Battery types: "normal" vs. Deep Cycle/Marine. Pros and cons?

I've done it before, on seldom-used cars that are stored for long periods of time between starts. Deep-cycle batteries suffer less damage from being allowed to discharge repeatedly and/or deeply between charges. The only thing you have to do is make sure the battery you select has enough Cold Cranking Amps to support your application.

I do not buy car batteries other than Optimas any more, because they're not worth the hassle. The Optima yellowtop is the deep-cycle, the redtop is the standard.

DS

You have it figured.

A marine or deep cycle battery is for you.

I would recommend an Optima blue top marine battery that can be sucked dead with no issues as a second battery and an RV isolator/charger unit to have the alternator charge up the deep cycle while running but leave your regular battery isolated for starting.

I use the deep cycle Optima Blue on my Jeep CJ7 with my winch and cold weather I deal with. It work great.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

D>

| |Looking at replacing the (failing-but-not-yet-totally shot) battery in |my car. | |Wondering what people's thoughts are on installing a marine (Deep cycle) |battery instead of the more conventional "car" type battery. | |Would you do it? If so, Why? | |Would you run screaming in terror from the idea? If so, why? | |Would you do it, but be on the lookout for trouble? If so, what kind of |trouble? | |I'm looking at the idea of going with a deep-cycle type because I |semi-frequently do long stints of running a fairly large bank of |spotlights and some video gear off the battery while filming deer at |night. For reasons that should be self-evident, leaving the motor |running isn't really a good option while shooting. Engine noise tends to |make the subjects being filmed more than a little nervous and/or absent, |and when it doesn't scare them away, has a definite effect of disrupting |normal behaviors. (which is why the filming is being done - to try to |document, as well as possible, just exactly what *IS* "normal deer |behavior" in these parts.) | |I'm in an area that only rarely sees temps below 40, and I can count the |times it's gone below freezing in the past 6 years on one hand, with |fingers to spare. (Assuming that may make a difference in choosing) The |car is one with only a few electrical "toys", and is not computerized, |unless you count the radio with the digital tuner in it as a computer. |(which it technically is, but...) The car itself is a very easy starter |- It's extremely rare for me to need more than one attempt to get it to |fire, regardless of weather or temperature. | |So what's the primary difference between "normal" and "Deep |cycle"/"Marine" batteries? Aside from the fact that standard starting |batteries have a reputation for going belly-up when deep-cycled, while |deep cycle types handle it better, that is. | |Thanks for any input... | |-- |Don Bruder - snipped-for-privacy@sonic.net

In article , snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEtxol.net (Rex B) top-posted and didn't bother to trim:

(And I moved it to where it belongs and trimmed...)

For anyone trying to fill in the blank spots on their scorecard: I ended up going with a "Group 24" sized Exide "Nautilus" for just a bit over $60 once I threw my core back at them. Optimas, while seeming to be "cream of the crop" by all information I've encountered about them, have a price tag to go with their "status", and are so far outside my price range that I can't even *THINK* about them without feeling my wallet lose weght. Plus, getting one of those would have required a two week special order to get one into town for me - *NOBODY* in this town has them in stock at *ANY* price. Had one smart-ass offer to sell me the display dummy, but decided I preferred my car to start :)

With the combination of price being above and beyond my ability to support, the fact that I don't (Errr... Didn't) really trust the battery being replaced to hold up for that long, and the requirement that this car *MUST* *START* *EVERY* *SINGLE* *TIME* *I* *TURN* *THE* *KEY, I went with the Exide as the next best option.

One person who responded mentioned that I should look for lead/antimony plates - This Exide has 'em (or at least claims to - not that anybody would ever know without tearing it apart and running it thorugh an analysis...)

The reserve time is listed as 125 minutes.

The "Marine Cranking Amps" parameter is specced to be 500, but under test shows as actually being 638 according to the parts place's bench tester - I got some funny looks when I hauled this brand new battery off the shelf and wanted it put on the tester - Learned the hard way after replacing another battery once - also "fresh off the shelf". Installed it, got three starts out of it, and my alternator burned up less than half a day later. After THAT little bit of fun, I'll *NEVER* install another battery again, regardless of age/condition/whatever without putting it through its paces on a tester first.

The first time I turned the key after installing it, it seemed to me that there was a definite difference in how it started compared to the old battery - much more "oomph" in the cranking, or so it seemed. How much of that was the psychological effect of "Hey, I've got a new battery! It SHOULD sound "tougher" when I crank, right?" and how much was actual difference that somebody might be able to measure is open to debate, but... There ya are...

10 years ago, the only answer would have been "run screaming in terror" as deep cycle batteries just didn't have the cranking current and standard batteries died from repeated deep cycling.

