Essentially, a battery is a power storage device which uses a reversible chemical reaction to store energy.

A deep cycle battery generally is a rechargeable battery and has thicker much more durable lead plates than cranking or starting batteries which allows it to be more tolerant to deep discharge cycles. Deep cycle batteries can be discharged down as much as 80% repeatedly. Deep-cycle includes solar electric (PV), backup power, RV and Marine batteries.

BASIC PARTS OF A DEEP CYCLE BATTERY

Batteries are made of five basic components :
1. A resilient plastic container. 2. Positive and negative internal plates made of lead. 3. Plate separators made of porous synthetic material. 4. Electrolyte, a dilute solution of sulfuric acid and water, better known as battery acid. 5. Lead terminals, the connection point between the battery and whatever it powers.

HOW DEEP CYCLE BATERY WORKS

A battery has three basic components: the anode (+), the cathode (-), and the electrolyte. When electrical current is applied to the battery (via an electric charging device), the battery converts this into potential chemical energy for storage, the process of which is reversed to provide electrical current when needed. The chemical reaction that takes place within the battery creates a build up of electrons in the anode; whereas the electrons in the cathode are reduced by the electrochemical reaction. This creates a difference between the anode and the cathode. The electrons try to rearrange themselves to rectify this imbalance. So the electrons try to go towards the cathode but the electrolyte tries to prevent this from happening.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES

Flooded
These are very much like car batteries only with thicker lead plates and have many of the issues that car batteries have when used in a stand alone power system - serviceable life, electrolyte dissipation, stratification, transporting problems and the dangers of explosive gas.

Gel
Gel deep cycle batteries contain acid with the addition of silica, which turns the acid into a jelly. Even when broken, the acid won't spill. These batteries are ideal for daily use and deep discharge and will work well in high temperatures. They can be partially recharged without causing serious battery damage and readily accept charging due to low internal resistance; however they shouldn't be recharged using high voltages such as what a car alternator cranks out.

AGM
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AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat. A Boron-Silicate glass mat is placed between the lead plates, which immobilizes the electrolyte making it unspillable. This type offers the same sorts of benefits as gel batteries and AGMs are also tolerant to high voltage charging. Another important safety feature of both AGM and Gel is that either do not off-gas under normal usage. They are hermetically sealed and recombine the oxygen and hydrogen produced within the battery.

DIFFERENCE WITH CAR BATTERIES

1. The essential difference is in the lead plates. In normal car batteries, these are sponge type structure or consist of many thin plates, giving a greater surface area to generate big amps for short periods; whereas in deep cycle batteries, the lead plates are thicker and solid. 2. A deep cycle battery usually has multiple times the RC (reserve capacity) of a car battery, but a substantially lesser CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) rating - the focus is on consistent lower level supply rather than intermittent short bursts of high supply. 3. While they can also be used to start automotive or marine engines, they typically do not provide the same level of power as quickly as a normal cranking starter battery. As a result of the thicker lead plates, deep cycle batteries generally weigh a lot more as well (lead is a heavy metal). Now, on the flip side, many new battery plates are now being created with different materials, and this battery under review is one of those. It features the Expanded Calcium Grid Technology which is a new way of making battery plates that offer more consistent power output, longer life and better performance in a wider range of use and climatic conditions. 4. Car batteries do not like being run down to low battery levels and then recharged on a regular basis. Doing so greatly reduces the battery's service life. Deep cycle batteries on the other hand are less prone to failure when being deeply discharged and recharged on regular occasions, and running an electric outboard for any extended length of time will draw a lot of power from your average sized 12v battery.

DEPTH OF DISCHARGE
Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged much lower than standard car batteries and be recharged many more times.The life of a deep cycle battery under normal conditions is from 3 - 10 years. Like any other piece of equipment, the more you hammer it, the less it will last you and one of the key strategies for getting the longest life out of your deep cycle battery relates to depth of discharge; i.e, how much juice you suck out of it. If a battery is discharged to 50%, it will last about twice as long as if it is taken down to 80% discharge. Reducing the average DoD (Depth-of-Discharge) and the number of discharge/charge cycles, by proper deep cycle battery or battery bank sizing will significantly increase a deep cycle battery service life. For example, a pasted plate wet battery with an average of 50% DoD will last twice as long or more as if it is has an 80% average DoD. A 20% DoD average battery can last up to five times longer than one with a 50% DoD average. Most of the deep cycle batteries will typically have an average 225 cycles at 80% DoD and 750 cycles at 50% DoD. Always avoid Depth-of-Discharges that are greater than 80%. The "sweet spot" (optimum DoD for the greatest amount of power produced over the service life) is generally somewhere between 20% DoD and 60% DoD average. For the AGM (Ca/Ca) VRLA battery example below the"sweet spot" is approximately 22.5% DoD based on the greatest amount of power produced.

RATING A BATTERY
There are two ways to rate a battery: volts and amps. Mostly it is rated in Amp hours (Ah) which is the rated capacity available in chemical energy inside a battery which is converted into electrical energy. It also refers to the amount of energy that the battery can store, or conversely, it can be seen as the discharge rate, which measures the time it takes to discharge a battery before it needs recharging. The capacity of the battery is reduced if the battery is discharged at a shorter period, for instance over 1 hour. The amp hour capacity will be reduced by about 50% and so will the amount of cycles. The battery is discharged at a constant rate of current over a number of hours for example over 5 hours. This is referred to as the "C" rating. For example, many small batteries are rated at the C20 rate, this means that they will deliver their amp hour capacity if discharged over 20 hours. The types of batteries in large SAPs are rated at the C100 rate which means that they are designed to be discharged over 100 hours or 4 days. This will give a life span typically of about 15 years. 2