Car Battery

[abmunro]

Searched forum , and couldn't find it.

Searched internet and found link for LEC

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=14046

[muley]

Well, it lasted 4 years then died.

Got a Halfords battery now - so far, so good.



Jim

[lotos]

I've had an Optima red top for over five years, still going strong.

[GeoffSmith]

Long time since I've bought a battery (although I might have to soon) but are people using sealed/maintenance free i.e. gel or AGM types or have you found a source of traditional wet ones with the correct breather attachment?

[lotos]

I've been using an Optima Red top for 5+ years and starts like a champ every time.

[GeoffSmith]

That seems to be an AGM type Randy. Are there no vents at all?

[lotos]

No vents, it has a one-way valve only. There's also the Yellow top which is a higher level version of the battery if you have more drain (like with higher end audio system I suppose in our cars, or the power-actuated convertible top I'm hoping someone does a powerbuy for soon)

It's AGM, can be mounted in any direction if need be, and include 36 month free replacement warranty. After going through so many car batteries in my life I didn't want to mess with it. Cost me around $100 and like I said, 5 years on it's showing no signs of degradation.

[cliff]

Not changed one on the Elan yet but I have a Bosch S4 on my other car. Got it from here:

http://www.carbatteries-online.co.uk

[Jeemy]

Bosch are a grand choice. I used one of the very small silvers in my Merc Vito van which takes a LOT of cranking. The big, cheapo battery that came inside it, was forever getting worn out over small journeys. I had to carry a charger and extension cable with me, was really unpredictable. The Bosch ran the van quite happily for a year or more without charging until I moved it over to the leisure battery slot for, well, a bigger Bosch.

[GeoffSmith]

Right, I finally got to the bottom of it (BTW Optima Red top for $100 is a bargain Randy - they are £140 over here!) and now have a few questions for you SE owners as we don't appear to be connecting....

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My concern is the release of potentially explosive hydrogen and oxygen into the cabin. It wouldn't affect me when driving as the hood is always down but may be an issue when left charging over the Winter although the Accumate should avoid overcharging/gassing. As nobody seems to know what I'm talking about (as usual) I wonder if this is an S2 feature.

[surfboardfiller]

Yuasa are the best I have found, Hafords are crap and Bosch are well over priced (as usual) Pay for the name.

If you have a conditioner then it should be fine, if you have a fast charger then loosen the plugs on top, there should be an overflow pipe (90 degree pointing down) fitted by you that comes with the battery? and the Elan should have a hole in the body under the battery to drain any over flowing acid out of the car (and onto your nicely painted garage floor ) so check you hole isn't blocked Obviously yours has a pipe going through the hole that may have been with the SE or not but I don't remember. I'll check the S2 but I am pretty sure there is no pipe so they may just get thrown away by careless techs?

Personally I remove the batteries to charge and cycle them with a spare; in the workshop.

[dapinky]

I think it's safe to say that the tube is a fittment of the individual battery, NOT the car....

......Back in the day (C'mon Geoff, YOU must remember!) Batteries were not sealed-for-life and had vent holes in the top.

With the more modern designs, the vents were still there, but not overly visible.

With the Newest ones (cheaper manufacturing, no doubt), the vent is at one end, via a right-angle tube.

Now, I have never been able to establish if the tube should point up, down, front or back (or even if it matters) - and I've never purchesed one with the plastic tube either....

....and assume that it is only gas that is meant to vent, not acid (but if you flip the car, it might do!).

With a 'normal' car (battery under the bonet) there is no vent issue, but as we are not the only car with the battery inside (or at least, many are in the boot), I can see the reason for concern.

Realistically, there would need to be quite a big build-up of Hydrogen to cause an issue (and if the cars in the garage, then it's no different than charging a battery on the bench).

I don't know any definative answers, but mine hasn't blown up yet, and I keep a batter conditioner attached.

[surfboardfiller]

The comment about acid was in the event od a battery failing, not under normal use. I have witnessed this happening in a workshop to someone elses M100.

The tube should suffice to remove any gas from the cabin, just fit it like the old one Geoff.