K9 Bigger Starter Battery

[Beta rider]

Hi there.  I was wondering if anybody has increased the size of their K9 starter battery. I've got the standard K9 60ah battery. My van is used to transport my trials bike and day van use.  I've had a few 12v sockets and ceiling LEDs fitted when I had it lined and carpeted. All these are wired off the starter battery. I've fitted a voltmeter to keep an eye on battery level and was thinking of increasing the battery size to cope with the increased consumption.

Also would anybody hazard a guess what the minimum battery voltage would be to start a cold Berlingo engine? I just don't want to run the battery so low it doesn't start.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[cancunia]

I think your best bet would be to get a leisure battery to run your 12v accessories and charge that via a split charger. You could also get an additional standard starter battery instead of the leisure battery but leisure batteries are designed to tolerate getting run down a bit more.

[Beta rider]

I think your best bet would be to get a leisure battery to run your 12v accessories and charge that via a split charger. You could also get an additional standard starter battery instead of the leisure battery but leisure batteries are designed to tolerate getting run down a bit more.

Thanks for the response but I opted for this set up to deliberately avoid leisure batteries via split charge and vsr's. There are only 2 low amp LED lights and the drain from the 12v sockets is obviously dependable on what you charge up. The Berlingo has replaced the Race Vans we have always had for the bikes which did have leisure batteries, solar and generator power. I just want to keep the electrics in this van dead simple and avoid a second battery. The 12v sockets and lighting really is for very occasional and light use. Some leisure batteries have starting capacity too so maybe I could go down that route.

[oilyrag]

Battery starting ability depends much on battery age and temperature, as well as the stated CCA and remaining voltage. Your existing battery may well be up to the job and a simple test would be to leave the lights/accessories on for twice the anticipated period and then try starting the van. Do this at home, with access to a charger, just in case.
If the van starts up OK you have plenty of power to spare. If you do change the battery it's additional Amp Hours that you'll be looking for.

[geoff]

If it were me I'd be getting a battery with the highest AH and CCA values possible.

Batteries of the same physical size have varying AH and CCA values so choose the one with the highest rating

If you can possibly fit a physically larger battery into battery frame then that would provide an even better outcome with greater energy storage facility and generally an even greater AH and CCA than a physically smaller battery.

[cancunia]

I feel happier with a separate battery for peace of mind. If you only have low usage & you're not keen on a split charge setup, you could buy a 12v emergency / jump starter pack and use the 12v outputs from that. I had a split charger powering some UPS batteries in my camper last year but decided to take it out and use a small lithium jump starter that I got from Lidl as I only need it for a LED light and to recharge my phone, a friend has a larger jump starter that he got from Halfords IIRC, he uses that to power a Coolbox.

[Beta rider]

I feel happier with a separate battery for peace of mind. If you only have low usage & you're not keen on a split charge setup, you could buy a 12v emergency / jump starter pack and use the 12v outputs from that. I had a split charger powering some UPS batteries  in my camper last year but decided to take it out and use a small lithium jump starter that I got from Lidl as I only need it for a LED light and to recharge my phone, a friend has a larger jump starter that he got from Halfords IIRC, he uses that to power a Coolbox.

Thanks for that. Yes that could be an option.

[Romahomepete]

If you have the stop start facility I believe you needa specific battery, I think you need to be very careful just fitting a larger battery

Peter

[Beta rider]

No stop start. Why be careful?

[geoff]

No stop start. Why be careful?

My " boy " has " stop start " fault lights come up on the dash - he has the wrong battery fitted by all account though the car works OK and he doesn't bother with stop start.