Hi all,
Does anyone know of a decent gel deep cycle battery?
I am after something not made in some asian sweatshop!

Ideally an Aussie made product would be my first choice but
it seems no such thing exists.

Have seen some that claim to be USA made but on closer
inspection they are not actuall "made" there.

Had a look at Century, their wet batteries are made here
but the gels are from China.

I am after two 100AH batteries.

 

Will an AGM deep cycle work for your application? That would probably open the choices available quite a bit.

 

Odyssey are the best batteries I have ever used by far. They would start my motorcycles after 12 months of sitting. They are either made in the US or the UK.


They are not cheap.

 

I really would prefer gel but it's looking like an impossible option.
They need to be totally maintenance free deep cycle units that can live in the back of the truck.
Has anyone had any experience with Trojan batteries?

 

Thanks
Just had search and they are available in Australia.
They don't seem to do gel batteries but it looks like no one
makes decent gel batteries.
You are right about no being cheap, $600Aus for a 100AH.
But, as they say, ya gets what ya pays for.

 

You probably know this, but it's important to ensure whatever particular battery type you decide that its specific charge profile is met in your application. They are quite a bit different between AGM, Gel, maintenance free, standard lead acid. Depending on the vehicle they may be chronically undercharged, or overcharged. Getting in the ballpark will work, and a few tenths of a volt doesn't sound like much, but when it comes to battery performance and longetivity it matters.

 

I'm using a redarc BCDC1240 dual battery manager unit with a
solar panal input.
The alternater charges the deep cycle when driving and the solar
panals when camped.
The redarc unit has the ability to be setup for different battery
types.
I also have a mains powered 50amp multi-stage charger for those times when the sun don't shine for a while.
Hook that up to a generator and charge up the batteries.

I really need to have totally zero maintenance batteries as they
are fitted in a place that is very difficult to get at and so I can't
be constantly checking and topping up fluid levels.

 

I've got a couple of 6V deep cycle Trojan batteries hanging off a charge. The fluid needs to be regularly checked - the battery technology is old==tried & testing - prolonging the battery life is done by the brains in the smart-charger.

If you went down the Trojan path you'd need to change your battery access arrangement - maybe with a slide out tray or similar for easy inspection.

 

Simon,
Thanks for the info.
The Trojans I am looking at are maintenance free gel batteries,
model C31-GEL.
I am just curious if anyone has any good or bad comments on
the quality of Trojan's products.

 

Mine are the 6 Volt lead-acid types, hanging off a Ctek smart charger. When I had a flat battery on the truck I used the 8 y.o. Trojans hooked up in series, plus another smaller 12v battery to jump start the truck. The old Trojans still had some punch, but not enough to start the truck themselves. Of course they were designed to run a fridge or similar constant loading, rather than a starter motor. They still hold a charge after 8 years.

 

If the new stuff is still the same quality of yours then they sound like they are worth buying.

 

Ah, good to know what you are using it for. The Trojan 6V's (225 AH) are very good, can be found cheaply - and typically what most golf carts use, because of their relatively low cost over a lifetime. I would definitely recommend them over the Odyssey previously mentioned (I assumed you were looking for starting batteries for your truck). I use 2 connected together to get a 12V circuit in my truck camper.

 

Optima Yellow Tops.

I'm using 4 in Effii.

Two in the engine bay, which are for starting and winching duties.

Two on the tray, which are for auxillary duties.

I'm using D31T's these are 900CCA 75AH

If you want standard car battery terminals then you need D31A.

The two in the engine bay are 5 years old.

I have had one fail, it was left flat for twelve months and will now not hold a charge. My fault for not checking the level of charge before I left it sitting.

When fully charged will hold charge for at least 12 months. Other one I had was charged and started effii without any problem after sitting for 12 months, before the rebuild.

I bought mine from here Optima Batteries

 

Ross,
Thanks.
I have heard both good and bad things about Optima batteries and considering that they are quite pricy I have not really considered them.

I have just had two Century, Chinese made gel batteries die
after 6 months, with only a single LED and a small digital volt meter
drawing minute current.

$650 down the drain!!

Thats why I am seeking something that is universally recommended by people who are not trying to sell me a battery, and preferably not Chinese.

 

Thanks.
So far the Trojans are looking like the best choice.
I have heard only good things about them and they are available close to home so no freight costs involved.
I am looking at getting a couple of their "31-GEL" model units,
at $438 each they an not cheap, but better than the $600 plus I have seen for some brands I have looked at.