Colttan
Registered Member
Where can I find a good deep cycle battery that can be sourced at a common local retailer? No yellow top optima, but something I wouldn't have a hard time warranting out on a road trip or something.
CK5
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DEEP CYCLE BATTERY ??????
- Thread starter Colttan
- Start date
Walmart marine batteries are less $$$ than a regular car battery,and there's a Walmart about every 10 miles or less in most states..
Colttan
Registered Member
I had thought about that but a shop foreman buddy of mine had said something on time about marine battery's aren't a good idea in a car or truck, something about them only lasting 6 months or so. Has anybody ever heard of that being true?
Most of the batteries being sold are not true deep cycles. Do you need a real deep cycle, or do you need the misleading deep cycle/starter hybrids most retailers sell?
True deep cycles come from companies like Trojan and Deka. There is a huge difference, to include cost.
A true deep cycle won't last too long in your car.
Better to get a solid quality normal battery
Better to get a solid quality normal battery
Unless you need a deep cycle for massive storage capacity and deep discharges (what deep cycles are made for) I completely agree. Buy the cheapest battery out there that meets the specs you need. Having a ton of *unused* reserve capacity only hurts your wallet, since the battery is going to last a finite amount of time no matter what.
So far the "regular" wal-mart battery I've got in the truck now is doing fine, been in there more than a couple of years.
Colttan
Registered Member
Well my concern is deep discharge/ how long I can draw from the battery with my truck off until it won't restart truck. I'm running dual batteries and have cut off to aux batt. So I'm not really worried about not being able to restart. I just want good battery that won't get short lived from draining that I'll have to warranty out in a year
"cranking" "starting" batteries have been a gimmick from bat companies to save production costs for a long time now... cars that do nothing but start, go a to b, that's it, do ok on that (coughprelude,etccough).. any kind of extra load, or god forbid, you leave your lights on, beats the snot out of em...
a DC will give you a couple hundy less cranking amps, but 1000 times the RC... as long as your max amp load doesn't exceed the CCA of the DC, it's a better choice... max amp draw, is max amp draw.. if my start draw is 650, my 800CCA DC will be a vastly superior choice to your 1000 CCA "starting" battery....
it's amazing what advertising does... FRAM filters RULE!!!!!!!!!!
a DC will give you a couple hundy less cranking amps, but 1000 times the RC... as long as your max amp load doesn't exceed the CCA of the DC, it's a better choice... max amp draw, is max amp draw.. if my start draw is 650, my 800CCA DC will be a vastly superior choice to your 1000 CCA "starting" battery....
it's amazing what advertising does... FRAM filters RULE!!!!!!!!!!
Ryoken probably deals with this more often than I do, but when I got a golf cart I started looking into the deep cycle world. I don't think there is anything out there (common) that is as "good" at handling deep cycle duty than the batteries designed for applications such as golf carts and solar storage systems.
The one problem I see with them is that they need to be checked/filled on a somewhat regular basis (I assume this is directly related to the charge/discharge cycles the battery is subjected to, I have not seen a drop in fluid level yet on mine) so the possibility is there that you could run them dry if you don't keep up on the fluid level.
I don't see why an automotive system, especially with the deep cycle as an aux. battery, would be any harder on one than in an application such as a cart, where they are used hard and charged hard.
Additionally, you will note that companies such as Trojan give you "real" numbers about what kind of capacity the batteries have. Such as "25A for 10 hours". The starting and hybrid start/deep cycle battery sellers/manufacturers use all sorts of tricks to obfuscate the truth about their capacity.
The one problem I see with them is that they need to be checked/filled on a somewhat regular basis (I assume this is directly related to the charge/discharge cycles the battery is subjected to, I have not seen a drop in fluid level yet on mine) so the possibility is there that you could run them dry if you don't keep up on the fluid level.
I don't see why an automotive system, especially with the deep cycle as an aux. battery, would be any harder on one than in an application such as a cart, where they are used hard and charged hard.
Additionally, you will note that companies such as Trojan give you "real" numbers about what kind of capacity the batteries have. Such as "25A for 10 hours". The starting and hybrid start/deep cycle battery sellers/manufacturers use all sorts of tricks to obfuscate the truth about their capacity.
Colttan
Registered Member
So what battery would you recommend ryoken?
for readily available deep cycle, your local Interstate dealer is probably the best bet, we're a dealer and sell tons...... we run lot's of exotics, Lifeline, etc, but that stuff runs bucks.... interstate #27's are like $105 a piece or something...
as Dorian alluded to... the bat biz has become a VERY convalutted game these days... I'm sure lead prices are the driving force.. that's why "starting" bats with honeycomb plates started in the first place... a true deep cycle solid lead plate? sh*t's coin in this day and age.. thus the cost of a lifeline or rolls-surrette, etc...
and Dorian is also correct in that, if your system is being hard used, you may need to top the bats off a bit more... I drive a golf cart all day, every day, and I top the bats off twice a year.....
keep in mind, I come from the marine biz, I see massive amounts of bat use, and abuse.. I often manage and service hundreds of bats.... a "cranking" bat is often the right choice in auto apps... but not always, for the reasons recommended by manny's...
as Dorian alluded to... the bat biz has become a VERY convalutted game these days... I'm sure lead prices are the driving force.. that's why "starting" bats with honeycomb plates started in the first place... a true deep cycle solid lead plate? sh*t's coin in this day and age.. thus the cost of a lifeline or rolls-surrette, etc...
and Dorian is also correct in that, if your system is being hard used, you may need to top the bats off a bit more... I drive a golf cart all day, every day, and I top the bats off twice a year.....
keep in mind, I come from the marine biz, I see massive amounts of bat use, and abuse.. I often manage and service hundreds of bats.... a "cranking" bat is often the right choice in auto apps... but not always, for the reasons recommended by manny's...
