New Starter Battery

[Sharon the Cat]

Time for a new battery. Looked on Alpha Batteries and got about 6 options. The only one I know not to buy is the one for stop/start vehicles.
What should we base our decision on?
Peugeot Boxer 2016 base van, with solar panel wired to top up Starter battery when leisures all done. We unfortunately don't go off for months or even weeks at a time, so a lot of sitting on the drive unused.

 

[marchie]

We had a Yuasa YBX 5020 110Ah with a 950 amp Cold Cranking Speed fitted in late November 21. It's about the most powerful Starter Battery that will fit in our 2016 Busrtner. We have a similar set up to yours, with a Lithium Leisure Battery but we ditched the Vanbitz Relay and had an Ablemail AMT12 Relay Charger fitted instead. This has more charging options, incl. specific Lithium profiles, smart & dumb alternators, and 9th option of manually making a pre wired connection to Switch 2 that forces the Leisure Battery to pulse up to 3amps to the Starter Battery for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds, even if the LB isn't fully charged, so invaluable for the early starts, especially when the LB can 'catch up' later from the Solar Charge

Steve

 

[Sharon the Cat]

We had a Yuasa YBX 5020 110Ah with a 950 amp Cold Cranking Speed fitted in late November 21. It's about the most powerful Starter Battery that will fit in our 2016 Busrtner. We have a similar set up to yours, with a Lithium Leisure Battery but we ditched the Vanbitz Relay and had an Ablemail AMT12 Relay Charger fitted instead. This has more charging options, incl. specific Lithium profiles, smart & dumb alternators, and 9th option of manually making a pre wired connection to Switch 2 that forces the Leisure Battery to pulse up to 3amps to the Starter Battery for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds, even if the LB isn't fully charged, so invaluable for the early starts, especially when the LB can 'catch up' later from the Solar Charge

Steve

Thanks Steve, I understood bits like 'the', 'and', battery etc. but I'm afraid the rest went waaaay over my head.

 

[nabsim]

If the battery is listed for your van just select the warranty you are happy with and the price you want to pay
Edit: while I always tell people to check Alpha and do buy from them myself I replaced my starter battery with one from Eurocarparts at the weekend as their prices were better.

 

[Iandsm]

I just bought and fitted this from Alpha batteries in my 2016 Peugeot Autosleeper. 019 Bosch Silver Car Battery (S5013)

Do not go to a main dealer they will be very expensive indeed for a not so good bsttery

 

[Mr and Mrs Tupcox]

I was recomended a varta fir our 2015 boxer .a little expensive at £146.
But it does crank it over well.
And has stood well over winter .

 

[xsilvergs]

We had a Yuasa YBX 5020 110Ah with a 950 amp Cold Cranking Speed fitted in late November 21. It's about the most powerful Starter Battery that will fit in our 2016 Busrtner. We have a similar set up to yours, with a Lithium Leisure Battery but we ditched the Vanbitz Relay and had an Ablemail AMT12 Relay Charger fitted instead. This has more charging options, incl. specific Lithium profiles, smart & dumb alternators, and 9th option of manually making a pre wired connection to Switch 2 that forces the Leisure Battery to pulse up to 3amps to the Starter Battery for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds, even if the LB isn't fully charged, so invaluable for the early starts, especially when the LB can 'catch up' later from the Solar Charge

Steve

I never found my AMT to work satisfactorily with Lithium LB's even after Ablemail reprogrammed it. It is now set to be permanently on in low power mode.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

I just bought and fitted this from Alpha batteries in my 2016 Peugeot Autosleeper. 019 Bosch Silver Car Battery (S5013)

Do not go to a main dealer they will be very expensive indeed for a not so good bsttery

Main dealers are places we just drive past and keep on going.

 

[wildebus]

Time for a new battery. Looked on Alpha Batteries and got about 6 options. The only one I know not to buy is the one for stop/start vehicles.
What should we base our decision on?
Peugeot Boxer 2016 base van, with solar panel wired to top up Starter battery when leisures all done. We unfortunately don't go off for months or even weeks at a time, so a lot of sitting on the drive unused.

For Starter Batteries, I would go for the largest one that will physically fit in the space and has the right terminal layout (+ve and -ve on the same side as your old one)
I don't know for sure, but I think the Underfloor Battery in a Boxer/Relay/Ducato is a "Group 19" (that defines the length, width and height).
FWIW, I replaced the totally knackered battery in my VW LT with one of these G19 Nordstar Calcium Batteries - https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/019-nordstar-car-battery/
It never failed to start the vehicle in any weather and when time comes to replace the Starter Battery in my Motorhome, I would look at one of these again.

 

[Admin]

I have just purchased one for my 2013 Ducato and I believe the battery is the same for yours.

Cheaper from Tanya on eBay at £101.50
Use code TREAT10 for 10% off making it just over £91.35 including next day delivery.

