Site Search
Print Page Setup Profile Login
You have 4 items in your shopping cart
Section Image

Which Battery To Use

Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 16:32

Kev M

Hi all, I have just installed the ARB Smart Solinied in my Mits Triton and am after some advice on which battery I should use. I read the previous post and noted the comments that I should use a starter battery similar to the one I already have. Why can't I use a deep cycle battery with the set up I have. I am limited with the size of the battery the tray is only 225mm long X 170mm wide.
I intend to run a 60l Engel when travelling, the mobile phone car kit, UHF radio and the kids portable DVD player. The battery will be powering the fridge for up to 2 days with out the car starting.
I am open to suggestions.

Cheers Kev
Advertisement
ThreadID: 37345 Replies: 11
Views: 1040 FollowUps: 30
This Thread has been Archived
Thread Summary
Thread Watch Back To Forum Alert Moderator FAQ
AnswerID: 192339   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 16:54

Notso replied:

The cheapest and I reckon the best (now that will get some comments) is the exide extreme or similar hybrid, they have the characteristics of both types of battery. Take a quick charge but deliver like a deep cycle.

If you buy a standard deep cycle they can take ages to recharge from flat. AGMs can be expensive but are achnowledged as the rolls royce of batteries.

Reply 1 of 11
FollowupID: 450187   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 17:06

Member - andrew B (Kununurra) posted:

Gday Kev and Notso

I'll second the recommendation on the Exide extreme, I have 4 now - 1 in the boat, 2 under the bonnet, and 1 in a portable pack for the car/boat/anywhere really.

With just two, (only one powering the fridge) I got 2 days running an 80l waeco. Relitively cheap battery that performs well and has a 2 yr warrenty from memory.

Cheers Andrew
Cape Dommet Camping
Click Image to Enlarge
Daddy/Daughter Camping trip - cape dommett
FollowUp 1 of 7
FollowupID: 450193   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 17:19

Kev M posted:

Hi Notso and Andrew,
I just checked the Exide site and the closest size that is available to fit my tray is 260mm Long. My tray is only 225mm do you reckon that I could fit a packer under the battery to give it a solid base for it to sit on in the tray?
If not have you tried the Exide Endurance, They have one that is 238mm long so it's a bit closer in tray size.
Cheers Kev
FollowUp 2 of 7
FollowupID: 450294   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 10:28

Member - Doug T (W.A) posted:

andrew B
It's ok to go and do a warrenty claim if your near where you bought it but every time i have battery or Alternator troubles I'm 1000s of Ks from where i bought the item, and worst of all warranties don't do a damn thing to help when your out in the middle of the S/Desert not that I have had trouble like that in remote area's but there's always a first time, I think that battery I just had trouble with was an Excide bought at Autopro in Blackall, ....where does it fail...on the Nullabor.

Doug

Click Image to Enlarge
Doug & Dusty
In the Shade
Gregory National Park
FollowUp 3 of 7
FollowupID: 450297   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 10:41

Member - Doug T (W.A) posted:

Notso

it seems notso about the time it takes to charge a deep cycle..

quote from the Ad
Optima's Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery uses the same SPIRALCELL technology that out performs the competition. Optima Batteries fully recharge in as little as one hour. The Yellow Top has been verified in Life Cycle testing to exceed 350 complete discharges - outcycling conventional Deep Cycle batteries by 30-50%.

check the Yellow Top section www.borderbatteries.com.au/optima.htm

Click Image to Enlarge
Doug & Dusty
In the Shade
Gregory National Park
FollowUp 4 of 7
FollowupID: 450298   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 10:47

Member - andrew B (Kununurra) posted:

Gday Doug

Quite a while ago I had an Exide fail - finally found the reciept and it was from a dealer on the other side of the country. Took it in to a local dealer - replaced it without question and also said you generally don't need a reciept as the serial no gives them the age of the battery. Had good service, not sure if the serial numbers are from manufacture (may loose some time if the battery sat on the shelf for a while), or whether they have some form of data base matching serial numbers to sale dates.

