What deep cycle battery do you use?

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

My second battery ran very low on water a month or so, ago. I topped it up and recharged it with my Ctek. Unfortunatley, I didn't save it and it's rooted. I am gonna replace it with the same battery (http://www.ozbattery.com/components/com ... 27DC36.pdf) and I picked it up for $250 delivered !!. Cheaper than the same battery I bought, two years ago. Bought it from this place - http://www.ozbattery.com/crown-battery/ ... 7dc36.html

Cheers,

That's the same as what I've got and I'm really dissapointed with it. The two top cap sits on loose and I've had a lot of liquid spill from it as a result of the Simpson trip I did recently. Wasn't that bumpy and rocky. I'm going to experiment with an AGM under the bonnet next. I know they don't like heat but I'm willing to give it a go. Might see if that Alco battery mod still have some cheapies around.

[4xx4 Driver Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 4xx4 Driver]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I've had good results with a Supercharge Allrounder MRV70. http://linux.supercharge.com.au/prod...allrounder.php It's a maintenance free dual purpose flooded wet cell crank/deep cycle battery, 105 AH, 760 CCA. Being maintenance free there are no vented caps on top, so no spillage in rough conditions. Not too heavy either. It is mounted in Piranha tray behind the RHS headlight with no problems such as cracked guard, etc, after extended trips on corrugations, SImpson Desert, etc. It has a different charging regime from the engine battery (as do most second batteries), so I use a RanOx which is switched on and off by a Redarc isolator. Works well.

[Gatty Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Gatty]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

Hi Guys,
just to inform you, most battery wholesalers and resselrs dont even know.
99% of Chinese Gels and AGM's are current limited, therefore you as a user are not suppose to put more then the specified current into the batteries or you will cause too much heat inside the battery and cause it to swell or reduce the life of the battery, generally 20 amps.
Chinese Gels and AGM's are not designed for under bonnet use at all. check with the importer not the wholesaler/resseller before purchasing the battery,
I myself have been caught out like this, I bought a dual purpose AGM chineses battery, it was fine through winter, but found during summer in low range playing in sand on a trip my AGM battery swelled and lost all capacity, any longer and I would have had acit through my engine bay, I did not get warranty on the battery because it was under bonnett, but the resseller installed it for me under bonnett he did not even know.

I only use Amerian AGM's under bonnett, Deka , Optima, and the likes.

The best Auxillary Battery is not in the engine bay as heat effects the capacity, charging and life, underneath the 4wd, the rear or inside onder seats are the best, where it is nice and cool.

there is a new battery available from Federal batteries, Remco RM12-105ft its long and very skinny. 105 amp hour AGM Battery. I have fitted them between cargo barriers and 2nd row seats.

www.federalbatteries.com.au

[Big Fella Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Big Fella]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I need some help with power issues. Our Prado has been fitted with an ARB Dual Battery system mounted behind the right hand headlight. It currently has an N70EX battery as the dual battery. We have a 40ltr Engel fridge permanently on in the rear. It is set to refrigerate. I have found that the N70EX has boiled dry at some stage (my fault) and obviously the fridge is not working as well as it should be.

What I need to do is get a new battery that can handle the fridge power draw on a daily basis. The car is driven daily for at least 25min in the morning and 25min in the afternoon as the minimum. Given that the D-4D has a poor charging rate what are my best options? Some say go to GEL/AGM others swear by wet cell same for deep cycle and cranking. Arrgh. Just need some straight no BS advice. Problem is we were once bitten by a yellow top optima battery and still have some scarring from this type of battery.

