Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 21:45
"Marine" batteries are a rugged construction battery, some manufacturers also sell a battery under a "4wd" or "earthmoving" badge.....one major manufacturer sells the exact same battery with a different colour case as a marine battery and a 4wd battery...interesting in supercheap auto the 4wd version on the same shelf is more expensive...hmmm
Marine batteries generally have better cranking better self discharge and better deep cycle performance than a similar standard battery.
if you want to get into the detail go onto one of the battery companies that actually puts ups some specs and compare different batteries of the same size.
The supercharge site is not bad and contains a number of different battery types of the same size...and they show a fair bunch of specs.
Most batteries intended for auromotive use do not come with an AH capacity specified....why.....good question....but you can get some idea from the reserve capacity.
From the reserve capacity you should be able to extrapolate the C10 amp hour capacity.
so what makes a marine battery different.
heavier construction all round..
heavier plates, better supported
glass mat between the plates to controll the electrolite and dampen vibration.
if it is a sealed maintenence free battery, it will have many of the technological advances that allow AGM to exist...they just run more electrolite than an AGM or other "starved elecrolite battery'.
That means
modified electrolite, glass mat between the plates and calcium in the plates
the modified electrolite and calcium in the plates improves just about every measure of battery performance, in addition to allowing the battery to be sealed.
I too run "supercharge seamaster gold" in the 4wd in both cranking and aux positions..and in my boats....Id run one in my work ute..if there was a seamaster that would fit.
a M70 size seamaster gold......same size an an N70 typical of many 4wds and light trucks should cost you around $200....less if you
shop well..seem they have increased their warranty from 24 months to 3+years.......as an indicator of their confidence in the gold...compare the warranty given on other batteries in their range.......their standard seamaster screwtop battery only rates 12 months warranty
As has been mentioned the seamaster gold is one of the very few sealed batteries that you can actually top up....once out of warranty...they are a proper valve regulated sealed lead acid battery...its just that the vent valve assembiles can be screwed out once the top sticker is removed.
I know a lot of people push deep cycle in aux batteries.....If like me you wish to crank or winch off your aux...you are better off with a cranking battery.
Consider too that the marine batteries have far better deep cycle tolerance than a standard battery....maybe not as good as a "proper deep cycle"
But if you run marine batteries you can afford twice as much capacity( deep cycle AGM is typically twice the price).....so for a given loading..you cycle half as deep any way.
The other benifit of running cranking battery is that they will tolerate having the charge current hammered into them.....many deep cycles will not....this may result in the need for a DC to DC charge to limit the charge current.
As for the comparison with AGM.....sorry I believe that AGM is very much oversold....all the good sealed marine batteries use all the technology that AGM does...but they just run more acid...more acid makes them more tolerant of heat, higher charge rates and overchanging.
lost of people go out and pay top dollar for AGM and or deep cycle..and because of ignorance or inattention to their battery, manage to kill those batteries in very short order.
Never benifiting from paying twice the price or more for their batteries.
NOW if you have a serious battery system and are very seriuos about your DC supply and manage it
well.....you may
well benift from spending the extra $$$ on exotic batteries.
But for most of us that just want to hold up a fridge and some lights for a day or two then charge up as fast as possible.....marine batteries may
well be the go.
cheers
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 22:08
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 22:08
How did you know that the batteries were exactly the same?
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 22:34
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 22:34
Extrasensory perception. lol
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 23:30
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 at 23:30
20 years ago I went to a 4wd show and a battery mob had their batteries on display. I asked the guy what the difference was with their deep cycle versions and he confessed that they just put a different sticker on it and reduce the warranty to 6 months.
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 20:55
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 20:55
The two batteries in question ARE the same....the battery reps will tell you that and the specifcations support the matter.
one comes in a yellow case the other in a blue case..different sticker.
cheers
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818380
Follow Up By: Ron N - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 21:56
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 21:56
Another point about battery warranties, is that the warranty is not transferable in the case of a claim.
The companies are fully within their legal rights to do this.
We had a standard Supercharge battery in the Missus's Camry that came with a 30 month "private vehicle" warranty.
Rather surprisingly to me, the battery totally failed without warning at 27 months.
Took it around to the Supercharge bloke (their distributorship is just around the corner from my workshop), he tested it, agreed it was a dud, and a warranty claim - and gave us a new one.
However, he made it clear the warranty on the new battery was only the residual amount of the warranty on the original battery - 3 months!
Fortunately the replacement battery is performing just fine after more than 3 yrs.
With any luck, the Camry will be traded this year, before I have to replace the battery again - at my cost!
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 22:49
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 at 22:49
Hey Bantam,
Your quotes................
"The two batteries in question ARE the same....the battery reps will tell you that and the specifcations support the matter."
"Just because someone sells batteries, it does not mean they know much about them or are telling the truth."
Well which is it? You can't have it both ways! FDL
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 17:38
Friday, Jun 20, 2014 at 17:38
So allan are you failing to comprehend written english or do you have difficulty with logical reasoning.
The two statements are not mutually exclusive.
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818439