OK, the lines between deep cycle and regular batteries have blurred a lot in the past few years. And a lot of the stuff I used to write about the differences is a little outdated.
The main problem, is that a true deep-cycle battery is not designed to produce high currents. Doing so will cause physical damage to the battery.
However, regular batteries will be damaged by deep discharging.
So, what to do?
Well, there are a lot of "hybrid" batteries out there now, mainly in the marine area that will do fairly well with deep discharging, but can still supply the current necessary for cranking.
If you plan on doing a lot of accessory use with the engine off, then you are on the right track with the dual batteries. There is no reason a marine deep cycle battery will not have a good long life in a truck, if you only use it for non cranking use. Its almost always the high current drain from cranking that kills them.
Friend of mine put a large deep cycle in his diesel tractor, and it burned up in less than a week. Charging system was working fine, but cranking that big diesel engine just warped the battery's innards.
Way back in 1979, I split the electrical system in my new Ford truck, using a diode isolator. I had one battery that only cranked the truck, while the other one ran everything else.
I never put a deep cycle on the other side, but I could have. Instead I went with a very high capacity truck battery. I did that, because I added a second starter solenoid with big cables running between the two batteries.
That way, I could jump myself off from inside the cab.
I don't think I ever had to use it, but I did use the accessory battery to jump others off a few times, just because it was on the best side for the occasion.
So, while normally a deep cycle would not last in your truck, it might do well if you do not try to crank with it.
The main problem, is that a true deep-cycle battery is not designed to produce high currents. Doing so will cause physical damage to the battery.
However, regular batteries will be damaged by deep discharging.
So, what to do?
Well, there are a lot of "hybrid" batteries out there now, mainly in the marine area that will do fairly well with deep discharging, but can still supply the current necessary for cranking.
If you plan on doing a lot of accessory use with the engine off, then you are on the right track with the dual batteries. There is no reason a marine deep cycle battery will not have a good long life in a truck, if you only use it for non cranking use. Its almost always the high current drain from cranking that kills them.
Friend of mine put a large deep cycle in his diesel tractor, and it burned up in less than a week. Charging system was working fine, but cranking that big diesel engine just warped the battery's innards.
Way back in 1979, I split the electrical system in my new Ford truck, using a diode isolator. I had one battery that only cranked the truck, while the other one ran everything else.
I never put a deep cycle on the other side, but I could have. Instead I went with a very high capacity truck battery. I did that, because I added a second starter solenoid with big cables running between the two batteries.
That way, I could jump myself off from inside the cab.
I don't think I ever had to use it, but I did use the accessory battery to jump others off a few times, just because it was on the best side for the occasion.
So, while normally a deep cycle would not last in your truck, it might do well if you do not try to crank with it.
agreed the line has become WAY blurred between true DC solid plate, and "honeycomb" modern plate design... similar to "self etching"...
but... amp load, is amp load... big giant 12 cylinder Detroit dizzles in boats are started daily with deep cycle bats...
<<but... amp load, is amp load... big giant 12 cylinder Detroit dizzles in boats are started daily with deep cycle bats...>>
Interesting. If you have seen it, I will certainly take your word for it. But I would bet that those are the new version of deep cycles.
I never saw an '80s version of a deep cycle that would stand up to many heavy current loads.
When they first started coming out with the 105 amp/hour trolling motor batteries, I saw a lot of them burned up from people trying to use them for truck cranking.
Interesting. If you have seen it, I will certainly take your word for it. But I would bet that those are the new version of deep cycles.
I never saw an '80s version of a deep cycle that would stand up to many heavy current loads.
When they first started coming out with the 105 amp/hour trolling motor batteries, I saw a lot of them burned up from people trying to use them for truck cranking.
I'm sure the CCA's have changed over the years, and as you alluded to, and I try to remind everyone, the line between a "true" solid lead plate deep cycle and modern DC and starting batteries have blurred...
we run cranking bats on the outboards as they have pretty high amp draws and that's what the manny's recommend... but a pair of nice Lifeline 8 D DC's will spin a big 700 amp (which blows away any gasser you'll find) starting/cranking dizzle all day... and we run TON's of #27 DC interstates on BB chevy gassers... the plate tech has definitely become more "hybrid" in recent years...
we run cranking bats on the outboards as they have pretty high amp draws and that's what the manny's recommend... but a pair of nice Lifeline 8 D DC's will spin a big 700 amp (which blows away any gasser you'll find) starting/cranking dizzle all day... and we run TON's of #27 DC interstates on BB chevy gassers... the plate tech has definitely become more "hybrid" in recent years...
Colttan
Registered Member
Thanks for the info guys. I was running dual yellow top otimas in my k5 and both my batteries and the way I had them hooked up worked perfect and never let me down, one lived for 6 years and the other lasted about 4. But have since then havnt seen one last more than 3.5 years...but the biggest reason for this conversation is I'm not about to spend $450 on a pair of batteries on my new build
well.. that (cost) can certainly be an issue with AGM's, of any brand..... lifelines are bucks.. I'm not gonna get into the whole Optima deal... but I'm hopeful the Odysseys my customers have requested over the last couple years hold up well.... but for wet bats, the Interstates have been about as good a s it get's in our experience...
the walmart wets are hit or miss.. I have customer ones that are 5,6 yr's old, swollen, bloated messes, still holding charges.. and I've seen em cr@p out in 2 yr's...
Colttan
Registered Member
Thanks guys I check in my area for a interstate dealer
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
I'm been running a Carquest AGM for more than 6 years and hasn't discharged anything significant even after sitting for months on end. Not cheap, but works well and doesn't leak acid on my frame on bouncy trails. Not a deep cycle version either.