I have been re-assured several times that any exide dealer will replace a warrenty battery.

Cheers Andrew

PS I am still skeptical, so the reciepts are in the glovebox (about all that will fit in a GU glovebox anyway!)
Cape Dommet Camping
Click Image to Enlarge
Daddy/Daughter Camping trip - cape dommett
FollowUp 5 of 7
FollowupID: 450301   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 11:05

Notso posted:

AHHH but you see I did Say a Standard Deep Cycle battery. Not one of those fancy things??

FollowUp 6 of 7
FollowupID: 450321   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 12:42

Notso posted:

Isn't it great how some people jump on a couple of words instead of reading the whole post?? Gotta be a reason, lord knows what it could be though?
FollowUp 7 of 7
AnswerID: 192343   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 17:24

Alloy c/t replied:

The battery minefield , as you say you are limited in physical size and you want your fridge to run for 2 days without recharging ,, your fridge uses what ?? say 2.5 / 2.8 amps per hr x 24 hrs = 60amps per day x2 = 120 amps ,for all intents and purposes of battery longevity should not discharge lower than 50% of capacity , $ per amp per life = AGM HGL ,thing is if your determined not to have to recharge for 48hrs you need 240amps worth of batt power.,, time to think solar or generator or be forever replacing battery due to premature death.
Reply 2 of 11
FollowupID: 450195   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 17:45

Kev M posted:

Hi Alloy c/t,

I just looked up the AGM HGL battery and found that there is one available that would fit my tray. It is a HGL 60-12 Full River AGM battery with a 60AH capacity. The site states that the capacity is a 20H rate capacity rating, Can anyone explain what this means. I presume that it will discharge at a constant rate for 20H before it drops in voltage.

Kev
FollowUp 1 of 3
FollowupID: 450248   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 23:27

Member - Mike DID posted:

The number of amphours you get out of a battery depends on how quickly you discharge it. Amp-hours are specified at the 20 hour rate - i.e fully discharging it over 20 hours.

"It is a HGL 60-12 Full River AGM battery with a 60AH capacity. The site states that the capacity is a 20H rate capacity rating"

So it will discharge at 3 amps for 20 hours - but it will not discharge at 20 amps for 3 hours - it may be more like 2.5 hours.

AGMs can be discharged to 20% remaining, without shortening life too much.
Mike R
FollowUp 2 of 3
FollowupID: 450261   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 07:46

Kev M posted:

Mike,
Thanks for clearing that up, that makes more sense now.

Kev
FollowUp 3 of 3
AnswerID: 192352   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 18:15

Alloy c/t replied:

Kev M , the Fullriver 60amp AGM HGL if it fits would be a good starting point , the hgl is a hybrid ,not full deep cycle / not fully a starter but a true AGM , a lot of AGM spec sheets now state that a discharge down to 20% of capacity is acceptable with minimum detriment to the battery , ergo you would have about 40amps to play with ,still not enough to run your application for 2 days without any form of recharge but just running you vehicle on a fast idle twice per day for 1/2 to an hr should suffice. The AGM will accept whatever amps your alternator can throw at it.
Reply 3 of 11
FollowupID: 450199   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 18:26

Kev M posted:

Alloy c/t,
The 2 day senario probably wouldn't happen that often, it was probably more hypothetical than a reality. Does any one know of a good distributor in south west Sydney for one of these batteries?
On the web they are around $170.00 is this reasonable?
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 192357   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 18:39

Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators replied:

Hi Kev

Is the 225mm exact. Can you go up to 227mm or 233mm

Regards Derek.
ABR - SIDEWINDERABR - SIDEWINDER
Business Member: My Profile
Reply 4 of 11
FollowupID: 450201   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 18:51

Kev M posted:

Hi Derek,
I was wondering when I'd see a comment from you. I just went out and checked the tray again. I reckon that I'd get away with a 227mm but the 233 would be about 1-2mm too long.
You know doubt have come up with another solution to my choice of battery.
I look forward to hearing what it is.
cheers Kev
FollowUp 1 of 6
FollowupID: 450207   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:32

Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators posted:

OK found it.

