Croohur Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 (edited) I just bought myself a Promatic Pigeon after a few years of just using a manual trap on the farm it's a joy! I am using am old car battery at the moment that doesn't hold much of a charge. I was going to buy one of those leisure batteries. Is there a minimum power rating like the AH I would need to buy to make sure it's powerful enough to turn the motor? I have zero experience with these and there is a massive variety of leisure batteries with wildly different prices. Edited October 25, 2020 by Croohur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matone Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 85AH should do for personal use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 We use a leisure battery, will check the rating when i next use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylye Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 The bigger the AH the longer it will run before charging. 85 - 100 should be fine for what you need. Prices vary for leisure batteries so its worth shopping around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croohur Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Thanks for the replies. Particularly when I was looking at ones between 5 and 10 AH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croohur Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 The guy I bought it from also suggested using the Land rover I'd be bringing it up the fields with. Crack the hood use the battery with engine running and some jump leads running to the trap. Does anyone use this method as in theory this would be the handiest as you don't have to lug a battery around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Gunner Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 for personal use a 75 AH leisure Battery will prove adequate and will have enough to run it all day long. If you can lug a trap around, the little extra weight of a battery will make no difference at all. I would not recommend running it off Jump Leads to your vehicle Battery as a ticking over engine does no good for the vehicle battery or fuel consumption. You can buy a decent Leisure Battery for around £50-£60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 6 hours ago, Croohur said: The guy I bought it from also suggested using the Land rover I'd be bringing it up the fields with. Crack the hood use the battery with engine running and some jump leads running to the trap. Does anyone use this method as in theory this would be the handiest as you don't have to lug a battery around Not a good idea if you wanting to shoot a incoming clay from the trap . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkedUp Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Also, when clays break being thrown they can go any which way. If I still had a nice Landrover then I would not want it getting splattered with clays or distractingly in my eyeline as I swing through a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croohur Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 48 minutes ago, WalkedUp said: Also, when clays break being thrown they can go any which way. If I still had a nice Landrover then I would not want it getting splattered with clays or distractingly in my eyeline as I swing through a shot. Point taken. Do you have to recharge leisure batteries after each use or will they last a number of shoots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkedUp Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Unfortunately it’s “how long is a piece of string” - depends upon: - capacity of the battery (given in ampere hours) - age and condition / temperature of battery - extent that it is used (how many clays are fired in said session) Generally you have two batteries, charge one whilst you use one, take it to the shoot and if you need it is there to use. Swamp them over and repeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
243deer Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 one reasonably local clay club to me has batteries and promatic traps permantly up on scaffold. They are now charged using solar panels. They use 85 amp hour leisure batteries with each one needing a 30 watt solar panel to recharge the battery over the two weeks between uses. The trap would typically fire 250 clays on a shoot day. Batteries are kept on a pad of polystyrene in a plastic box to protect from frost. If you are not going to use solar then make sure you invest in a decent charger that is designed to input until full and then maintain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Having used all Pro-Matic traps at a shooting ground, we bought 85a/h batteries. Do NOT use a standard car battery charger though, it cooks them, as we found out to our cost. Invest in a decent trickle charger intended for leisure batteries. Shooting on a Wednesday and a Sunday, we left 2 batteries on trickle charge, then swapped them around on the Wednesday, they were then ready for use on the Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croohur Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 7 minutes ago, Westley said: Having used all Pro-Matic traps at a shooting ground, we bought 85a/h batteries. Do NOT use a standard car battery charger though, it cooks them, as we found out to our cost. Invest in a decent trickle charger intended for leisure batteries. Shooting on a Wednesday and a Sunday, we left 2 batteries on trickle charge, then swapped them around on the Wednesday, they were then ready for use on the Sunday. Perfect. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 i bought a battery of a pw member, one of those small ones for security purposes. i run my promatic pigeon off it no probs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted October 26, 2020 Report Share Posted October 26, 2020 12 hours ago, billytheghillie said: i bought a battery of a pw member, one of those small ones for security purposes. i run my promatic pigeon off it no probs. Really, a clay trap off a 7 amp hour battery, will try one of my rotary battery's next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted October 26, 2020 Report Share Posted October 26, 2020 just checked my battery, it is a Platinum PAGM20 -12 12V 20AH/20HR one. A quick google came up with £37.90 price. It is used for mobility scooters and wheelchairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted October 26, 2020 Report Share Posted October 26, 2020 3 minutes ago, billytheghillie said: just checked my battery, it is a Platinum PAGM20 -12 12V 20AH/20HR one. A quick google came up with £37.90 price. It is used for mobility scooters and wheelchairs. That's why it works the trap well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted October 26, 2020 Report Share Posted October 26, 2020 As you can see TC I know nowt about batteries, but this one does me fine, and is smaller to lug around. Why pay for a large leisure batt when this one does the job and is cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted October 26, 2020 Report Share Posted October 26, 2020 It is all down to usage, IF you are using the trap for several hours a couple of times a week, then I would suggest a leisure battery. On the other hand if the trap is only chucking around 100 targets on one day a week, then the smaller battery will fit the bill. We had a member who was a mechanic at the local VW agents and he could supply us with nearly new 12 volt car batteries. These were taken off cars that belonged to little old Ladies who went shopping once a week and had everything electric in the car going full chat, a new battery was fitted under warranty and the 'old' battery scrapped ? Anyway we got them and they were like new. I think the longest they lasted was around 2 months. They just could not take the constant charge/discharge that a clay trap puts on them. The leisure battery, correctly charged, can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croohur Posted October 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 12 hours ago, Westley said: It is all down to usage, IF you are using the trap for several hours a couple of times a week, then I would suggest a leisure battery. On the other hand if the trap is only chucking around 100 targets on one day a week, then the smaller battery will fit the bill. We had a member who was a mechanic at the local VW agents and he could supply us with nearly new 12 volt car batteries. These were taken off cars that belonged to little old Ladies who went shopping once a week and had everything electric in the car going full chat, a new battery was fitted under warranty and the 'old' battery scrapped ? Anyway we got them and they were like new. I think the longest they lasted was around 2 months. They just could not take the constant charge/discharge that a clay trap puts on them. The leisure battery, correctly charged, can. Well I have ordered an 110 ah leisure battery that should be delivered in the next few days. Will be used a fair bit in next 6 weeks as we are in lock down here in Ireland and then a few times a month. 110 ah should mean it can take a fair bit of use, I will have an old car battery as a back up but plan to use the leisure battery as much as I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 13 hours ago, Croohur said: Well I have ordered an 110 ah leisure battery that should be delivered in the next few days. Will be used a fair bit in next 6 weeks as we are in lock down here in Ireland and then a few times a month. 110 ah should mean it can take a fair bit of use, I will have an old car battery as a back up but plan to use the leisure battery as much as I can. Yes, the 110 will certainly do several shoots without a problem. We were advised to occasionally run the battery right down and then leave it on trickle charge for over 24 hours. We tried to follow this advice and out batteries certainly lasted several years of being out in all weathers. The frosty weather seemed to take the biggest toll on batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 The pigeon is a single stack trap so no carousel to rotate. 75ah will be more than enough to run for a couple of days. I think a 40ah would do a day happily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimo22 Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 We have 10 auto traps with a mix of promatic and Laporte. All multi stack ones and find that 80Ah leisure battery’s work well, and only need charging a couple of times a year running 2 shoots per month. I charge them with a good battery charger that switches to sealed type battery’s . We do have some 110Ah battery’s but they weigh a ton and have to use barrow to move about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 used my 20ah scooter battery this week with my promatic, shot a box of clays ( 150 ) no probs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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