Today, many battery manufacturers have excellent dual-purpose batteries for just this purpose. But I would still recommend a dual-battery steup with an RV-style battery isolator between them, so that the primary battery isn't discharged running the cameras/lights and will always be able to re-start the engine. The isolator will then re-charge the secondary battery properly from the alternator once the primary battery (almost immediately) recovers from starting the engine.

For your application have you considered two batteries and an RV isolator so you run the spots off the auxiliary battery while always having a 'full' battery in reserve. The extra battery can even be mounted in the trunk or under the back seat in some vehicles if you don't have space up front.

Off roaders run that way with all the high powered spot lights and winches lots. I am still single battery, but have a deep cycle Optima and a winch that only gets used occasionally.

I kept breaking batteries every 6 months or less from vibration. Sure they warranty was good, but that don't help when it is 25 miles to the nearest house and you have 0 volts. I went Optima for the vibration resistance. 3 years and counting in both of my Jeeps.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

|For anyone trying to fill in the blank spots on their scorecard: |I ended up going with a "Group 24" sized Exide "Nautilus" for just a bit |over $60 once I threw my core back at them. Optimas, while seeming to be |"cream of the crop" by all information I've encountered about them, have |a price tag to go with their "status"

Exide will not allow an advertised price below their "target" retail price.

, and are so far outside my price |range that I can't even *THINK* about them without feeling my wallet |lose weght. Plus, getting one of those would have required a two week |special order to get one into town for me - *NOBODY* in this town has |them in stock at *ANY* price. Had one smart-ass offer to sell me the |display dummy, but decided I preferred my car to start :)

But look at the weight savings!

|One person who responded mentioned that I should look for lead/antimony |plates - This Exide has 'em (or at least claims to - not that anybody |would ever know without tearing it apart and running it thorugh an |analysis...)

I think you would be hard-pressed to find a modern battery withOUT lead-antimony.

|tester - I got some funny looks when I hauled this brand new battery off |the shelf and wanted it put on the tester - Learned the hard way after |replacing another battery once - also "fresh off the shelf". Installed |it, got three starts out of it, and my alternator burned up less than |half a day later. After THAT little bit of fun, I'll *NEVER* install |another battery again, regardless of age/condition/whatever without |putting it through its paces on a tester first.

Some stores do not rotate their slower moving batteries. They are suppsoed to send them back after 90 days on the shelf so they can be re-charged, tested, then sent back with a fresh date code. I'd bet 75% of stores do a poor job of it. Best practice is to check it before you leave the store. Either way, it's a good idea to put the new battery on a charger for a while before installing, then drive the vehicle right away. Another good idea is to make or buy a 12V temporary battery source to keep the various radio presets, ECU etc powered while the battery is out. I use a jumper pack plugged into the cigar lighter socket. There are also units you can buy that use a 9V transistor battery.

Rex in Fort Worth

Which has exactly what to do with anything??? Did I miss connection someplace and end up transported to confusionville?

Well, yeah, there's always that...

Side-note: Never, ever, ever grab a "dummy" battery in Sears, make a show of moving the "large weight" around, then lob it (complete with artifical grunts of "exertion") at a buddy who isn't "in" on the joke...

The SearsDroids get bent out of shape when said buddy attempts to catch the "big heavy battery", and instead ends up sprawled on his ass in a tire display, knocking it over domino-style, which in turn knocks over a stack of spray-paint cans, which wipes out a rack full of various oils, greases, and other lubes, which, on the way down, takes out the rack of blank keys at the key-cutting station in an amazing string of Rube Goldberg inspired havoc.

Buddy was first highly irate about being messed with like that (A state which lasted something like 3 whole seconds - until he noticed the carnage going on around him) then amused to the point of complete and total hysterical helplessness. SearsDroids were simply irate, and rapidly grew even more irate as buddy was unable to recover his composure enough to even beat a hasty retreat. (Oddly enough, neither of us have been welcome in that Sears store since... I can't figure out why... )

Which is precisely what I did.

Didn't put it on the charger, since the tester showed it at 95%+ charged. Did install it right there in the parking lot.

My variation on the theme (only *REALLY* functional on dual-terminal batteries, although it *CAN* be done with a battery that only has top posts): Grab the jumper cables (You *DO* always have a set of jumper cables on board, right?) and hook one end to the new battery, and the other to the battery cables, after loosening the bolts, but before removing the cables from the old battery. Pull the ground cable as soon after this hookup as is practical to avoid having the old battery do evil things to the new one. Lift cable ends off carefully, pull old battery, drop in new, put cables on new battery posts, remove jumper cables, and tighten bolts.

Worked well for me yesterday...