Deep cell battery

Dave,

I recommend AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries.

Have a look at these sites.
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/agm.htm
It explains it all very well.

Other brands are Remco, 100 A/H can be had for about $260 and Lifeline for upwards of $350.

Cheers,

Jim.

http://www.12volt.com.au/MainFrame.html

I would check out this site first and then email them to tell em what you are planning.

They have just given a mate of mine some advice which sounds great. He is doing something similar.

I would try and get a 12v set up just so that you didnt have to run a gennie.

If your in Melbourne , I have a very large deep cycle battery you have for free

Hi Dave,

The first thing we need to know is what you are going to do with the battery.

Deep cycle flooded batteries are great for long slow power draw of low amps like camp lights, radio's and TV's. They do have a lower crank rating and also take longer to charge up.

Normal heavy duty flooded lead acid batteries handle high amp draw like spotlights, inverters and fridges as well as high cranking amps. The have about a 30% lower amp hour rating but charge up quite fast.

AGM 'Absorbed glass mat' batteries are similar to gel batteries but won't be damaged by a fast charge like gel batteries. They have a saturated fine fiber Boron-Silicate glass mat which uses gas as well as liquid to create the charge. They can be fast charged and have both high crank ratings as well as high amp hour ratings. They are more expensive.

The three above batteries all have there place in a van but we need to know what your use will be and how you plan to charge it. Will you charge it from you car or will you want solar panels. We are asuming you won't be near 240v power for days at a time.

This is always a fairly expensive job and should be done right the first time round.

If you want the best battery then it would be the 'AGM' but give the re-charging a bit of thought.

Feel free to contact me for more advice.

Regard Derek djbester@bigpond.net.au