Deep Cycle Batteries

Deep Cycle Batteries

Batteries are probably the least understood electrical component in your camper. Lets face it - you see a 100 amp hour battery in K-Mart for $60.00 then your dealer tells you it is $300+ to have one in your van! Why this big difference? It is because you need a deep cycle battery - one that doesn't deteriorate with constant discharging. The equation is further complicated by the sealed and open styles or gel or acid! The mind boggles! Our best advice is if buying from new with your van, opt for the largest size you can afford. A 100AH should be considered the minimum. There is a huge temptation to use "ordinary" car batteries and indeed this used to be the norm in caravans for years in the old days. If you are forced to go down this path because of budgetary restraints be aware that you MUST use a vented enclosure as batteries release explosive hydrogen gas during normal operation. Just think about the Lindenberg airship disaster! A'van to their credit even vent their enclosures when using totally sealed batteries. If you only want to use a battery for occasional lighting then you may well get away with an ordinary car battery as long as you don't flatten it on every trip. The information below came from the Quirk's Australian website.

DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES

The two main ranges of deep cycle batteries currently used in stand-alone power systems are ‘vented lead-acid’, ‘valve regulated lead acid – VRLA’ and sealed gel batteries.

There is a vast difference in the overall quality of batteries available - the higher the price, the better the quality is the accepted rule. The capacity of the battery which you intend to use should be determined by

the charging input per day,
the daily power requirements of the installation, and
the number of days’ holdover which the batteries are required to supply in the event of bad weather.

The reason why these parameters are applied to battery sizing is to ensure that the batteries will provide maximum life for the end user.