Choosing the Right Leisure Battery

There’s been a lot of talk online, via social media and in the trade press recently about the best (and most cost-effective) leisure battery to buy for your boat, motorhome or caravan.

Consumers’ buying decisions are still largely triggered by cost but the demands on these batteries have changed enormously and as technology has moved on, there are now so many different choices for consumers that just weren’t available a few years ago.

Around 15-20 years ago, for example, caravan owners just used their battery to power a small fridge and various lightbulbs. Nowadays, people are fitting inverters to convert from 12v to 240v for mains power to satisfy the power-hungry demands for a range of creature comforts, from kettles and irons, through to TVs, hoovers and heating.

Consumers are increasingly spending a lot of their hard-earned money on boats and motorhomes so investment in a good battery – offering reliability, a long life and high performance – is key.

A ‘proper’ leisure battery

There is a fallacy over what a ‘proper’ leisure battery actually is. The word ‘leisure’ continues to confuse some consumers as some of the so-called leisure batteries available online are simply glorified car batteries and purchasing based on price alone can be a false economy.

Car batteries are not designed for deep cycle performance – if you discharge to 50 per cent and recharge/recover, you can cause damage to the battery and reduce the lifecycle significantly.

Range of solutions for battery buyers

However, technology has moved on in 10-15 years and today’s deep cycle AGM batteries are designed for power-hungry applications and electric propulsion, and are ideal for the leisure market.

People are now comfortable using lead acid batteries but the choice of your battery is dependent upon use, how you want to live, how reliant you are on your battery, and many other factors.

To provide a solution for these challenges, there are other distinct variations available and the difference is immense in terms of cost and life expectancy.

At DBS Leoch, for example, we provide standard, AGM, Gel Tubular, Pure Lead Carbon and Lithium. Each has its own benefits for specific applications and our experts can talk you through the best battery for your requirements and lifestyle.