Hello all, i am totally new to caravanning and have little idea of what it will be like. I need to buy 2 batteries for a little 2nd hand pop top i have bought. I can get theRitar 12Volt 120Ah AGM batteries new for $180 each, are these batteries good quality and will they do the job? thanks paul
BAZZA44 said
01:49 PM Sep 25, 2017
Hi Pauly, I have had Ritar 120 AGM's in my last van, they were four years old when I sold van and still ok.
Where did you find some for $180 ea.
Barry
jules47 said
01:50 PM Sep 25, 2017
Do a google search for reviews on them, I do that if I don't know the brand, on just about everything.
The sound pretty cheap = where are you getting them from?
Paull said
03:44 PM Sep 25, 2017
Thanks, yes they are pretty cheap, as i have a daughter who gets a staff discount from the company, they are usually around $399 each i think.
PeterD said
03:49 PM Sep 25, 2017
Sounds a bit cheap for me. Ritar make several series of batteries. Who is supplying them and what is the Ritar part number?
There have been reports of poor performance from Ritar batteries on the forums. In each case it turns out that they were batteries constructed for the "Reserve Power Battery" series . These batteries are cheaper than those for the "Energy Storage Battery" series. The energy storage batteries are built for cyclic applications where as the reserve batteries are designed to be on charge continuously in standby mode.
Rather than chasing cheap batteries I would be inclined to go to someone reliable like Val Rigoli.
Paull said
04:03 PM Sep 25, 2017
Thanks Peter, they are deep cycle, the normal price is usually $399, but my daughter works in their office and gets over 50% staff discounf,
Tony Bev said
04:32 PM Sep 25, 2017
Welcome to the forum, Paull
I am not an Electrician
As you have already found out that they are deep cycle batteries, then lucky for you that you can get such a big discount, and I would go for them Unfortunately I use another brand of battery, so can not answer your question
For anyone who does not know why UPS type batteries, are not much good for use as deep cycle ones, below is a quote taken from the internet, that may or may not be correct
Batteries for UPS are typically AGM hybrids made with multiple thin plates to achieve extremely low internal resistance so they can provide very high discharge rates in excess of 1C, then be recharged quickly like a car battery. They are made for emergency stand by service. Thin plates = Lower charge/discharge cycle. In other words they only get 100 to 200 cycles in them
Some people on eBay are very vague on their so called deep cycle batteries, but when you look up that manufactures chart, you find that the batteries are suitable for emergency standby
Hope that this info is useful to others
Peter_n_Margaret said
07:39 PM Sep 25, 2017
At $180 each, I would probably go for them, but "deep cycle" is not a description that describes the design purpose for the batteries. It is a marketing term that means very little.
Cheers,
Peter
Warren-Pat_01 said
08:33 PM Sep 25, 2017
G'day Paul,
Welcome to a very informative & useful forum. I trust you will get out lots of good info that will make your experiences very enjoyable & also share your experiences with us in the various chapters.
Before you take the leap of having two batteries, check the amount of 12v power that you need - perhaps updating lighting to LEDs if necessary. Just remember that carrying two batteries (& their charging equipment) adds to the weight that you are allowed to carry. You mention you have a small pop-top so I assume you are allowed to carry 300 kg - total, if it has one axle. That includes water, gas, batteries, food, clothing plus everything else you "need" to carry. The nominal weight of an AGM battery is 25-32kg.
I'm certain your daughter would have work mates who know their way around batteries & other power equipment so some of the discussion above may be unnecessary - but at least you are getting ideas to check in the future. Check that the charging equipment in your van is up to what modern AGM batteries need. There was a post only a few days ago in the "Solar" chapter (off the Techies page) - called "Doing the Maths" that you'll find useful.
Use the "Search" button to seek out posts from some of us who have attempted to increase our carrying capacities, got shocks that we are near the ATM or over! Being an unexpected "customer" of the Road Traffic group (Scalies) or your insurance company can get expensive. Look at the various caravan magazines to get ideas but ask yourself "Do I really need that ........ ?", "How much will it add to the weight that I'm able to carry?"
Go away for a trial weekend somewhere not too far away from home & find out what you need to carry (or leave behind). I'll never forget my first trial trip with my first camper trailer. "No", I told my wife "We won't need the doona, after all we were only going up to Keelbottom Creek in Herveys Range". Perhaps you can guess the outcome - we FROZE!
Happy caravaning,
Warren
PeterD said
11:21 PM Sep 25, 2017
Paull wrote:
Thanks Peter, they are deep cycle, the normal price is usually $399, but my daughter works in their office and gets over 50% staff discounf,
As P&M said but "deep cycle" is not a description that describes the design purpose for the batteries. That was what I was getting at. Every battery in my links above is a deep cycle. I asked for the Ritar part number of them so I could check the type of service they are designed for.
