Battery Options - Deep Cycle or Not?

[MjWatt]

Hey Guys and Gals,

Im now in need of getting the second battery replaced. Is it worth going a deepcycle battery? At this stage, it runs the fridge.

Any Suggestions on what I should go?

Cheers,

Watto.

[-Mick-]

AGM

http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/agm.htm

[forissan]

it realy depends on how often you intend on using it to run your fridge,
becouse deep cycle batteries usually only have a 6month warranty wheras you can by some decent batteries for the same or less money that come with a 2 yr warranty. wouldn't go for the AGM sealed lead acid unless you have a fair bit of spare money, many claim to be seald but few are genuine. In all my experiance with batteries about 9 yr worth, Exide seem to have the best allround product at the moment, If you want honest advice see phill or ben at AAA batteries in Albion in Brisbane.

[shorty_f0rty]

i paid about $190 for a 100ah AGM Sealed battery... quick charging and lasts ages..

just my 2c...

[Mr T-riton]

I use an Optima Blue Top D34m., they are sealed...have used it for years and ran it flat a few times, so the stereo would not stay on.
Left it to sit overnight then started the car back up.

[grazza]

Can deep cycles be used for winching?

I noticed SuperCheap will sell batteries with a 3-year warranty but I dont know if they sell deep cycle.

Am I right in thinking a deep cycle is requried since it will survive deep discharges where a starting-battery wont?

I have always been curious about this, because my Waeco fridge will cut out as specified voltages anyway - so would this mean a battery will never get "deep cycled" anyway...

[Bad JuJu]

All betteries can deep cycle, but a deep cycle or AGM will not die from doing so.
BTW a "Deep Cycle" is using 50-60% of the available amp hour capacity of the battery.
A deep cycle takes a LONG time to fully recharge and is easily damaged from poor regulation. An AGM does not take long to recharge and an AGM can charge at relative high currents with relatively poor regulation ie an altenator.

To further complicate matters AGM batteries come in a thick plate (more biased towards deep cycling) and thin plate (biased towards higher current draw). Their only drawback is the initial cost. A decent one ie 110 Amp hrs@ 12v @25c should cost around $300-$400. You will pay a premium for brandname and a useful warrantee

[-Mick-]

A deep cycle takes a LONG time to fully recharge and is easily damaged from poor regulation. An AGM does not take long to recharge and an AGM can charge at relative high currents with relatively poor regulation ie an altenator.

That was the key for me.. something like 6 or 8 hours of continuous driving to charge a wet cell deep cycle fully from very low with an alternator

Only a couple of hours for an AGM.

I wasn't ready to invest in solar or genarators with smart chargers... all big $$$ for a few uses per year

[MjWatt]

yer, so maybe a supercheap battery with 3 years warrenty maybe the go for a fridge that gets used maybe 8 times a year?

[Bad JuJu]

Its not really the amount of use its the kind of use. Draining a std starting battery down 8 times a year will most likley bugger it. I assume you are running some flouros, stereo at low/moderate volume and a fridge only ??

Go the AGM, the link that Mick put up is by far the cheapest price for decent ability I have seen. Also great tech.

The 7x13 inch battery size they sell is 120 Amp hrs and is only $300.
this is the link ---> http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/agm.htm

[Shadow]

A decent one ie 110 Amp hrs@ 12v @25c should cost around $300-$400. You will pay a premium for brandname and a useful warrantee

i paid about $190 for a 100ah AGM Sealed battery... quick charging and lasts ages..

just my 2c...

[Bad JuJu]

Id like to know what brand and from where and was it a special price??

[-Mick-]

The 7x13 inch battery size they sell is 120 Amp hrs and is only $300.
this is the link ---> http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/agm.htm

I got that very battery on special at springers for $250 One of these is cheaper than killing 2 or 3 wet cells over the next 5 yrs

[bazzle]

Deep cycle not normally happy with high winching currents. Use a starting or main batt for that purpose.
Having said that most modern starting auto batteries developed for 4x4s and trucks, ie exide extreme, overlander etc can take a bit of low voltage drop from a fridge left on all night etc.
Real deep cycle batts are not produced for auto use, mainly stationary systems as used in solar applications or telephone exchanges etc.

Bazzle

[shorty_f0rty]

Id like to know what brand and from where and was it a special price??

ok.. after 30mins searching through all my reciepts (2yrs worth!!) I found the one for the AGM.. here are the details..

12V 100AH AGM Battery - $178.54 (inc GST)...
FROM: Energy Batteries
374 Bayview St
Hollywell QLD 4216
ABN: 73 273 001 991

From what I remember I found the guy online (some wierd online catalog thingo), called him up and he confirmed the price (I think he is up the north coast somewhere) and gave me a call on his next trip to BNE, where he came by my worked and I paid him cash. He gave me the battery out the boot of his car! As far as I know it was an advertised price and no special deal just for me (didnt know the dude prior to that)..

Even though I can't find AGM batteries listed now I'm 99% sure this is where i found them (12V 100Ah AGM) : https://tektrek.com.au/hpecs_4.asp?maingroup=PRODUCTS


Hope this helps you guys out!!

[Bad JuJu]

Thanks Shorty..

Unfortunatly they may be no longer trading.....bummer

This from a ABN search

Last modified: 09 Aug 2005
ABN: 73 273 001 991 view historyview history

ABN status: Cancelled from 01 Jul 2005
Entity name: The Trustee for THE EVANGELISTA FAMILY TRUST
Entity type: Other trust
Main business location
State: QLD
Postcode: 4216
Trading name(s)

ENERGY BATTERIES
THE EVANGELISTA FAMILY TRUST
Other registrations
GST status: Not currently registered for GST
Deductible Gift Recipient: No current DGR endorsement

[V8 Middy]

My understanding is that deep cycle batteries don't deal well with high currents (eg. winching) and don't like being run too flat.

The direct opposite is a starting battery which delivers high current for a short amount of time and recovers well from being discharged.

A "Marine" battery is normally somewhere in the middle so if you do run lights or compressor and or other devices together, it won't mind delivering a medium level current, on the other hand, it should deal better with being discharged a little lower.

Anyone feel free to correct / clarify this

[-Scott-]

Anyone feel free to correct / clarify this

My understanding is that deep cycle batteries don't deal well with high currents (eg. winching) and don't like being run too flat.

The direct opposite is a starting battery which delivers high current for a short amount of time and recovers well from being discharged.

A "Marine" battery is normally somewhere in the middle so if you do run lights or compressor and or other devices together, it won't mind delivering a medium level current, on the other hand, it should deal better with being discharged a little lower.

No (to bold bit only.)

Starting batteries don't like being discharged either - a few seconds of cranking before a full re-charge is all they're really designed to handle. But you are right that deep discharge don't like being run too flat - I'm not aware of any lead-acid battery which does like to be run flat. The "deep" bit is relative - they handle deeper discharge than a standard "cranking" battery, but they still don't like a total discharge.

AFAIK, "marine" batteries are typically built to a higher standard than your average (on-road) car battery - they're designed to cope with higher levels of vibration, and as such were popular for off-road applications before "specialist" off-road batteries were developed.

Now it's my turn to be corrected.

Scott

[Moonman]

I've just come accross 4 x Yuasa UXH63-12 Valve Regulated Lead Acid Batteries (for free!!) and was thinking of using one as my 2nd battery in the 4B? These are a sealed type battery and i was wondering if they would be any good for this type of application, considering they have cost me nothing..??

[grazza]

...and I just scored 2 x 6V 100Ah Yuasa batteries for free too. Heavy and bulky but should do the job in series.