Rig battery to

[Nef]

Make sure I don't kill my battery. I am looking for recommendations on a battery that will not break the bank but that I don't need to run the wk every 5to 6 hours so it doesn't go dead. The only accesoryai really run off it is my 54 quart refer. This has been the best purchase I have made. I love to cook so cold storage without having to worry about ice is awesome. Lately though I have been having to run the Jeep more often before the fridge kicks off due to low battery and had to jump it once. I am thinking it's on it's last leg and want to replace it with something that will last. Would like to be reasonably priced if there is such a thing. I don't really sleep much as it is (post brain surgery to remove tumor... FU cancer) about 4 hours on a good day and this has me so worried, I'm barely getting 2. Heading to town for a mail run (gotta pick up my badge, will post pic when mounted) and was hoping to replace it while there. Any recommendations?

 

[trailhunter]

Odyssey, you can find them discounted at times ar 4WP.

 

[Nef]

Odyssey, you can find them discounted at times ar 4WP.

Yikes, I hope so. A quick search shows $300

 

[madcratebuilder]

4Wheel magazine did a battery test back in 13.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/154-1303-battery-bashing/

It shows that battery price equates to battery power. I'll be buying a Odyssey or North Star when the time comes but could get by on a lesser battery at about half the cost. It boils down to how much do you want to spend.

 

[Nef]

It shows that battery price equates to battery power.

While I'm not convinced that is spot on, the article and results are very welcome. Looks like the north star was the overall best performer but not the highest priced. I have also been able to source it bat a much more affordable price than that listed in the article. This is now my top contender. The info is greatly appreciated. This will likely hold me over until I can buy a Tesla pack (5.3 kw!) that will ultimately run all my accessories. I will be making an enclosure for it so it lives in the basket under the rtt on my rig. Full write up with pics and possibly a video when complete to come.

 

[Nef]

Doing some research it seems that there are only a few actual manufacturers for batteries Johnson Controls which makes batteries rebranded as - Enersys (Odyssey) - and E Penn which are rebranded as Deka - Exide - NorthStar. That said, it looks like I will be seeing which AGMs are made by these and buy accordingly. The name on the outside means less than nothing to me. Performance on the other hand is key, so same performance for less $$ regardless of label is a win all day in my book. Thoughts?

 

[Nef]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if your concern is about having to constantly keep your battery charged to maintain it's life, then a good AGM battery isn't going to change that. If you really only need it for refrigerator, I would look at the draw demand specs on your fridge and team it up with the right size lithium-ion 12v battery. Yes it will break the bank if you need a vehicle sized battery, but those maintain their charges for up to a year (loose about 3% a month) and you can run them dry without degrading your battery, (AGM you can't go below 50%) so you can get a smaller sized battery, which would bring the price closer to the larger AGM battery.

Right now I have to replace my battery. It is not holding a charge anymore. I csnca complain as I abused the hell out of it. As I will be adding a winch at some point and with the ham radio, lights and assorted other stuff a agm is the way to go. ATM the refer is what is pulling the most and the only thing I run at camp off the Jeep battery. I had a lithium pack I had made from 18650s that was for the fridge specifically and ran it fine for 48hrs if I got no sun from my solar panel. I gave that pack away to a couple who along with myself and another camper got our sites robbed. Theu were wiped out and I gave my 2nd fridge that was used as a freezer along with the battery pack to help them out. I have a couple of small 12v batteries that's run the tent light and another LED strip I is under the tent over hang in the evenings as well as to top off my phone and other gadgets. I will be eventually getting a Tesla pack (5.3kw) that will live in the space btwn the basket and rtt, but in the meantime the car battery runs the fridge, so I need one that can handle a bit of discharge. I am running the Jeep too often and burning too much gas, so a main battery with more capacity will meet my needs for now and continue to be useful once I get the winch and mount the rest of the light bars and pods.