The new Supercharge range of MRV batteries (Marine and Recreational Vehicle) are suited to accessories as well as cranking. They are sealed maintenance free and spill proof up to a 60 deg angle.

The MRV48 is the one you need. $120.00

Length 227
Width 173
Hight 208

Amp Hours 60

Cranking 525 cca

Regards Derek.
ABR - SIDEWINDERABR - SIDEWINDER
Business Member: My Profile
FollowUp 2 of 6
FollowupID: 450208   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:39

Kev M posted:

Derek,
It sounds the goods, apart from you up in gods country, is there anyone down here in s#!+y Sydney that supplies them.
Thanks
Kev
FollowUp 3 of 6
FollowupID: 450209   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:43

Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators posted:

Phone 1300 BATTERY
ABR - SIDEWINDERABR - SIDEWINDER
Business Member: My Profile
FollowUp 4 of 6
FollowupID: 450210   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:44

Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators posted:

Dealers
ABR - SIDEWINDERABR - SIDEWINDER
Business Member: My Profile
FollowUp 5 of 6
FollowupID: 450213   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:08

Kev M posted:

Thanks Derek,

I'll chase them down here, if I have no luck I'll call you next week for other means of getting one of those batteries down to me.

thanks Kev
FollowUp 6 of 6
Activities Index
Makeovers, Manicures and Martinis Makeovers, Manicures and Martinis
Melbourne - VIC
Let us treat you and your friends to the ultimate girls night out.
Day Spa Relaxation Facial - South Melbourne Day Spa Relaxation Facial - South Melbourne
Melbourne - VIC
Enjoy a blissful 60 minute day spa facial with eye treatment which has been specifically designed to
Discover Scuba Diving Discover Scuba Diving
Melbourne - VIC
Does the idea of exploring an alien, subspace world filled with unique and amazing life forms and fl
Camira Day Sailing Adventure Camira Day Sailing Adventure
The Whitsundays - QLD
One of the best days out in the Whitsundays.
Book Now - Things To Do
AnswerID: 192369   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:45

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) replied:

Hi gents.
I've been watching these discussions with interest.
My experience in the last week up at Lawn Hill was this:
Battery = AC Delco Voyager 105a/h, 720MCA, 550CCA Deep Cycle
fridge = Waeco 60L
The fridge ran for 42hrs directly from the fully charged battery til the Waeco inbuilt battery protection (as I understand it) showed the "error" light and stopped operating the fridge.

I believe the Engels draw a little less than Waeco so you could get a few hours more.

HTH's
Reply 5 of 11
FollowupID: 450212   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:05

Kev M posted:

Hi,
The million dollar question is though what is the actual dimensions of the battery and how much did you pay for it?

Kev
FollowUp 1 of 3
FollowupID: 450216   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:33

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) posted:

Kev,
I posted mainly to give you an idea of the time I achieved out of my 105 A/Hr battery.
The battery came with my camper as standard although I saw a post by someone who paid $196 a year ago at Battery world Springwood Qld.
No idea what they are today.
FollowUp 2 of 3
FollowupID: 450218   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:35

Kev M posted:

No worries, it seems I will just have to live with a 60AH battery.
Kev
FollowUp 3 of 3
AnswerID: 192370   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:45

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) replied:

Hi gents.
I've been watching these discussions with interest.
My experience in the last week up at Lawn Hill was this -
Battery = AC Delco Voyager 105a/h, 720MCA, 550CCA Deep Cycle
fridge = Waeco 60L
The fridge ran for 42hrs directly from the fully charged battery til the Waeco inbuilt battery protection (as I understand it) showed the "error" light and stopped operating the fridge.

I believe the Engels draw a little less than Waeco so you could get a few hours more.

HTH's
Reply 6 of 11
AnswerID: 192371   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:46

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) replied:

Hi gents.
I've been watching these discussions with interest.
My experience in the last week up at Lawn Hill was this -
Battery = AC Delco Voyager 105a/h, 720MCA, 550CCA Deep Cycle
fridge = Waeco 60L
The fridge ran for 42hrs directly from the fully charged battery til the Waeco inbuilt battery protection (as I understand it) showed the -error- light and stopped operating the fridge.

