buying a battery...same as truck or dedicated to tear?

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buying a battery...same as truck or dedicated to tear?

Postby Scooter » Sat Nov 13, 2004 8:39 am

Would I be sacrificing anything by getting an identical battery to the one in my truck? I'm thinking interchangeablity between tear and truck batteries will be handy if one runs down or goes dead, which WILL happen sooner or later.

OR should I look for a dedicated tear battery? If so, what am I looking for? I'd get the one with the biggest numbers written on the side. Bigger has to be better right?
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Postby JunkMan » Sat Nov 13, 2004 10:54 am

Normally you would want a deep cycle battery, such as one used in boats for trolling motors. They are designed to be discharged to a very low level and re-charged quite often, where a normal car battery is designed to be slightly discharged when starting the vehicle, but then quickly be recharged.

On larger busses and such, some guys use a pair of golf cart batteries (6 volt) which are larger than standard deep cycle batteries, but that would be very heavy for a TD.

I have used my old truck batteries on my 5th wheel for several years, and while they do work, I don't think they last as long as deep cycle batteries.

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Postby bdosborn » Sun Nov 14, 2004 8:20 pm

Here's a link to everything you ever wanted to know about batteries:
http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq7.htm

Here's a summary :
7.1.8. What Are the Differences Between Car, Marine Starting and Deep Cycle Batteries?

Car batteries are specially designed with thinner (.04 inch or 1.02 mm) and more porous plates for a greater surface area to produce the high amps required to start an engine. They are engineered for up to 5,000 shallow (to 3%) discharges, which works out to over four engine starts per day. Car batteries should NOT be discharged below 90% State-of-Charge. They use sponge lead and expanded metal grids rather than solid lead. Marine Starting batteries are a comprise between a car and deep cycle battery and are designed for starting and prolonged discharges at lower amperage that typically consumes between 20% and 50% of the battery's capacity. Motive and Stationary deep cycle batteries have much thicker (up to .25 inch or 6.35 mm) plates, more lead, and weight more than car batteries the same size. They are normally discharged between 20% and 80% at lower amperage. Deep cycle batteries will typically outlast two to ten car batteries in a deep cycle application.


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Postby Scooter » Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:30 am

Lots of good info guys. Where can I find a deep-cycle battery?
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Postby angib » Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:45 am

Deep cycle batteries are used in boats as well as trailers and they work just fine for starting engines, including really big diesels which take some turning over. An automotive battery may give a bit more 'oomph' for engine starting but I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. A fully charged deep cycle battery will start any truck just fine.

However, flat deep cycle batteries start engines just as poorly as flat automotive batteries......

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Postby David Grason » Tue Nov 16, 2004 4:58 pm

angib wrote:An automotive battery may give a bit more 'oomph' for engine starting but I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.


Just think. In the old days when teardrops where in there first heyday, they always ran off of the tow vehicle's battery. My dad says that he and mom just had to remember to not let the battery go dead. But if it did, they'd get a jump from someone in the campground.
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Postby Chuck Craven » Wed Nov 24, 2004 9:40 pm

A deep cycle battery will start a car or truck but you will be damaging it.
The plates in a deep cycle battery are made different than the auto motive battery.
The auto motive battery has thicker plates with less filler in them. They can handle high current draw for a short parried of time plus a fast high current recharge. Deep cycle batteries have thinner plates with more filler in them. They should be discharged for a slower rate and charged slower. The thinner plates can’t handle the heat developed from a high discharge like starting a car/truck engine. The plates will warp from the heat and the filler will come out killing the battery cell. If you over charge or over discharge a lead acid battery (store the battery uncharged) you are sulfidding the plates. Sulfide is an insulator to electricity. If it is over heated a cell plates can warp and short out, that is the end of the battery. Some batteries sold for trolling motors are half way between an auto motive and a deep cycle battery. They are cheaper to make and do not last as long.

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Postby snuffy » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:17 pm

Scooter wrote:Lots of good info guys. Where can I find a deep-cycle battery?


Take a look at www.optimabatteries.com

The yellow series looks good D31A.
Hopes this helps.
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Postby Scooter » Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:18 am

Hmm...a point to consider :thinking: I'd like to be able to charge up from the vehicle when in motion. Can you do that with a deep cycle? Rather not buy a special charger, not to mention pay hefty price for a deep cycle.

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Postby mikeschn » Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:24 am

Glad you like the new emoticons... :)

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Last edited by mikeschn on Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby SteveH » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:04 am

I'm concerned about the size and weight of the battery, and they are even bigger when you put them in a plastic box to avoid acid damage. Anyone know the capacity of a garden tractor battery? Anyone know of any other type of small battery that might last a night or two in a Teardrop? :thinking:
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Postby Woody » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:47 am

275 -325 amps give or take
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Postby SteveH » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:45 am

Woody,

That may be the "cranking amps", the max the battery will put out under cranking conditions, but to calculate how long a battery will last at a given load, you need to work with Ampere Hour rating, and that is what I was looking for.

Rarely anymore will a standard car battery be 100 Ah.
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Postby Woody » Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:11 pm

Well the batteries I have in the tractor state only those numbers nothing else. It was the best I could come up with, I did find this, maybe it will help

Some common battery size codes used are: (ratings are approximate)
U1 34 to 40 Amp hours 12 volts
Group 24 70-85 Amp hours 12 volts
Group 27 85-105 Amp hours 12 volts
Group 31 95-125 Amp hours 12 volts
4-D 180-215 Amp hours 12 volts
8-D 225-255 Amp hours 12 volts
Golf cart & T-105 180 to 220 Amp hours 6 volts
L-16 340 to 415 Amp hours 6 volts
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Postby angib » Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:22 pm

SteveH wrote:Anyone know of any other type of small battery that might last a night or two in a Teardrop? :thinking:

For smaller batteries, look at motorcycles and personal watercraft - but the problem is that their dealers usually add big mark-ups. A local battery supply company (do you guys have such things?) would be a better place to look.
For the oddball choice, do US (house) intruder alarms use 12v batteries as back-ups? Ours do.
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