 

[Flipper]

Right now I have to replace my battery. It is not holding a charge anymore. I csnca complain as I abused the hell out of it. As I will be adding a winch at some point and with the ham radio, lights and assorted other stuff a agm is the way to go. ATM the refer is what is pulling the most and the only thing I run at camp off the Jeep battery. I had a lithium pack I had made from 18650s that was for the fridge specifically and ran it fine for 48hrs if I got no sun from my solar panel. I gave that pack away to a couple who along with myself and another camper got our sites robbed. Theu were wiped out and I gave my 2nd fridge that was used as a freezer along with the battery pack to help them out. I have a couple of small 12v batteries that's run the tent light and another LED strip I is under the tent over hang in the evenings as well as to top off my phone and other gadgets. I will be eventually getting a Tesla pack (5.3kw) that will live in the space btwn the basket and rtt, but in the meantime the car battery runs the fridge, so I need one that can handle a bit of discharge. I am running the Jeep too often and burning too much gas, so a main battery with more capacity will meet my needs for now and continue to be useful once I get the winch and mount the rest of the light bars and pods.

You are just going to ruin your new battery also. I used to work in a marine store and saw the results of what you are trying to do all the time. Look at it in a TIME aspect. Guys would keep bringing their batteries back stating the batteries were bad but THEY ruined them. Deep cycle batteries are rated on Ah or amp hours usually rated at a 25amp load rated in minutes. So if you have a battery that is rated at 105 minutes that means the energy in the battery is going to run 105 minutes at a 25amp load, if you are only drawing 12 1/5 amps it is going to run for 210 minutes,drawing 6 amps...420 minutes... YOU HAVE TO PUT THE “Time” back in so a 25 amp charger is going to take 105 min, a 121/2amp charger is going to take 210 min and right down the line. So these guys in their bass boats go out, use their trolling motors for hours and run all the time out of the battery then do the 60 mph blast back to the ramp lets say 20 minutes, so basically they only put 10% of the time back in the battery. Time and time again until the ruin the battery bacause they never bring it back up to 100%, then bring it back and say the battery is bad. You are basically doing the same thing . Running the battery down then running your truck for 15 or 20 minutes isnt comming close to bringing the battery back to 100% charged. If it is a start battery and not a deep cycle you will also damage it in your application.

 

[Nef]

You are just going to ruin your new battery also. You are basically doing the same thing . Running the battery down then running your truck for 15 or 20 minutes isnt comming close to bringing the battery back to 100% charged. If it is a start battery and not a deep cycle you will also damage it in your application.

You are making some assumptions here. I never allow the battery to go past 75% as I realize it is a start battery not a deep cycle. ThrT15-20 minmcharge time according totmy meter is in fact topping it up to fullchargre as I run until it shows full That said there are batteries with both characteristics, which is what I am looking for. Further your draw claims are wildly inaccurate re my refer. It draws 5amps max and in typical usage only 2.8 real world measurements for an average of y min/per hour. Your info isn't wrong, just not for my case. My current battery has been a performer fot over 3 years, but it I'd just not keeping up and I am cognizant as to why. I can't speak for others, but in good conscience I could/would not try to exchange a battery under warranty knowing my usage pattern was out of what the warranty would cover. I appreciate your input, just not pertinent to my case.

 

[Flipper]

You are making some assumptions here. I never allow the battery to go past 75% as I realize it is a start battery not a deep cycle. ThrT15-20 minmcharge time according totmy meter is in fact topping it up to fullchargre as I run until it shows full That said there are batteries with both characteristics, which is what I am looking for. Further your draw claims are wildly inaccurate re my refer. It draws 5amps max and in typical usage only 2.8 real world measurements for an average of y min/per hour. Your info isn't wrong, just not for my case. My current battery has been a performer fot over 3 years, but it I'd just not keeping up and I am cognizant as to why. I can't speak for others, but in good conscience I could/would not try to exchange a battery under warranty knowing my usage pattern was out of what the warranty would cover. I appreciate your input, just not pertinent to my case.

I was just using my experience as an example about discharging and charging and relating it to time and wasnt questioning your morality of the return game a few of my customers used to play. I was suggesting to do the math to help with your issue. Also I wasnt claiming your refer was drawing a wild 25A it was just a reference, sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Nef]

I was just using my experience as an example about discharging and charging and relating it to time and wasnt questioning your morality of the return game a few of my customers used to play. I was suggesting to do the math to help with your issue. Also I wasnt claiming your refer was drawing a wild 25A it was just a reference, sorry for the misunderstanding.

I got that