best deep cycle battery

[BirdMan]

Here is a good website that gets into many details on batteries, http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm.  Great information on battery myths, battery types, when/how to add distilled water, storing, ... and much more.

[BirdMan]

I recently bought a deep cycle battery from Batteries Plus.  They had a good price on a good battery, Werker SLI31MDC made by Exide, for $84.99.  Batteries Plus gives you a two year warranty, with a free replacement during the first year.  You can't check the fluid levels unless you want to void the warranty.  There is a seal on the caps that they will know is broken if you try to bring it back after checking the fluid levels.

I was in a pinch so got the battery anyway, but I would recommend staying away from Batteries Plus for Deep Cycle batteries.  You definitely want to check the fluid levels once in awhile.

[austinado16]

Thanks for posting that link.  I'm learning a lot from it!  It's going to be interesting to see what kind of life and function I get out of my Optima Yellow Top RV/Marine gel battery.

[mike4947]

Well it's a AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery not a gel. And you might want to check out it's charging requirements versus what you are charging it with. AGM's do have some specific voltage requirements versus open wet celled deep cycle batteries. Since AGM's are sealed for life there is no way to add any water so the higher voltages used to charge open wet cell batteries where it's actually best to "boil" the electrolyte can damage AGM batteries.

[austinado16]

Well it's a AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery not a gel.

Ah-ha, so it is!  What a stroke of luck.  So far, it's been doing great being charged by the truck during transport to and from the campground, but I've got it on a 2amp charge right now.

[austinado16]

Did more reading here, and on the website linked above and switched the charger over to 10amps and automatic mode and left it that way for about 12hrs.  

After sitting with no charge on it overnight, the battery was just over 13.1v this morning (2.18v per cell), so it responded nicely.  I laughed when I switched on one of the overhead ceiling lights.  It looked like a halogen bulb!

Lesson learned and I'll be charging it before we leave on any future camping trips.

[stewartlittle]

If someone could help me,
I charged a battery on my 10 amp for about 4 hours,then put the 1.5 amp changer to it for a couple of days.

It was the same battery that a guy a WalMart said was bad.I had left it hooked up and it drained it dead.My little charger kept showing ''Trouble" ,so I had it checked out.

I thinks its holding a charge,when I first took it off the trickle charger it was reading around 13.68 volts,after about 5 or 6 days of sitting on the bench,its reading around 13.05 volts.

Is that a bad thing?
Or is that about normal?
I dont reall want to buy a new one if I can help it.

[brainpause]

That's normal.

Immediately after a charge, a battery will have a "surface charge", which will show a higher charge than what it actually is. I bet that an hour or two after you took it off the charger, it dropped to 13.5 or even lower.

OK, so now you know the battery will take a charge and hold it for a few days. Now, get out there, go camping, and find out how long it will last!!

Oh, and Welcome to PUT!

Larry

[stewartlittle]

I'll see what I can do,but I'm still tring to fix the roof now.It's hard for me to find time to go camping,but my wife and son are going to St. Augustine in October and I plan on going by myself,either to the lake or N. GA mountains that weekend.

[jawilson]

I thinks its holding a charge,when I first took it off the trickle charger it was reading around 13.68 volts,after about 5 or 6 days of sitting on the bench,its reading around 13.05 volts.

Your battery was over 13 volts, even after almost a week? Something sounds fishy to me...

I can charge my battery all I want, but within 24 hours after I remove it from the charger it's dropped to about 12.8. And that's with a brand new Interstate SRM24 (and the charger is a brand new too, a $100 Black and Decker 1093DBD). Sustaining a charge of more then 13 volts for that long doesn't seem right to me.

[stewartlittle]

Well,thats what the meter said.
I hooked up one of those 12v plug in oscolating car fans,1st day it ran about 4 hours,2nd day about 5,3rd day about 3.Have'nt recharged it and measured it yesterday and it read around 12.8 volts.But if I measure it as the fan is on it measures a little lower,about 12.65-12.7.Seems after it sits with no pull from it,it bumps up a tad.

I think I'll keep it,But the cover of the battery box is gone,I might need to get one.I dont think it'll hurt the battery but they're only $6-$7 at WallyWorld.