Paull said
11:59 PM Sep 25, 2017
the batteries are, RA12-120SD, thanks
Dougwe said
08:20 AM Sep 26, 2017
Welcome to the gang Pauly, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Whatever you end up getting I hope they work out as you want and need for your set up.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
macka17 said
08:26 AM Sep 26, 2017
Just search with right click Google on the part No Above.
Brings up a few pages of link.s
ALL pretty good. But can't find any real reviews on them..
Maybe on "whirlpool Forum.
They are about the best "ALl Round" forum on net.
Mike Harding said
08:59 AM Sep 26, 2017
I did a lot of investigatory work for a safety application in regard to using Ritar RA series batteries a few years ago. Ritar are a large and well known Chinese manufacturer who have been in business for some years and produce quality product.
These batteries are fine and that is an excellent price - cheaper than I recently paid for a 100Ah AGM - I suggest you buy.
Peter_n_Margaret said
10:02 AM Sep 26, 2017
www.rpc.com.au/pdf/ritar_12V_120Ah.pdf
It appears that this battery is designed for cycling use, not standby, so it would be quite suitable for the application.
Cheers,
Peter
Aus-Kiwi said
10:51 AM Sep 26, 2017
Often buying older shelf batteries you get good discount !! Always check age of battery even if new . I bought a 120 AH battery new for 1/2 price due to age . Still going strong . Well same age as house batteries !! Wasn't going to replace them all .. just increasing total AH. Made a heap of difference . Doesn't drain as much , should last longer .,
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 10:54:44 AM
PeterD said
10:20 PM Sep 26, 2017
Paull wrote:
the batteries are, RA12-120SD, thanks
Thanks for replying. If you go to my links you will see that battery listed in the page on the RA Series Battery. On that page it states
RA series is a general purpose battery with 10 years design life in float service. It meets with IEC, JIS and BS standards .With up-dated AGM valve regulated technology and high purity raw materials, the RA series battery maintains high consistency for better performance and reliable standby service life. It is suitable for UPS/EPS, medical equipment, emergency light and security system applications.
The battery you need is one from the DC Series Battery - Deep Cycle VRLA Batteries
DC (Deep Cycle) series is specially designed for frequent cyclic discharge. By using strong grids and specially designed active material, the DC series battery offers 30% more cyclic life than the standby series. It is suitable for UPS, solar & wind energy, telecom system, electric power system, electric vehicles, golf cars, etc.
These pages are from the Ritar company web site.
I suggest you ask them to give you a quote on a similar battery from the DC series. Way back when Ritar batteries were more popular there were a lot of complaints regarding Ritar batteries. When members managed to get the exact battery number from the OP they were inevitably the RA series.
-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 10:21:17 PM
Paull said
11:24 PM Sep 26, 2017
Thankyou for all the information, i will look into this more. But as I will only need them for a year or so, if they are capable of doing the job i will go with them for the price.
Paull said
11:26 PM Sep 26, 2017
I will get my daughter to look into the DC-120 instead, thanks
PeterD said
08:13 AM Sep 27, 2017
Paull wrote:
Thankyou for all the information, i will look into this more. But as I will only need them for a year or so, if they are capable of doing the job i will go with them for the price.
You should get 3 or 4 years out of them so they should be god value from them, when you pass the van on just don't mention they may not last long.
macka17 said
11:20 AM Oct 1, 2017
""when you pass the van on just don't mention they may not last long.""
Not very nice Pete.
How would you feel if that was done to you.
Just bought van. No spare sheckels.
6 mths.? later,
A grand you MAY not have for new battery bank.
Real pi==ed methink's.
PeterD said
04:45 PM Oct 1, 2017
When purchasing a second hand van I would treat the battery as possibly being a dud unless I made specific enquiries and received firm assurances. There is a big difference between not declaring something and making false claims.
Hello all, i am totally new to caravanning and have little idea of what it will be like. I need to buy 2 batteries for a little 2nd hand pop top i have bought. I can get the Ritar 12Volt 120Ah AGM batteries new for $180 each, are these batteries good quality and will they do the job? thanks paul
Hi Pauly, I have had Ritar 120 AGM's in my last van, they were four years old when I sold van and still ok.
Where did you find some for $180 ea.
Barry
The sound pretty cheap = where are you getting them from?
Sounds a bit cheap for me. Ritar make several series of batteries. Who is supplying them and what is the Ritar part number?
