Sunday, October 19, 2008

New camping battery? Not right now...

I thought I need to buy new camping battery. The one I have installed in my camping solar system works poorly. It discharges itself very fast... I thought it was couple of years old and it reached it's lifetime. I wanted to buy a new battery.

Since we have to pay some deposit when I purchase new battery (it's refunded when I leave the old battery in the shop), I took the old battery from the camper and wanted to buy a new one. In one of our local shops the new 12 V 45 Ah battery was sold for 150 PLN (less than $60). But one small detail grabbed my attention and saved me the money.

A small plastic envelope is glued to the battery. Inside that envelope is a piece of paper with warranty and user manual. And the warranty has the purchase date written on that paper. When I read that date I was very surprised. I found out that the battery was purchased last year, on august 10th! So the battery is not old, it might only be broken. Or... just needs to be charged fully and will start working.

So instead taking the battery to the shop, I carried it to my apartment along with rectifier.

From Volkswagen Transporter T3
The battery was almost completely discharged. I am afraid the lead plates inside the battery are covered with sulphur and the battery will not work properly. But if it's broken, I'll try to get a refund or new battery from the manufacturer as the warranty is valid for another year.



The photo shows the rectifier does work. I hope it'll charge the battery within a day or two...

2 comments:

Trevor said...

Hi. Just read most of your blog from 2006 onwards. You seem to be having a lot of fun with your van even when it needs repairs.
I own a T25 multivan and live in England.

I like the paint job you had done.

Maybe I will see you on the road one day?

All the best to you.

Trev.

Krzysztof Lis said...

Hi Trevor,

I wouldn't say I have fun with the repairs. It is more that I accepted my camper's faith -- it's so old it has to break down from time to time. ;) In such a case I don't have any other choice but to make fun of it. ;)

If I ever go with the camper to UK, I'll try to get in contact with you.