I believe the Engels draw a little less than Waeco so you could get a few hours more.

HTH's
Reply 7 of 11
FollowupID: 450211   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:56

Alloy c/t posted:

Which means that for battery longevity it was discharged too far ,,10.2v = 1 very flat battery .....105amp divide 42hrs = 2.5 amps per hr ..
FollowUp 1 of 7
FollowupID: 450214   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:23

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) posted:

Hi Alloy,

The Waeco site suggests a draw of as little as 0.83 amps/hr (126hrs running) up to your 2.5 figure.

The meter I used to check the battery has 3 indicator lights - charged, low, flat.
When the fridge showed error, the meter showed low, NOT flat.
When home, I connected the battery into the Projecta Maintain'n Charge 3500ma unit. This unit indicates any of the following - 1. charged, 2. charging, 3. damaged.
The unit showed 2. charging and the next morning 3. charged.

Maybe you are right - all my meters and my battery are stuffed.

Time will tell.
FollowUp 2 of 7
FollowupID: 450215   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:32

Kev M posted:

I think the point here is that if you continually discharge the battery that low you reduce the life span of the battery. The battery may initially recover and fully recharge but it appears to be widely known that to discharge the battery excessively often reduces it's effective lifespan.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong
Kev
FollowUp 3 of 7
FollowupID: 450220   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:40

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) posted:

Kev,
Derek has suggested a 60 a/h battery for your 2 day requirement.
I've used a 105 a/hr battery for less than a day and a half.
What's the beef?

FollowUp 4 of 7
FollowupID: 450227   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 20:58

Kev M posted:

From what I've read from all the people that have posted that in reality I won't be able to run the fridge for the 2 days as I first thought. To preserve the lifespan of the battery it looks like I'm going to have to charge the battery within the 2 day period.
I'm not saying that the battery would not do it, it would just reduce the life expectancy of it if I didn't.
I'd prefer the battery to work for me continually in that time period but why cause it to prematurely die from over discharge.
FollowUp 5 of 7
FollowupID: 450300   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 10:58

Member - andrew B (Kununurra) posted:

Gday Kev

You still may get the 2 days with proper management of both the fridge and battery. I have defyed the odds twice with my 80l waeco. For a couple of hours prior to arrival, crank the fridge right up(down?) to get everything in it almost frozen, and then adjust the temp back to normal after turning off the car. You will gain a few hours, as it will take a while for the fridge and its contents to warm up to the normal fridge range.

I also do the normal minimise opening thing, and have an esky for the nights beer supply, and also have kids drinks, milk etc in here so the fridge gets disturbed less often. I keep an eye on the temperatures in the fridge, and also the battery condition. Whatever battery you get, find out the minimum safe voltage you can let it drain to, and don't let it get below that (either manually or with a cut out switch) Also, if you happen to start the car, even for a short time, crank the fridge while the power is comeing from the alternator.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheers Andrew
Cape Dommet Camping
Click Image to Enlarge
Daddy/Daughter Camping trip - cape dommett
FollowUp 6 of 7
FollowupID: 450341   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 14:38

Kev M posted:

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the tips, I already use an esky for drinks during the day in the cab, but I hadn't thought about cranking the fridge up prior to shuting the car down for the day. It may be a habit that I will need to get into if I want some more life out of the battery.
Cheers
Kev
FollowUp 7 of 7
AnswerID: 192372   Submitted: Saturday, Sep 02, 2006 at 19:49

Member - AVA 191 (QLD) replied:

hm...looks like the response went in even though the site said error - sorry guys
Reply 8 of 11
AnswerID: 192458   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 10:20

Member - Doug T (W.A) replied:

