Battery question ( ebay related )

[minidaz]

Spotted this on ebay and just wondered, as someone who is new to C5's , if what the person says is true, as from looking at posts both here, and on other sites, car batteries, along with some leisure batteries,  seem to be quite popular.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sinclair-C5-Battery-New-Old-Stock-RARE_W0QQitemZ280331108649QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET?hash=item280331108649&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Darren

[Karl]

Whether to use car batteries , or not, is up to everyone to decide for themselves.

The advice quoted is most likely advice given to the seller by Adam Harper. I would never say it is wrong, only that I have been using a mixture of car and leisure batteries for many years without any of the problems mentioned. Most of the C5's on the London-Brighton run in 2007 used freshly charged car batteries and they had no problems.

Many others on this forum continue to use car/leisure batteries and I've yet to hear of anyone who has encountered the problems described.

So whilst I accept the possibility that damage may occur , I have found that it is unlikely so personally I will continue to use car/leisure batteries.

There are a few other threads on this subject ;

http://c5alive.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=95.0

http://c5alive.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=219.0

C5Martin also advises car batteries are fine
http://www.c5martin.co.uk/c5_help.htm

The short answer is that I'm happy with car batteries 

[fezza_rs]

Adam no longer has stock of his remanufacured batterys and his source of them has gone tits up so he cant get them anymore.

[Umpa]

I was bidding on that - but it reached to high a price for me.
Karl, can I have one of your duff ones m8 ?

cheers

Ian

[Karl]

I was bidding on that - but it reached to high a price for me.
Karl, can I have one of your duff ones m8 ?

cheers

Ian

No worries mate , I'll bring one along for you on Sunday 

How much did it go for in the end ?

[MikeDX]

WOW! That battery went for £122!!

I wouldnt even dream of paying that much, regardless of any scares about 15v overheating the pod!

Oh dear, what am I getting into...

[Karl]

WOW! That battery went for £122!!

I wouldnt even dream of paying that much, regardless of any scares about 15v overheating the pod!

Oh dear, what am I getting into...

A lot of money for a 2nd hand battery  , I'm still happy using car batteries 

[Umpa]

Me too, I rather like the Halfords Calcium its my main power pack, fits nice and I get 12.5 miles hilly and over 15 flat per charge.

I wonder who bought the battery ?

[minidaz]

Which one do you use ?
Got quite a selection of Halfords batteries due to owning Minis 

[Karl]

Which one do you use ?
Got quite a selection of Halfords batteries due to owning Minis 

I usually go for type 063's ;
http://c5alive.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=13.0

[Umpa]

A quick word of warning to anyone thinking of using a Halfords Calcium battery -  DON'T. Mine lasted just 5 months and now it won't get me out of the village.

[Retro Andy]

I run mine on a car battery which i got from work, and it still performs very well, it will cope with 15 miles a go and still holds a good charge.

Retro Andy

[radiomarty]

Hi all yet another battery question - I am currently running 'archie' on a car battery and was thinking of getting a leisure battery for the Brighton run - one of my neighbours is a bit of a camper van nut and swears that the sealed gel type do not perform as well as the ones you top up yourself - any views on this ?

[Karl]

Hi all yet another battery question - I am currently running 'archie' on a car battery and was thinking of getting a leisure battery for the Brighton run - one of my neighbours is a bit of a camper van nut and swears that the sealed gel type do not perform as well as the ones you top up yourself - any views on this ?

I was told ( via the BVS I think ?) that the best batteries for Electric Vehicles were lead gel because it helps prevent the plates being shaken about to destruction. Similar to marine spec batteries for use on power boats etc.

Not aware of anyone on here running a c5 using lead gel, so you'd be the pathfinder mate !

[Umpa]

I think there are two ways to think about this.
1) Battery life as in sustained power output
2) Battery life as in plate degridation leading to no1

I think Karl made a post saying the gel helps smooth out vibrations that lead to no2. So your friend could well be right by saying they give out less, but in the long run last longer.

All I know is my very expensive Calcium battery had croaked! 
I might get a gel battery and try it out!