Bosch S4013 Standard Battery for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Bosch S4013 Standard Battery at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[marchie]

I never found my AMT to work satisfactorily with Lithium LB's even after Ablemail reprogrammed it. It is now set to be permanently on in low power mode.

My AMT12 has the 8 settings and is set for high parasitic charge and Lithium Profile which pulses for abut 3 seconds in every 10 seconds, which keeps the Starter Battery at 12.75v to 12.8v without a problem. It was fitted on 4th January when we were getting minimal daylight, so the LB was hovering around 13.3v to 13.4v and keeping the SB at around 12.7v, but there were spells of up to 3 days where the Solar generated nothing, so the Switch 2 option really came into its own to keep the SB and ECU safe. I had booked for the ABB07 x 2 to be fitted to the AMT12 and Ablemail B2B Charger [purely to avoid the faff of piling up the upholstery to reach the AMT12 in the Battery Compartment], but David at Wildebus injured his ankle and we had a Ferry Crossing booked, pre Storms Dudley & Eunice etc ...

The ABB07 work and a couple of other bits of work will now take place on the return journey from Spain [Take 22 ...] and i can turn my OCD to something else to obsess over

Steve

 

[marchie]

Thanks Steve, I understood bits like 'the', 'and', battery etc. but I'm afraid the rest went waaaay over my head.

Hi Sharon, not at all! I'm as 'educationally challenged' [aka thick as mince ] as they come when it comes to physics, especially battery technology, which is why I've gone into OCD mode to protect the M/Home! If you have a Vanbitz Relay, it allows for the Leisure Battery ]'LB'] to pass surplus energy to the Starter Battery ['SB'] AFTER the LB has become fully charged, which is often well into the day in Winter, especially in Scotland!

The AMT12 transfers current to the SB from the LB, even if the latter is still below 'full charge', effectively [in extreme cases] sacrificing itself by giving all of its available energy to the SB. So, on a Winter's morning, after a cold night, the LB can supply enough power to the SB to start the M/Home and get you going, allowing the alternator to start replenishing the SB as you drive. And then, when you park up, with luck, the Solar Panel will be churning out leccy to feed the SB via the LB. It's like 'electrical courtesy', instead of the LB pushing to the front of the queue, it does a 'After you, I insist' and lets the SB have priority!

If the SB is at really low State of Charge, you can connect the prewired cable to Switch 2 terminal, say on the night before you need to start the M/Home, and the transfer of energy from LB to SB for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds will bring the SB back up to a level to start the engine in the morning

We have only on street parking, and the LB to SB transfer of power avoids the hazard of trailing extension leads and battery chargers across the footpath to do what the AMT12 does

I cheated, and paid the £65 for the AMT12 plus cabling costs and labour, to have the work done by a professional, so that I didn't have to understand it fully, but just to use and enjoy it!

Steve

 

[xsilvergs]

My AMT12 has the 8 settings and is set for high parasitic charge and Lithium Profile which pulses for abut 3 seconds in every 10 seconds, which keeps the Starter Battery at 12.75v to 12.8v without a problem. It was fitted on 4th January when we were getting minimal daylight, so the LB was hovering around 13.3v to 13.4v and keeping the SB at around 12.7v, but there were spells of up to 3 days where the Solar generated nothing, so the Switch 2 option really came into its own to keep the SB and ECU safe. I had booked for the ABB07 x 2 to be fitted to the AMT12 and Ablemail B2B Charger [purely to avoid the faff of piling up the upholstery to reach the AMT12 in the Battery Compartment], but David at Wildebus injured his ankle and we had a Ferry Crossing booked, pre Storms Dudley & Eunice etc ...

The ABB07 work and a couple of other bits of work will now take place on the return journey from Spain [Take 22 ...] and i can turn my OCD to something else to obsess over

Steve

Look forward to an update from you.

We are currently near Murcia, although soon to return to UK as 90 days will soon be upon us. Great charging here, batteries usually charged to 100% before lunch. The starter battery sits at 12.7v via the AMT.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Having looked at both Wildebus & Phil's (Admin) suggestions I think I'll go with the Nordstar from Alpha. They've always done us proud before and it works out slightly cheaper than the Bosch from eBay with the handy discount, with an additional 5Ah capacity and a year longer warranty.
Thanks to all for the advice, without it I'd have to go for the prettiest picture.

 

[wildebus]

Having looked at both Wildebus & Phil's (Admin) suggestions I think I'll go with the Nordstar from Alpha. They've always done us proud before and it works out slightly cheaper than the Bosch from eBay with the handy discount, with an additional 5Ah capacity and a year longer warranty.
Thanks to all for the advice, without it I'd have to go for the prettiest picture.

All prices are due to rise very soon, so don't hold on too long whether it is the Nordstar or any other ( the batteries that I usually buy every month have gone up £15 just now )

 

[Sharon the Cat]

All prices are due to rise very soon, so don't hold on too long whether it is the Nordstar or any other ( the batteries that I usually buy every month have gone up £15 just now )

Just ordered one, thanks.