Leisure batteries are essential to enable campers and sailors to enjoy modern technology whilst in isolated locations
Leisure batteries have only been available since the 1960s. They were first developed for the caravan industry. However, mariners soon realised that they were ideal for them too. These batteries allowed caravanners and sailors to enjoy electric light and pumps. Prior to this gas mantels were used for lighting and pumps had to be operated by hand on small boats.
Unsurprisingly, leisure batteries proved very popular. A few people had adapted car batteries for use when camping or caravanning or used glass batteries left over from WWII. However, these batteries were very heavy. In addition, they needed to be charged, which in a caravan or sailboat was not viable because they did not have a motor to run the alternator and charge the battery. Leisure batteries have special qualities. They hold a strong charge and release their power gradually. They are deep cycle batteries, so they can be charged once and release their power as and when it is needed.
Over the years people wanted to take all of their home comforts with them. This included things like TVs and later video recorders, DVD players and satellite boxes. Today, even more demands are made on leisure batteries.
Most people take their smart phones, game consoles, tablets and laptops with them. Couples and families have multiple appliances. This puts a huge amount of pressure on leisure batteries. No matter how well you look after them leisure batteries need to be replaced more regularly than when they were just used for lighting. The fact consumers use so many electrical devices and so much new technology is one reason sales of caravan and marine batteries have increased.
Looking after leisure batteries
However, there are ways to make a leisure battery last longer. One of the UK’s biggest suppliers, Alpha Batteries, know this. They have recently reached out to their customers to help them to look after their batteries by publishing a blog entry all about taking care of leisure batteries. It is clearly a subject that interests people, because a lot of people have visited this page of their website.