Hi Kev
I have a dual setup and use an Optima for the deep cycle that runs all my accessories and it has been performing really good,I had troubles with the normal starter battery recently that cost me $630 for a replacement and hours of time it took the [ 2 ] Auto electricians to come up with the idea the battery was Kakapooptus....now I would have had another Optima fitted but they had none so are still using a normal battery for the starter , check out the link .

www.optimabatteries.com.au/

www.borderbatteries.com.au/optima.htm

Click Image to Enlarge
Doug & Dusty
In the Shade
Gregory National Park
Reply 9 of 11
FollowupID: 450340   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 14:34

Kev M posted:

G'day Doug,
I just had a look at the links you posted and found that the optima yellow don't fit, the tray the shortest length of the optima is 236mm when I need 230mm max.
I guess that I'm going to be restricted on the type of battery that I will be able to get for it.
Thanks for your input,
Kev
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 192461   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 10:36

Member - Doug T (W.A) replied:

Derek
While on the subject of batteries [ and of course the word batteryy will stop our posts doing a link ] ...no i don;t mind really .. but my question is what's your opinion on Optima Batteries, I know they are expensive because i have one and I have an issue with cheap versus expensive.Thats why I bought it

Doug

Click Image to Enlarge
Doug & Dusty
In the Shade
Gregory National Park
Reply 10 of 11
FollowupID: 450386   Submitted: Sunday, Sep 03, 2006 at 19:55

Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators posted:

Hi Doug

I like both the Optima and Orbital Batteries but price is a big problem in the market place. The size is also a bit of a restriction in many applications but I can't fault them.

Regards Derek.
ABR - SIDEWINDERABR - SIDEWINDER
Business Member: My Profile
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 192587   Submitted: Monday, Sep 04, 2006 at 02:08

Sand Man (SA) replied:


Kev,

I think you have pretty well sussed out the size vs capacity problem. I had the same problem when looking for a replacement auxiliary battery for the original deep cycle wet cell unit I had.

I decided on an Exide Orbital as it fitted the battery tray after I placed a packer underneath the battery to get it to fit.
Now I still had a bit of a problem as this battery is rated at 55 Ah so is marginal for more than a couple of days with my 40 litre fridge.

What I would suggest is a way in which you can recharge the battery while it is still running your fridge and the most practical solution for this IMO is a solar panel to "supplement" your battery.
A panel of about 80 watts will provide adequate power to maintain your battery at a suitable level, while it is running your fridge.

Because of the deeper recycling and faster charging capability, you would be best served with an AGM battery such as the Fullriver HGL60-12 already mentioned.

The only other solution I can suggest is a portable battery system such as the "Thumper" which, along with the solar panel, would be the ultimate solution.

Click Image to Enlarge
HooRoo !


I'm diagonally parked in a parallel Universe!
Reply 11 of 11
FollowupID: 450587   Submitted: Monday, Sep 04, 2006 at 17:57

Kev M posted:

G'day Sand Man,
As suggested I might look at getting a "Thumper" in the future. But I am still yet to decide on the type of battery that I get. I suppose it will depend on the availability of both batteries mentioned in this thread as to which I get, as I can't seem to differenciate between the two apart from the cost.

Cheers Kev
FollowUp 1 of 1

 Page Sponsors

WAECO Pacific Pty Ltd WAECO Pacific Pty Ltd Premium Listing
Portable refrigeration provider WAECO, is celebrating 10 years in Australia in 2009. Established in high-technology headquarters in Germany 35 years ago, WAECO has developed a wide range of mobile technology for people on the move.
1 JOHN DUNCAN COURT   VARSITY LAKES, QLD, 4227
Phone: 1800 21 21 21
More info | Website | Driving Directions
ExplorOz ExplorOz
Become a Member of ExplorOz; buy or sell in Trader; buy Maps, Books, DVDs, camping accessories, and ExplorOz wheel covers, shirts, hats and stubby holders from the ExplorOz Shop; and book Activities &Tours or buy someone a gift certificate from our Activities section. Become an ExplorOz Member for just $60 in your first year, and $40 when you renew.
PO BOX 967  HILLARYS, WA, 6923
Phone: (08) 9403 3737
More info | Website