2nd battery
Submitted: Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 18:12
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Member - sayo(NSW)
hi
thanks for the replies to my question on 2nd battery but to our surprise we went in today to get a 2nd battery fitted to our van only to discover that our new van has been set up with a truck cranking battery instead of a deep cycle which we asked for and is also on our contract so after a discussion with the dealer we have lodged our complaint as it is still under warrenty. my question is what the major differences between the two.WE ARE NOT HAPPY CAMPERS
Reply By: Peter 2 - Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:12
Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:12
Personally I think you are better off with a truck cranking battery than a deep cycle. I've never had a deep cycle last anywhere near the length of time a cranking battery has and gave up using them years ago.
AnswerID:
280502
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:26
Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:26
I agree with Peter. I get a better run out of cranking batteries. Wet cell deep cycle batteries are hard to keep fully charged and die an early death. Thats why they only come with a 6/12 warranty.
AnswerID:
280504
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:49
Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:49
Sorry guys,
That does not compare favourably with technical specifications as to the difference between a starting battery (lots of big amps for a very short period of time) versus a deep cycle battery, (small amount of current draw over an extended period of time.
The truck battery may work OK, but not as good as a good quality deep cycle battery if you intend running a fridge, etc.
Winsun
AnswerID:
280511
Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:54
Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:54
Yep, another vote here for the heavy duty cranking battery for 99% of the types of use/recharging most of us are likely to require.
I know there are a couple of exceptions, but generally speaking, deep cycle batteries were designed for use in things like "go-fors" (as used by aged and infirm folks) and golf carts etc. The demand on power is somewhat similar to what most of us require....IE: relatively low, but constant current draw (as required by a 12 volt compressor type fridge). However, it's what happens to top the battery up that is vastly different. A typical go-for user will ride around happily all day on their trusty machine, go
home at night and plug it in to a dedicated battery charger which will trickle charge the battery slowly but surely, so that by the morning it is fully charged and ready to go again.
Compare that to the way we tend to do things..... we operate our accessories (most of which are low-draw items), sometimes for several days without re-charging. The battery gets low (ie: under 12 volts....some people reckon it's okay to let 'em get down to 10.5 volts!!! YUK, NO WAY) and then they decide to give the battery a kick in the guts to bring it back up to top volts by hitting the starter key on the trusty 4by. They may drive the vehicle all day, believing that the alternator will give the battery it's optimum charge level by the time they pull up to
camp again. WRONG!!! Sure, the battery will be partially recharged and may even show on the multi-meter as being fully charged. Great! The issue is that the deep cycle has much thicker plates which don't cope
well with the massive current/voltage inputs supplied by the alternator. The plates will start to break down in a "relatively" short period of time and you'll be up for a new battery.
I guess the one thing you could do to solve the problem if you were hell-bent on have a deep cycle battery would be to keep it TOTALLY isolated from the starter battery (ie: no fancy switching set-ups etc) and run an on-board 3 stage battery charger off 240 volts provided by an inverter which draws it's power from the main battery. I personally wouldn't do it that way, although I do have a 3 stage charger in both my truck and my camper trailer for charging the batteries off gennie or mains power.
AnswerID:
280513
Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008 at 09:10
Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008 at 09:10
Roachie,
Your comment, "some people reckon it's okay to let 'em get down to 10.5 volts!!! YUK, NO WAY)"
Who is "some people"?... I agree, NO WAY.
10.5 volts is dead flat. No battery should be taken below 11.6 volts (30% remaining) and be expected to last long. Do this on more than a couple of occasions and I believe your Truck battery will be cactus, as would most others.
It's all to do with the design and thickness of the plates.
Also, Truck batteries have a larger footprint and wouldn't fit in most auxiliary cradles installed in engine bays.
Deep Cycle is still the recognised battery for auxiliary power use and AGM construction is the best type. They charge quicker than conventional batteries and can be taken lower than a wet cell deep cycle without permanent damage.
FollowupID:
544800
Reply By: Member - Noldi (WA) - Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:58
Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 19:58
Hi Sayo
I also doubt the value of deep cycle, but you want to
check out the cost of each you don't want to be ripped off.
Rgds
Ian
AnswerID:
280514
Reply By: Member - Captain (WA) - Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 20:36
Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008 at 20:36
Here is yet another vote for a truck cranking battery as the 2nd battery in a vehicle.
I used to run a deep cycle in the vehicle but they just didn't last. But I do run a deep cycle in the camper, but thats for different reasons (see Roachies reply above - sums it up perfectly).
I reckon the dealer has done the right thing by you for the wrong reasons!!!
Cheers
Captain
AnswerID:
280526
Follow Up By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008 at 11:03
Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008 at 11:03
From personal experience;
Buy adaquate but cheap - when it cra..ps out throw away and replace with new. In the long run it is much cheaper and no tears because expensive item did not last !
FollowupID:
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