DRH Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Looking for a new battery suggestions welcome,something that holds a charge for a good timemany thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 For most 7s I'd suggest: Consider the Great Lithium Question... ... and if you're not ready to jump fit a Powervamp Clubsport. Current model seems to be the Clubsport NP. NB You might need a different size box from what you currently have (and they sell one) and terminal adaptors.But mine lives on a conditioning charger. Is that a possibility for you, and if not how long would be long enough? And do you have a battery master switch and do you suspect high residual current when it's not being used?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 With the demise of the Powervamp PVR22 last year the replacement recommended by PV is the PC680, this is a superior battery and therefore a bit more expensive at £98. On the plus side it fits the same cage as the outgoing PVR22. The other change is the terminal size which increases from M6 to M8 so you have to get your Dremmel out!The PC680 has a 2 year warranty and will hold its charge for 24months which is handy for some Caterham owners.http://www.powervamp.com/products/batteries/odyssey-pc680-battery/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 For those who live in a climate that sometimes requires quite cold starts (below freezing), I can recommend this battery: Yuasa AGM GYZ32HL battery. At 500 CCA and 32Ah capacity, it significantly outperforms the Banner battery, which I had taken to carrying an additional booster pack with in spring and autumn for reliable starts. It also has a reputation for robustness and long life from Harley owners (commonly used as a motorcycle and recreational vehicle starting battery). I paid the equivalent of £145 for it delivered. It is a tight fit in the Banner battery tray depth wise, but is a similar height and a bit narrower, I decided to make myself an exact fit tray and reused the top clamp used on the Banner battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 With the demise of the Powervamp PVR22 last year the replacement recommended by PV is the PC680, this is a superior battery and therefore a bit more expensive at £98.The Powervamp Clubsport NP costs £50. What do you see as the advantages of the PC680?ThanksJonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 (02:18:14) *** Visitor 98976314 joined the chat *** (02:18:15) Stuart: Hello, how may I help you today? (02:20:46) Visitor 98976314: Do you have a website and online ordering for batteries suitable for a Caterham car? Clubsport and Odyssey PC? (02:21:41) *** Powervamp Live Chat joined the chat *** (02:22:59) Powervamp Live Chat: We would recomend the PC680 (02:23:12) Powervamp Live Chat: If you have a look on the product page (02:23:28) Powervamp Live Chat: See if the specification is suitable (02:23:54) Powervamp Live Chat: http://www.powervamp.com/products/batteries/odyssey-pc680-battery/ (02:23:57) Visitor 98976314: Thanks. Are the Clubsports still available? I see the eBay site for retail has been discontinued. (02:24:14) Visitor 98976314: Yes, the PC680 is well known and highly regarded. (02:24:15) Powervamp Live Chat: Unfortunately we have stopped supplying the clubsports (02:24:52) Visitor 98976314: Thanks for that straight answer, May I share it with the Lotus 7 Club, please? (02:26:05) Powervamp Live Chat: What do you mean by shared? (02:26:55) Visitor 98976314: I'd like to copy this discussion to the Club, so that they know what's happened. (02:28:19) Powervamp Live Chat: Yeah thats fine, can i help with anything else at all? (02:29:28) Visitor 98976314: Thank you very much. Is the PC680 available directly from you, and can they be ordered online? (Another Member was told that they can be ordered from you by 'phone.) (02:31:08) Powervamp Live Chat: The pc680 can be ordered directly from us however we can take the order over the phone (02:31:36) Powervamp Live Chat: If you order today we can get it to you by Tuesday (02:32:33) Powervamp Live Chat: PC680 is £84.47 plus VAT and then it is £10 shipping by Fedex (02:32:43) Visitor 98976314: Thanks. What's the best 'phone number and the current price with delivery? (02:32:56) Visitor 98976314: You beat me to it. :-) (02:33:46) Powervamp Live Chat: aha no worries if you want to ring this number 01934 643000 (02:34:20) Visitor 98976314: That's all I need. Thank you very much, and I hope you see some orders now that we know. Best wishes (02:34:37) Powervamp Live Chat: No worries look forward to hearing from you (02:40:30) *** Visitor 98976314 left the chat *** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 My recommended battery for most purposes in most 7s (if you don't want a lithium) is now: The Powervamp PC680. £84.47 plus VAT plus £10 shipping by Fedex, From Powervamp on 01934 643000.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Batty Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Thanks Jonathan. Thinking of putting new battery on for next year my problem is when driving I put on headlights but always Forget to switch of so if leave car for to long come back to flat battery I always carry set of jump leads and tow rope When car in garage plug in trickle charge unit But before I go away next year. Am going to buy one of those. Small jump starters. As on previous site Forgot what they are called around £100. But think worth it. It also may help some one else on our travels derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris- Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Had my 680 on the car for 6-7 years.Never trickle charged, getting drained to zero a couple of times and 5 months of winter stored below or near zero 'c.It still cranks the VX no issues, I would buy another if this one decides to pack it in.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Bounce... any more recent experiences with non-lithium batteries?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Just noticed that there are two things missing from this thread that should be here as it evolves towards wikihood.Migrating from the factory configuration to a Powervamp battery might need some or all of the following: Longer cables. Different ends on the cables. Modifications to the cage. Or a pretty new Powervamp cage.NB The desirability of insulating hoods on battery terminals.