proper deep cycle, like a Trojan will last ten times longer for only twice the price. http://www.tayna.co.uk/Trojan-Batter...t-S1190-1.html
It's difficult to advise, but the bigger the panel, the more/quicker the battery will be charged up, thus saving battery life.

[GJB]

Have used an 80 watt panel on my caravan for 2 years and always have plenty of power for all use a 110 amp battery many times fully charged by 9 am on a summers day.