I also have an 80w 5amp BP solar panel that I intend to plumb into the system for when we go away. Will it be best to run the wiring directly to the dual battery or to the main battery before the isolator?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Gatty Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Gatty]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

Hi Guys,
I have had a lot off experiance with Batteries, charging systems and the likes, Most cheap AGM Batteries are chinese, they are used as a stand by battery overseas and have a max charge current of 20 to 30 amps, sold in Australia to retailers and to people that do not know the truth, the chinese batteries will work ok untill you flatten them out and charge them whilst driving and when a lot is heat is iminate, such as sand, mud and any low range driving.they also do not handle any heat from engine bays in general, the only Battery that I use Under bonnett is a Battery Called Deka Seamate, or the Optima or orbital batteries link below,
http://www.federalbatteries.com.au/8A27M/

Made in USA
CCA 580
Capacity (Ah) 92
Weight (Kgs) 28.6
Fast charging, can handle heat very well with out breaking down, not to heavy compared to the other brands, and will out do a 150 amp hour lead acid deep cycle battery with fridges and light running off the battery and its only a 92 amp hour, it will also accept more charge quicker with very little losses.

Deep cycle batteries, such as lead acid, Maintance free and cheap AGM Batteries, are very un efficient, when a lead acid battery is under charge, open the caps, look into the cell towards the Plates, see it bubble away, that is your currant and voltage turning into hydrogen, which is a by product of Lead acid under charge, good Agm Batteries such as Deka, Life line, Gel Tech to charge a 92 amp hour battery you will need good voltage but only 105 amps into the battery to charge it to full, on the other hand a flooded lead acid battery of 80 amp hours will require good voltage but about 110 amps to charge it up.
I say better quality battery, USA made, and a very good battery monitor like a Victron BMV602 which I have in my 90 series and it gives me more then enough power.

Besides all of the myths of you cant charge disimilar batteries such as cranking and deep cycle batteries seperated by a solinoid is crap, the only time you have to have batteries exactly the same, (Make model capacity and age) is when they are in parallel peremantly, under charge and discharge, when the batteries are seperated by a electronic battery isolator or DC-DC charger you can mix and match two different battery types.

Cheers Gatty

[Full Lock Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Full Lock]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I've installed a 60l Engel combi, red-arc smart-start solenoid and piranha tray. So far, in only a few months, I've gone through two batteries (2nd hand, but in good condition). I'm looking at buying a battery that will fit in the tray that sits in behind the drivers side headlight. The max dimensions I have to work with in the aux tray are 300mm long, 170mm wide and 250mm ish high.

What I want to know is what is the best battery to go for? I can run the fridge over night, almost every night on 240 volt (but prefer not to if I don't have to for convenience sake). I want to be able to run it pretty hard - be able to freeze for a very minimum of 24 hours, hopefully 48 hours without touching it. If away somewhere I don't mind starting it every few hours for 15mins or so to throw more charge into it.

Its is driven daily for at least 30 mins in the morning and arvo. Anyone else used the Deka Seamate as mentioned above? How much fridge/freezer time is everyone getting from their setup?

Any help welcomed,

cheers, FL

I need some help with power issues. Our Prado has been fitted with an ARB Dual Battery system mounted behind the right hand headlight. It currently has an N70EX battery as the dual battery. We have a 40ltr Engel fridge permanently on in the rear. It is set to refrigerate. I have found that the N70EX has boiled dry at some stage (my fault) and obviously the fridge is not working as well as it should be.

What I need to do is get a new battery that can handle the fridge power draw on a daily basis. The car is driven daily for at least 25min in the morning and 25min in the afternoon as the minimum. Given that the D-4D has a poor charging rate what are my best options? Some say go to GEL/AGM others swear by wet cell same for deep cycle and cranking. Arrgh. Just need some straight no BS advice. Problem is we were once bitten by a yellow top optima battery and still have some scarring from this type of battery.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sounds like you and I are in the same boat here. What did you come up with? Results?

[KevinD4D Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close KevinD4D]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

Hi FL

First post in many years
Sounds like you are suffering from the D4D's lack of ability to charge an aux battery.
I destroyed a perfectly good battery in only 2 weeks late last year (40l Waeco and beers on a trip to Cairns) expecting that the alternator would charge it.
End result was it didn't and warm beers. At best the alternator ouputs 13.2 - 13.5V which can not charge an aux battery properly. The ECU is only concerned with the starting battery. After that is charged it drops the voltage. Most batteries require 14.5V+ to charge and calcium based 15V+.