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 And if you want a straight replacement for the battery which was fitted at the factory the most commonly recommended source is Tayna. And they can be posted in the UK.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dartmoor7 Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 The 'best' battery is the one in a car which is used regularly.I'm on my third (standard) battery in 19 years.I also recommend Tayna if you need delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilla Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Is there enough experience yet to get any reliable estimates of the expected service lives of the various "modern" replacement battery types?General wisdom on the Internet regarding normal lead-acid car battleries seems to be between four and six years. I put a new Banner battery on my car when I bought it and it is now showing the first signs of being on the way out, failing to hold charge for long periods, six years later. Until very recently its done me proud. I've got a Banner on my spare engine test rig which I must have had for five years and that still seems to be going strong. I don't consider that bad going, so I'll be going for another Banner from Tayna this time around.Just interested to know what other peoples' expectations are when it comes to battery longevity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Sooty: Anything to add?ThanksJonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Just interested to know what other peoples' expectations are when it comes to battery longevity? The Banners in my old 1.8K SS-R lasted about four years on average. That was with a trickle charger rather than the superior conditioning charger.In my R400D, the first Banner lasted a good six years (it lived on a conditioning charger), and was replaced only because the car had been off the road at CC for several weeks undergoing chassis work. The current one has been in for four years and performs strongly. Again, it lives on a conditioning charger.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooty Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 I use PC545 originally designed as a net ski battery but also on motor bikes. First fitted one in 2003 and replaced after 8 years still going strong - recently tested and still ok. Lots of people use the 680 which is slightly bigger and heavier. Biggest issue is to eliminate parasitic loads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Thanks, Sooty.Biggest issue is to eliminate parasitic loadsAndrew Revill showed that these vary considerably. It would be good to measure and reports lots of them to identify common problems.I think that many are masked by the use of conditioning chargers.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molecular--Bob Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 I have a 7 year old 680 that has sat disconnected for ~3 years due to life getting in the way of my post crash rebuild, but finally have an engine in the car so hooked it up without charging and it happily cranked to get oil pressure for ~ 20 seconds, so I would say they work well if stored with no load. It was back to full charge on the conditioner after ~4 hrs so all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Discussion of the Odyssey PC535, which fits the factory tray.PC535 from Tayna.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted February 1, 2019 Area Representative Share Posted February 1, 2019 I have owned three Sevens over a period of 25 years & the average life of a Banner, if maintained & looked after properly is about eight years. Well it was for me.Sadly the first Banner installed in my R400D lasted barely 4 years which I put down to it being a carp battery in the first place.Now into year 2 of the replacement Banner so fingers crossed.......If one is anal about weight in general hi tech batteries appear to be HEAVIER than the standard issue Banner?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangepeel61 Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Eurocarparts are still doing the PC 680 for £86.49 including VAT and free delivery or collect. Use discount code "batt50" Just fitted a PC535 from them (in the original battery tray) all ok so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Current summaryLithium batteries Light and therefore Sevenesque. Experience now accumulating: please add yours here. CTEK and probably others now offer smart conditioning chargers with apppropriate specific modes.Replacing the factory Banner with the same No need to change tray or leads. Tayna highly recommended as a supplier. They do send them filled and charged. Make sure you get the correct model... their website might lead you to an Exide! Check the fluid level as part of your routine. (I don't like unsealed batteries.)Powervamp Most experience is with the PC680. May need to change leads and fettle tray. Neat replacement cage available from Powervamp, sometimes bundled. Available from the manufacturer, and from Euro Car Parts. Discussion of the PC535 which is probably similar but fits the original tray and available from Euro Car Parts and from Tayna. These are AGM not gel batteries.Others Some good experiences with a range of others.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonym Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Banner, the "correct model" is not necessarily the 53034 you may desire the 53030. Same tech spec different terminal locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Kay Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Summary of published characteristics:Model: Mass (kg); CCA (A); Capacity (Ah) Banner 53034: 7.9; 300; 30 PC680: 7; 170; 16 PC535: 5.4; 200; 14 Varley Red Top Racing 25*: 7; 230; 20I'm surprised that the PC535 has a higher nominal CCA than the PC680.And now I'll try and add a table...ModelMass (kg)CCA (A)Capacity (Ah)Banner 530347.930030PC680717016PC5355.420014Varley Red Top Racing 25723020 Jonathan* By popular demand! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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