Deep Cycle Battery

[Atsushi]

Hello,

I thought that I had understood about batteries, but now I'm confused.

When I look for group 24 batteries, it seems all of them list cranking amps. That's a hybrid; not true deep cycle battery, right?

If I want a true deep cycle battery (AGM ? Lead Acid?) and not hybrid (deep cycle and starting), what should I get?

Trojan and Lifeline don't seem to have such battery.

Am I missing or misunderstanding something?

Thanks,

Atsushi

[DreamStreamr]

Atsushi,
If you must have group 24 battery, then search "group 24 90 amp hour" or something like that. Here's the hit I got with that search.

You don't say why you're looking for group 24 batteries, but you might find much better batteries for your purposes if you look instead at GC2 (golf cart 6v) batteries or group 27. The GC2 batteries fit into my Airstream's original battery box AFTER I raised the lid two inches for top clearance. But the sides dimensions were no problem at all going from the original 12V RV/Marine batteries to the 6V GC2 batteries.

My two 6V GC2 batteries give me 215 amp hours, enough for up to four days without solar or generator. This is figuring only depleting the batteries 50% and using only 25 amp hours daily, which takes us being a little more careful than usual.

Good luck! Hope this helps.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Cranking amps is just a number. Once upon a time it only showed up on automotive batteries. As time goes by, it shows up on all batteries. More or less it's a "why not supply the numbers people ask about" sort of thing.

Trojan most certainly makes deep cycle batteries:

http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/dat...ata_Sheets.pdf

http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/dat...ata_Sheets.pdf

Lifeline makes the deep cycle group 24's that Airstream uses stock:

http://lifelinebatteries.com/product...eries/gpl-24t/

Interstate makes the flooded group 24's that Airstream uses as stock:

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/p...798-2147384903

All of that is from random playing with Google. There are a *lot* of people out there that make batteries.

If you decide to play with 6V cells, they might give you 10% more amp hours than a similar pair of 12V cells. They may or may not fit in this or that box. They also may or may not be cheaper than the 12V equivalents.

Bob

[Mrjkq]

Interstate has deep cycle 24 & 27 batteries. They function very good if charged & maintained correctly. Use a multi stage converter for proper charging cycles.

[Atsushi]

Thank you for the info. Okay, so Trojan and lifeline do make deep cyclle batteries. Great!

I wanted to avoid modifying battery compartment, so that's why I wanted to stick with group 24 batteries.

I recently replaced the converter/charger to PD4655, and I'm wondering if anyone successfully is using Trojan or Lifeline AGM batteries with this charger.

Thanks!

Atsushi

[Zil]

This article is about wet cell lead acid, but the information is useful. https://marinehowto.com/what-is-a-deep-cycle-battery/

[SeaLevel]

Originally Posted by Atsushi

I wanted to avoid modifying battery compartment, so that's why I wanted to stick with group 24 batteries.

The newer models have a deeper battery box that can accommodate taller batteries. What year is your Airstream?

[Atsushi]

Originally Posted by SeaLevel

The newer models have a deeper battery box that can accommodate taller batteries. What year is your Airstream?

Ours is 2016 FC23D. I never bothered to actually measured the size of the battery compartment. I assumed that 6V GC battery won't fit in there without modification. I should really take measurements.

Anyway, I did upgrade the converter / charger with Power Dynamics 4655, and I would like to chose the battery accordingly. We still have Interstate food acid batteries that came with the trailer.

I don't know what sort of usage they have seen, and for awhile, I was charging them with the original single stage charger. Also a couple of times, I drained them to under 10V.

They are still sort of working, but they don't seem to retain charge very well. So I've started think about battery replacement.

Our needs are quite modest. Someone has suggested that for our needs, we need 80 amp hours x 2 12V batteries.

If 6V GC batteries are a better option that we can install without mechnical modification, we may take that route.

Thanks!

Atsushi

[Boxite]

Excellent discussion... and it may be of interest that despite the claims of various "brand name" batteries.... there are actually very few companies that actually "make" the batteries. Despite the "Die Hard" or "Interstate" or "Continental" etc etc brands/badges on the cases and manufacturing claims of many brands.... Most lead acid batteries made in the U.S. are produced by only a few companies: Johnson Controls and Exide make most batteries to both standard and custom designs of their "name brand" clients.

When two batteries make similar claims of power and capacity.... weigh them. The heavier battery is the better deep-cycle battery.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Atsushi

Thank you for the info. Okay, so Trojan and lifeline do make deep cyclle batteries. Great!

I wanted to avoid modifying battery compartment, so that's why I wanted to stick with group 24 batteries.

I recently replaced the converter/charger to PD4655, and I'm wondering if anyone successfully is using Trojan or Lifeline AGM batteries with this charger.

Thanks!

Atsushi

Hi

Yes, the Trojan and Lifeline AGM's work fine with that converter / charger. Any converter / charger will do a better job if it has a battery temperature probe on it.

Bob

[dmbecke]

I fit two group 31's in a 2014 box
Barely
I had to bend the lip of the box up slightly and they slid right in
I get 120 amp hours per battery which is significantly more than the group 24's

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Keep in mind that if you go to one of these 600AH upgrades, you will need to upgrade the size of your converter / charger and it's wiring as well.

Bob

[Dan and Liz]

FWIW, the Trojan group 27 AGMs fit my battery boxes better than the previous group 24 flooded batteries...