There have been reports of poor performance from Ritar batteries on the forums. In each case it turns out that they were batteries constructed for the "Reserve Power Battery" series . These batteries are cheaper than those for the "Energy Storage Battery" series. The energy storage batteries are built for cyclic applications where as the reserve batteries are designed to be on charge continuously in standby mode.
Rather than chasing cheap batteries I would be inclined to go to someone reliable like Val Rigoli.
Thanks Peter, they are deep cycle, the normal price is usually $399, but my daughter works in their office and gets over 50% staff discounf,
Welcome to the forum, Paull
I am not an Electrician
As you have already found out that they are deep cycle batteries, then lucky for you that you can get such a big discount, and I would go for them
Unfortunately I use another brand of battery, so can not answer your question
For anyone who does not know why UPS type batteries, are not much good for use as deep cycle ones, below is a quote taken from the internet, that may or may not be correct
Some people on eBay are very vague on their so called deep cycle batteries, but when you look up that manufactures chart, you find that the batteries are suitable for emergency standby
Hope that this info is useful to others
Cheers,
Peter
Welcome to a very informative & useful forum. I trust you will get out lots of good info that will make your experiences very enjoyable & also share your experiences with us in the various chapters.
Before you take the leap of having two batteries, check the amount of 12v power that you need - perhaps updating lighting to LEDs if necessary. Just remember that carrying two batteries (& their charging equipment) adds to the weight that you are allowed to carry. You mention you have a small pop-top so I assume you are allowed to carry 300 kg - total, if it has one axle. That includes water, gas, batteries, food, clothing plus everything else you "need" to carry. The nominal weight of an AGM battery is 25-32kg.
I'm certain your daughter would have work mates who know their way around batteries & other power equipment so some of the discussion above may be unnecessary - but at least you are getting ideas to check in the future. Check that the charging equipment in your van is up to what modern AGM batteries need. There was a post only a few days ago in the "Solar" chapter (off the Techies page) - called "Doing the Maths" that you'll find useful.
Use the "Search" button to seek out posts from some of us who have attempted to increase our carrying capacities, got shocks that we are near the ATM or over! Being an unexpected "customer" of the Road Traffic group (Scalies) or your insurance company can get expensive. Look at the various caravan magazines to get ideas but ask yourself "Do I really need that ........ ?", "How much will it add to the weight that I'm able to carry?"
Go away for a trial weekend somewhere not too far away from home & find out what you need to carry (or leave behind). I'll never forget my first trial trip with my first camper trailer. "No", I told my wife "We won't need the doona, after all we were only going up to Keelbottom Creek in Herveys Range". Perhaps you can guess the outcome - we FROZE!
Happy caravaning,
Warren
As P&M said That was what I was getting at. Every battery in my links above is a deep cycle. I asked for the Ritar part number of them so I could check the type of service they are designed for.
the batteries are, RA12-120SD, thanks
Whatever you end up getting I hope they work out as you want and need for your set up.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
Brings up a few pages of link.s
ALL pretty good. But can't find any real reviews on them..
Maybe on "whirlpool Forum.
They are about the best "ALl Round" forum on net.
I did a lot of investigatory work for a safety application in regard to using Ritar RA series batteries a few years ago. Ritar are a large and well known Chinese manufacturer who have been in business for some years and produce quality product.
These batteries are fine and that is an excellent price - cheaper than I recently paid for a 100Ah AGM - I suggest you buy.
It appears that this battery is designed for cycling use, not standby, so it would be quite suitable for the application.
Cheers,
Peter
Often buying older shelf batteries you get good discount !! Always check age of battery even if new . I bought a 120 AH battery new for 1/2 price due to age . Still going strong . Well same age as house batteries !! Wasn't going to replace them all .. just increasing total AH. Made a heap of difference . Doesn't drain as much , should last longer .,
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 10:54:44 AM
Thanks for replying. If you go to my links you will see that battery listed in the page on the RA Series Battery. On that page it states
The battery you need is one from the DC Series Battery - Deep Cycle VRLA Batteries
These pages are from the Ritar company web site.
I suggest you ask them to give you a quote on a similar battery from the DC series. Way back when Ritar batteries were more popular there were a lot of complaints regarding Ritar batteries. When members managed to get the exact battery number from the OP they were inevitably the RA series.
-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 10:21:17 PM
I will get my daughter to look into the DC-120 instead, thanks
You should get 3 or 4 years out of them so they should be god value from them, when you pass the van on just don't mention they may not last long.
Not very nice Pete.
How would you feel if that was done to you.
Just bought van. No spare sheckels.
6 mths.? later,
A grand you MAY not have for new battery bank.
Real pi==ed methink's.