Elise battery life / options

[DippedHeadlights]

A non-technical car owning friend has an Elise (I think a series one) as a second car and it's not used much, once a week or so. They are always moaning that the battery is flat so they are in the habit of charging it the night before. Nothing seems to be wrong with the electrics, they have been told it's just a case that the original battery isn't big enough to supply the alarm/imobiliser for more than a few days.

First, is this true ? It sort of make sense I suppose, you don't want to put a lot of effort into making a superlight car and then put a big lump of lead in it.

Second, what's the best option for a non-tech owner who doesn't want to keep plugging it in to charger ? I don't think there is space for anything bigger so is there a third party battery made of perhaps different metals that works better ?

DH

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

Should last aboutg 3 weeks from memory for an S1. If they aren't using it, then the battery will keep going completely flat - which kills them in no time. The solution: New Battery + Keep it connected up to a battery conditioner when not in use.

[noodleman]

A week is nothing. Assuming that when they do use it, it's for long enough to recharge the loss over the week there should be no need for a conditioner.

Buy a new battery. It's obviously knackered.

[Redlake27]

My OE battery lasted 5 years - with trickle charger when the car was not used.

I then bought a Halfords battery - it lasted 8 months!

I then got a Bosch Silver from Hi-Q www.hiqonline.co.uk - It holds its charge well.