The 21st century demands eco-friendliness, longevity, pre-eminence, and practicality. Experts are continually working towards more Earth convenient programs and developing them for the long run. One of their developments has been the creation of deep-cycle batteries.
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What are deep-cycle batteries?
Deep-cycle batteries are simply stored energy units with a promise of endurance for a more extended period of time. Their chemical reactions provide the best electricity and power output.
They are designed in such a way that the cycle, recharge and discharge, is impeccably done without any disruptions.
Their goal is to provide more prolonged energy so that you don’t need to use temporary batteries anymore.
Temporary batteries provide only a small burst of energy and quickly exhausts. Using a deep-cycle battery will save you both energy and money.
Deep-cycle batteries are a perfect fit for charging up floor machines, electric vehicles, material handling, renewable energy sources, aerial work platforms, commercial transit, RVs, marine boats, telecom UPS, and even security electronics.
Even though many mariners prefer hybrid batteries for sustainable power, they exhaust too quickly. If you are a camper and require a power supply for a week straight, a deep-cycle battery might be right for you.
Aussie Batteries, one of Australia’s renowned brands, has the best range of deep-cycle batteries. They suggest looking at these 3 things before you purchase a battery:
Cycle Life
Cycle life refers to the loop of recharging and discharging. Ask your retailer how many cycle lives are in your battery before purchasing. A good number is 1,650 cycles.
Many brands even render as low as 800. Remember, not all battery brands function the same.
Build Life
Even though cycle life is the most crucial point, never forget about the quality of the battery’s life. This refers to the number of years it’s going to function smoothly.
Even if you don’t use your batteries for a long time, you need to make sure it’s going to start properly when you do decide to use it.
Warranty
An excellent indicator of the quality is the length of the warranty. So, the longer the warranty, the better the battery.
How are they made?
A deep-cycle battery is constructed with thicker plates and a denser active material ratio. These batteries achieve greater cycling capacity, fantastic run times, and an increased life because of this specific manufacturing.
As discussed above, the materials used serve the machinery’s purpose, giving it greater run times, deeper discharging, longer life and a reliable delivery of power.
Different types of deep-cycle batteries
There are two types of batteries: flooded and valve regulated lead acid (VRLA). VRLA consists of three different types as well: gel, AGM and EV traction dry cells.
Flooded Deep-Cycle Batteries
Flooded batteries are known for their dense panels, wide dividers, and use of improved metal. This architecture prevents the phenomenon of corrosion and discharge phases.
This form of battery contains an electrolyte solution that totally envelopes the plates, making it easy for the battery to recharge and drain more quickly at a decent pace.
Mechanisms:
You want to ensure that the electrolyte amount is where it should be, particularly for flooded batteries. To verify this, remove the lid from the cells and evaluate the level of water.
When the level is low, pump filtered water into the cell tanks until it hits the standard requirement. A significant suggestion is to reload water levels only after charging is over, or this may allow the fumes to spread and possibly harm the charging mechanism.
Applications and Performance:
Flooded batteries are being used in the broader spectrum of applications. Their success is due to their durability and pricing relative to other forms of rechargeable batteries.
These batteries pay the best fee per watt-hour for both purchase price and cumulative cost per charge/discharge period. Hence, they are the perfect alternative for car or machinery fleets that are extensively used on a routine basis.
Also, flooded batteries have the beneficial properties of being 100 percent reusable.
PROS:
- They are cheaper than most deep-cycle batteries.
- Renders a longer life-span than the VRLA batteries
- They perform well under hot temperatures with no chance of explosion.
- Their discharge rate is higher than the rate of recharge.
- They are widely available.
- Flooded batteries are easy to maintain: just refill with distilled water.
CONS:
- Even though maintenance is relatively easy and quick, there is a lot of it.
- The position setting is quite restrictive and requires only the upright setup.
- You need to be very cautious around highly flammable items or electronics, like electric heaters.
- It’s tough to ship them overseas, so you have to buy them from your local market.
- They produce a lot of oxygen and hydrogen during recharge, fumes detrimental to human health.
- Flooded batteries demand a spacious place and a sound ventilation system.
- They may spray acid when overcharged.
Valve Regulated Lead-Acid Batteries ( VRLA )
VRLA batteries, also commonly known as maintenance-free batteries, are the second type of lead-acid rechargeable battery.
The battery can be mounted in any orientation and does not need constant maintenance, unlike the flooded deep-cycle battery. It still requires regular cleaning and regular functional testing.
They are primarily used in portable electrical devices that require great power, where a large amount of storage is needed at a lower-tech maintenance cost, just like that of lithium-ion.
The Three Types of VRLA Batteries
Gel Batteries:
A typical gel cell is a geo-electrolyte VRLA battery where sulfuric acid is combined with smoking silica, making the resultant bulk gel appear unmovable.
These batteries don’t have to be maintained in a vertical position, unlike saturated wet battery lead. Gel batteries eliminate electrolyte precipitation and discharge (and eventual complications of erosion) typical to wet cell batteries.
The antimony on the plates is replaced with calcium, which can be recombined with steam. The new formulation has been developed by U.S. patent Otto Jache and Heinz Schroeder.
Through the use of liquid electrolyte as a divider, this part is no longer so essential and challenging to produce, improving the cycle life.
AGM Batteries
AGM has very little resistance and is capable of providing high demand flows and reasonably long life. It promises strong electrical durability and is more light-weight than the form of flooded lead-acid.
Although standard batteries of lead-acid need to be filled every 6 months in order to avoid the accumulation of sulfation, AGM batteries have less sulphate and more energy storage.
The key benefits of AGM consist of a charge which is up to 5 times quicker than the flooded model and the potential to cycle in-depth. AGM has 80 percent discharge depth, while flooded batteries have 50 percent on the same cycle life.
AGM is a personal favourite when it comes to upscale bikes. It eliminates acid discharge in an event, reduces the load simultaneously, and makes it easier to mount at odd angles. They are often used for naval, motor, and mechanical applications because of their good cold-weather reliabilit
EV Traction Dry Cell
For cases of commercial, industrial and private uses, the dry cell traction series provides excellent reliability and integrity.
The EV-series is the definite option for rugged traction applications like home medical devices, electric motors, automatic devices, surface washing, and mobile robots thanks to the low upkeep and thick plate nature.
Since our main concern here is sustainability and preserving for the future, EV traction dry cells are perfect for their longer durability, shorter charging period, lesser drainage of charge and affordability.
Final Thoughts
The biggest enemy of a battery is heat. For every 10 degrees increase in the operating temperature, the rate of a chemical reaction inside the battery doubles, accelerating grid corrosion.
Hence, most deep-cycle batteries have an operating temperature of 50-60 degrees Celsius. Any good quality deep-cycle battery is built to resist extreme temperatures with increased electrolytes.
