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Author Topic: The best battery for a Sinclair c5  (Read 8262 times)

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Karl

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The best battery for a Sinclair c5
« on: 18, June, 2011 - 14:25:34 »
To help in answering all the email enquiries I receive on various c5 related matters, I've created a couple of topics on our forum for me to refer to rather than type the same reply out each time  8) . . This one is ,as the title suggests, an answer to the often asked "which is the best battery for a c5" and do I sell them  :)

I tend not to sell batteries as all types are readily available elsewhere . As for which one is best, there is no single battery universally accepted by all as being the absolute best for a Sinclair c5.  Which one you should opt for is also influenced by the wiring set up of your own c5. The simple answer is that it boils down to personal choice based on how much money you want to spend and how often you intend to use the c5. Take a browse through the tried and tested section of the c5alive forum for a few ideas.

There are several options open to you using car or leisure batteries. Type “battery” or “batteries” in the search field of the c5alive forum and you will find that there is quite a debate on which is best, so my advice would be to read through and decide which suits you. If you have the original Sinclair keyswitch and want to keep it , then your battery choice is limited to those similar to type 038 or type 015 car battery as these accept the original carry straps and Sinclair battery top without too much of a fight .Fitting a leisure battery ,and keeping the keyswitch assembly, involves cutting up the battery top and you will also need some battery terminal converters.We usually sell these on the shop side of the site.

If not already fitted, then a very useful alternative  is to use the c5alive wiring kit ( most of us use these), mainly because it permits the usage of any 12v leisure or car battery that will fit in the allocated space and also has reverse polarity protection – this prevents damage to your control box and pod if the battery is wrongly connected. I have seen several c5’s with the keyswitch simply chopped off and some battery clamps grafted onto the wires but I'm not a big fan of this.

To summarise, at the moment I personally tend to favour car batteries as I find them cheaper and lighter than leisure batteries even though they don't last as long. The beauty of the c5alive wiring kit is that it allows you to experiment with different types of battery and make use of whatever battery you can get your hands on for the least cost.. so grab whatever bargains you can :-).
« Last Edit: 18, June, 2011 - 14:30:39 by BooBoo »