deep cycle battery

Hey Butch.. I went through this exercise about three weeks ago and found dc batteries differ a fair bit. From Odyssey (80amp- $489) to Triton (98amp- $140) . The majority are around 140- 180 dollar mark.
Appollo are 70amp- $165, mercury-$185. etc. I think they are all about the same and as long as you don't let them run down more than 40% before recharging you should get a good run out of them, at least that's what I'm hoping for. These prices are in Bris. I reckon you need at least 90amp for a fridge

Butch, We've got a Century Yuasa N70T in our 80 series, that's been in there about 2 years, but with little use. Been going alright, have just done a return trip to Brisbane, 3200k, with no dramas, with Engel hooked up full time.

Also use Exide ED6 D/Cycle, in a couple of UHF repeaters, and we've got 2-3 years out of them. May have got a bit longer than that, but sometimes forgot to top up cells in hot weather. Think they were/are around $150-180 mark. Hooroo....

Butch.
The chorce of batteries is not simple. The deap cyle will last longer in this application if they are not subject to vibration, The plates in a deep cycle are pure lead which is very fragile, if you are going to mount this battery in a trailer or a 4x4 you will desroy it in no time on rough roads the figures you read on deaf cycle life refer to static aplications, so it is better and cheaper to use a starting battery and replace it every 2 years. ERic.

I have an Optima deep cycle battery in the camper trailer, and am very happy with it. Optimas are totally sealed and leakproof, never need topping up, and are very vibration-resistant. The camper has been on some very rough roads, and the battery still works like new after two years. In a camping situation I run a Waeco fridge (all day), one or two Versalites at night, a radio/CD/casette player, and occasionally a coffee grinder (civilised camping), and the battery will drive all these without any trouble. I have a second deep cycle (a Powerglide) in the vehicle, and when the two are connected in parallel, with the aid of a solar panel, I can prop for a week or more and not run out of power. I am not happy with the Powerglide, because although it works OK it is a conventional "top-up" type, and I have found that on rough tracks/steep inclines there will always be a degree of acid leakage through the stoppers.

The Optimas are more expensive (around $350), but you get what you pay for. They also recharge rapidly, and have a very good "shelf" life. There is a web site which any search engine will find.

There is another AGM type battery that has more Amphours than the optimas (but less CCA) and are cheaper. They are called Powercel and are available at:
http://www.powerdive.com.au/products/Accessories/Batteries/
Their ratings are at the 10 hour rate whereas most are at the 20 hour rate so keep in mind that the 90Ah is really a 98Ah when comparing to others. That size should fit in a standard N70 tray.

Haven't tried them yet but intend to get one for my trailer to overcome the vibration problem of normal deep cycles.

Currently using a Federal 90 Ah Deep cycle in my car - it's 2 years only and still going strong.