Any fridge set to 'freeze' will consume quite a large number of amps/day (40+), depending on ambient temperature. I really doubt that 30min x 2 per day is going to replace that much. This will kill any battery very quickly. I would expect you would need 4 hours+ driving per day to replace that. Any reason why you need it to constantly freeze?

Anyway what I did was install a Redarc BCDC1220 3 stage charger under the bonnet. A Ranox unit will do the same but must be mounted inside the car.
As a test, so far the last 12 dys the fridge (40l Waeco) has been on (full of beers in Qld heat) and set to 0c. Maybe 60 minutes per day avergae driving except 2 x 90km drive to Bribane airport today and battery is currently on 'float'. Seems to do the job very nicely. Battery is a sealed, flooded 95AH/670CCA. Time will tell I guess.
There are threads on both units in this section.

[hulbyw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hulbyw]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

Everyone has a differnt opinion on batteries! After much research I installed a Haze Gel 80 ah battery in my 2004. Heard a lot of negatives about putting it under the bonnet however did the Canning last year and the battery was fine. So far, so good. The reason I only used an 80ah was the weight. The Piranha battery tray specifies a particular battery weight and the Haze is just above that. Have not experienced any inner guard cracks and the Canning was a good test.

[bilo33prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilo33prado]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

Looking at replacing my 2nd battery. Any thoughts? I run a 40l Engel and camp a bit. 2-3 nights max. found this one on fleabay

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

Looking at replacing my 2nd battery. Any thoughts? I run a 40l Engel and camp a bit. 2-3 nights max. found this one on fleabay

There is another thread somewhere that mentions about the use of AGM batterys under the bonnet. Apparently they do not cope well with heat and can pop/burst. Some have run AGMs under the bonnet without dramas and some AGMs even have a valule that will pop instead of the battery, but once poped the battery is stuffed. The recommended solution for AGMs is to run these in a Camper or in the back of the car.

[bilo33prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bilo33prado]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I'm worried about what the max weight i should go and i thought AGM was recomended for fast recharge for the low volt output of the D4D :?: Do others here have batteries above 30kg under bonnent front drivers side?

[KevinD4D Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close KevinD4D]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I'm worried about what the max weight i should go and i thought AGM was recomended for fast recharge for the low volt output of the D4D :?: Do others here have batteries above 30kg under bonnent front drivers side?

Unless you have an AGM that can be charged with 13.2 V or you drive for 8 hours a day I would suspect that the battery would be way under charged most of the time. What is the aux battery voltage after 24 hours of no driving and no load? If its less that 12.7 then its not being charged properly I would suggest.
The weight is not a critical issue provided you have a quality battery tray, mounted correctly and the front body mounts have not been tightened and you do not drive over corrugated roads all day.

[lofty Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close lofty]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I think my Trojan 27MTH (115AH) battery is stuffed.

Not real impressed with it, it claims to be the worlds best deep cycle battery, and was also recomended by a fellow 4wder/electrician.

It hasn't had what i would consider a hard life, and is only just 3 years old.

[KevinD4D Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close KevinD4D]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

I think my Trojan 27MTH (115AH) battery is stuffed.

Not real impressed with it, it claims to be the worlds best deep cycle battery, and was also recomended by a fellow 4wder/electrician.

It hasn't had what i would consider a hard life, and is only just 3 years old.

2005 I doubt yours is a D4D is it?
What is the Aux used for, how often and how much charge per day?

[tinkera Member Find all posts View Profile Close tinkera]

Re: What deep cycle battery do you use?

HI ALL.I run two MARATHON M12V90F AGM,S in the cabin in behind rear seats.All housed in a frame I built. It holds batt,s and fridge, right angle shape frame picks up rear floor hooks of third row seats that have been removed.Batt,s are inclosed in plastic batt. boxes (BTW they weigh 33kg each)Also run a AMARON NS70L silver calcium as crank, works fine for our needs. TINKERA.