Deep Cycle Batteries

June 11, 2001, 06:38:23 am

This weekend I went with a friend of mine to buy a marine deep cycle battery to run his electric boat motor. We were told that when you use the battery you should use it until it is dead before you recharge the battery. I have heard of the memory problem with some computer batteries, but I have never heard this when talking about deep cycle batteries. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

Thanks,
Art

Re: Deep Cycle Batteries

Reply #1 – June 11, 2001, 04:05:45 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 394

I would respectfully suggest whomever told you to fully deplete a deep cycle battery was mistaken. I think they were refering to NiCad batteries, not the AGM or GEL battery you actually bought. Any battery manufacturer I've had contact with strongly suggests only depleting the battery to 1/2 its rated A/h capacity. Unfortunately, I can't give you any 'real' figures to tell you when you should recharge because I don't know your battery or the load you are putting it on. Some quick calculations however, will give you a good indication about how long you can run the motor to reach 1/2 the batteries rated A/h's. Once you've depleted the battery half-way using the boat motor, take a volt reading from the battery. This reading can give you an indication in the future when you need to recharge the battery. Remember the volt reading is only an indication and should not be relied on to determine the charge of a battery.

Hope this helps.

Re: Deep Cycle Batteries

Reply #2 – June 11, 2001, 05:11:07 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 395

This sounds much more in line with reality. Completely exhausting a lead acid battery (whatever the detail technology, Gel, AGM or standard) is never a desirable thing to do and should be avoided whenever possible.

Peter

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