Battery options

[andy1912]

Hello,

My Banner battery seems to have given-up. It's no longer starting the engine. The volts are alright at 12-13V. If I connect to my wife's car battery then the car fires up no problem. In fairness, I use this mostly for short runs, say 4 miles or so, back and forth to work. I charged over night, still no good in fact the voltage at the terminals dropped from about 13.5 to 12V.

I could just buy another Banner. However I do live in Aberdeen and this is a daily commute, so I was wondering if there is a better battery for those chilly winter mornings?

Thanks

Andy

[BertBert]

I'd just buy another Banner, by far the simplest solution. I assume your current one is quite old?

If your journey is not long enough to charge it then you'll have a problem no matter what battery you get, but I suspect it is ok at 4 miles each way.
Bert

[DCL]

They don't last long compared to a normal car. Fitting a bigger battery might reduce the stress on it, and it may last a bit longer, but there's the hassle of making a bigger tray etc. I found the best solution, and value for money, is to always keep a spare in a 'dry charged' state. First sign of a problem, put the acid in, and it can be swapped when convenient.

[andy1912]

Thanks for that. Just ordered another Banner, will fit existing tray and I can schedule in one or two longer runs from now on.

Andy

[Stridey]

I bought one of the new fangled lithium ion starter batteries as a back up when I experienced starting probs. (turned out to be dodgy alternator). Tiny really and great peace of mind. Also recharges off the 12v socket if you have one and has USB for charging phones etc ( useful as if your battery gives out I bet your phone will be down too, sods law)

Plenty of different ones about, under £100

One other tip, I know the terminals on the smaller batteries are small. I fitted two bigger terminal wire ends to make clipping larger clips onto and make the smaller clips easier too.

Edited by Stridey on Monday 13th July 15:47

[BertBert]

DCL said:

They don't last long compared to a normal car.

Interestingly I've had them last for ages. The last one I had was completely knacked when I got the car and with the help of a battery conditioner it came back to life for several years.

BErt

[Aeroscreens]

Nothing wrong with Banners, both of mine lasted 6 years each but they were kept on a battery conditioner when not in use. I now use an Ultramax NP18-12 and that's lasted 4 years so far, again on a conditioner

[Helluvaname]

If you charged it overnight and the voltage went down, either the charger is faulty, or more likely the electrolyte level in the cells is low and needs topping up/replacing.

[andy1912]

Battery arrived yesterday. Cleaned up contacts and connected her in, took quite a few efforts and I was worried for a time that I had a different problem than the one I'd anticipated. However, after the first effort, car is firing up nicely and took it out for a spin last night so I'm hopefull all is well that ends well, for the time being at least....

Thanks again

Andy

[Toaster]

Aeroscreens said:

Nothing wrong with Banners, both of mine lasted 6 years each but they were kept on a battery conditioner when not in use. I now use an Ultramax NP18-12 and that's lasted 4 years so far, again on a conditioner

Spot on its how you maintain the battery they are small but appear perfect for the job ( probably get flamed for saying that)