Batteries

Post by **SteveG** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:19 pm

Paging Philo.

So I'm thinking about adding a deep cycle battery to the Explorer to run a 12v fridge. How do the lead/acid batteries hold up? They are about half the coin of an Optima and the like and I don't hear great things about the latest Optimas anyway.

How will a deep cycle hold up to a draw of about 4.5 amps? What kind of run time can I expect between charges/driving?

Thanks!

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:01 pm

Deep cycle is what you want for a constant draw without a charging source. Where are you locating it and how much space do you have?

Post by **SteveG** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:10 pm

philofab wrote:Deep cycle is what you want for a constant draw without a charging source. Where are you locating it and how much space do you have?

I'm hoping under the floor. Similar to the way Southwest used to mount them on the Broncos... haven't really looked to see if it would fit, though.

Seabass · Post by **Seabass** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:55 pm

Optimas absolutely suck since their .gov contracts

Travisfab · Post by **Travisfab** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:09 pm

I run the Die Hard Platinum, and love it!

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 7:34 am

With a 4.5 amp draw you are only going to get about 11 hours out of an average group 24 battery...

PaulW · Post by **PaulW** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:24 am

I thot Broncos came with size 65 batts? At least mine did.
Lots more poop compared to a 24 or 34.
BTW, I am in Mexico and Sears wont let me look at the Platinum info. Question is what groups are available like 24, 34 or 65?
Yes I know I need to get a VPN --- Sigh---
Thanks, PW

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:42 am

PaulW wrote:I thot Broncos came with size 65 batts? At least mine did.
Lots more poop compared to a 24 or 34.
BTW, I am in Mexico and Sears wont let me look at the Platinum info. Question is what groups are available like 24, 34 or 65?
Yes I know I need to get a VPN --- Sigh---
Thanks, PW

I was referring to Steve putting a deep cycle under his Explorer. No one makes a group 65 in deep cycle that I know of.

Sears Platinum are made by Enersys very similar to the batteries they produce for Odyssey. They make many common group sizes, 65, 31, 24, 75, 78, ect.

PaulW · Post by **PaulW** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:05 am

Phil
the deep cycle batts are available in large sizes and AGM used by the solar people. I have no info what the sizes are, but they are similar to the 65.

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:08 am

PaulW wrote:Phil
the deep cycle batts are available in large sizes and AGM used by the solar people. I have no info what the sizes are, but they are similar to the 65.

Yes. But group 24 is common and cheap in deep cycle. There is no deep cycle group 65, that is a starting battery size. If it is a different shape or size than a group 65, it is not a group 65.

Solar people use U1, GC2, J185, and L16 sized batteries most often.

Seabass · Post by **Seabass** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 12:05 pm

philofab wrote:
PaulW wrote:I thot Broncos came with size 65 batts? At least mine did.
Lots more poop compared to a 24 or 34.
BTW, I am in Mexico and Sears wont let me look at the Platinum info. Question is what groups are available like 24, 34 or 65?
Yes I know I need to get a VPN --- Sigh---
Thanks, PW
I was referring to Steve putting a deep cycle under his Explorer. No one makes a group 65 in deep cycle that I know of.

Sears Platinum are made by Enersys very similar to the batteries they produce for Odyssey. They make many common group sizes, 65, 31, 24, 75, 78, ect.

I was under the impression that the sears platinum was a odyssey made for them. Any truth to that?

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 12:26 pm

Seabass wrote:I was under the impression that the sears platinum was a odyssey made for them. Any truth to that?

Enersys is the parent company of Odyssey. They have some differences but yes, it's an Odyssey built to Sears specs and sold under Sears name. The rest of the Sears line is made by Deka/East Penn Mfg and is also a good quality battery.

PaulW · Post by **PaulW** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 12:43 pm

You will notice that the Deka Intimidator has a little less poop than the Sears Platinum in size 34. Turns out the Platinum is bigger and has more lead which accounts for the difference.
I ended up with a Deka because in CO where I bought the thing Sears is just a franchise and does not sell the platinum.

After all these years one of my Optima yellows finally gave up and got replaced with the 34 Deka , but I had to get a different tray. Same physical size or very close.

Post by **SteveG** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:10 pm

philofab wrote:With a 4.5 amp draw you are only going to get about 11 hours out of an average group 24 battery...

That's what I was afraid of. That's not near as long as I'd hoped. I suppose I could add a solar panel but I'm not always planning on parking in the sun. In fact, it would be counterproductive to keeping a fridge cold....

Bondobob · Post by **Bondobob** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:21 pm

I've been looking at (2)of the Kyocera 145 watt panels and a controller to power up a few AGM batteries for an off grid set-up on a trailer. For a little more than what harbor freight charges you can set up a much better quality modular/expandable array. Might even set it up so they could be mounted to the fiberglass shell of the Dodge as well with a Battery selector switch for house/start batteries. Battery selection for this kind of set-up would be very well worth a call to the "Expert".

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 9:26 pm

145 watts x 2 = 290 watts / 12 = 24 amps * .8 for real world output. 20 amps will do a lot for ya.

As much as drunk assholes make fun of my panels they are light weight and do a lot of good for my setup.

Becks_Bronco · Post by **Becks_Bronco** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 5:59 pm

SteveG wrote:
philofab wrote:With a 4.5 amp draw you are only going to get about 11 hours out of an average group 24 battery...
That's what I was afraid of. That's not near as long as I'd hoped. I suppose I could add a solar panel but I'm not always planning on parking in the sun. In fact, it would be counterproductive to keeping a fridge cold....

Steve,

OLD thread, but i just recently bought a new battery for the Bronco, and will be running a fridge as well. 4.5amps is the peak startup draw, but draw half that or less on average while running.

hobbyturnedobsession · Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:27 pm

I'm going to run a fridge also. I was thinking 2 batteries inside the frame rails.

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Becks_Bronco · Post by **Becks_Bronco** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 11:37 am

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:I'm going to run a fridge also. I was thinking 2 batteries inside the frame rails.

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I'll run a second battery like a golf cart battery. Tuck it up inside the rear quarter or inside the frame rail. Charge it off solar or the alternator with a smart isolator.

hobbyturnedobsession · Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:14 pm

That's what I was thinking. 2 batteries mounted up underneath. One will run the bronco stuff and the other the fridge etc. Food for thought though. I have been looking into fridges and some have a power save mode which drops the amperage. Seems interesting at least

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