Deep Cycle Battery Better for You

What is the deep cycle battery?

A Deep Cycle battery is a battery that is designed to be able to store a large quantity of energy while having the ability to discharge from 100% down to 0% without hurting the battery.

A deep-cycle battery also ensures that a steady amount of power is being delivered to applications over a long period of time without interruption or failure. It is constructed with thicker plates and a denser active material ratio. Due to these features, a deep-cycle battery achieves greater cycling capacities.

What is DOD (Depth of Discharge)?

The Depth of Discharge (DOD) of a battery represents the percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery. For example, if a battery has a nominal capacity of 100kWh and discharges 30kW, the Depth of Discharge comes out to be 30%.

Its DOD is (30x 1) / 100 = 30%.

The more often a battery is charged and discharged, the shorter the battery life will become. It is generally not recommended to completely discharge a battery as it will greatly reduce the battery life. Many battery manufacturers specify the recommended maximum DOD in order to maximize the battery performance. If a manufacturer of a 10 kWh battery recommends a maximum DOD of 80%, the battery should not use more than 8 kWh without charging. The DOD is an important factor to consider because a higher DOD means that more of the energy in a battery can be used. The DOD of many modern lithium-ion batteries is 100%. A battery’s “cycle life,” the number of charge/discharge cycles in its life, depends on how much battery capacity is typically use. Rather than completely draining a battery to its maximum DOD, a user will be able to attain more cycles in their battery regularly discharging it with a lower percentage of charge. For example, a battery may have 15,000 cycles at a DoD of 10%, but only have 3,000 cycles at a DoD of 80%.

What applications need deep cycle battery?

Floor Machines
Electric vehicles
Materials handling
Renewable energy
Aerial work platforms
Commercial transit
RV and Marine
HME Mobility Telecom UPS
Security Electronics

All of these applications require high energy retention, deep-cycle discharge, a large number of cycle lives, and a stable discharge performance.

Why choose LiFePO4 deep cycle battery?

Another way to think of the DOD is the extent to which discharge begins to stop during use. 100% DOD refers to discharge at full capacity. The life of a lead-acid battery is greatly affected by the DOD. A lead-acid battery is likely to fail quickly on a user as it normally only allows 50 to 80% DOD. In contrast, A LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery, which is newer technology, has a deep-cycle discharge, so it can reach 2000 cycles with 100% DOD. Lithium batteries can also be discharged at a specific C-rating. With a working temperature of 25° C and a discharge rate of 0.5C, a LiFePO4 battery can reach 4000 to 6000 cycles. Compared to lead-acid batteries, the advantages of deep-cycle lifepo4 batteries are the following:

Eco-friendly
Good high-temperature resistance
Good safety characteristics
No memory effect
Higher-capacity compare with same size lead-acid battery
Longer cycle life than other lithium-ion batteries
Ideal drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries
Lower total cost of average use

However, Bravabattery can also customize a battery to have a discharge rate of up to 45C and maximum pulse discharge of 150C.

Deep cycle lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) leisure batteries for campervans, motorhomes, boats and off-grid applications.

Why Do You Need A Deep Cycle Battery?

To fully enjoy the outdoors and all it has to offer, many turn to deep cycle batteries and so enjoy camping, caravanning, and boating.

For the uninitiated, a deep cycle battery is essential for providing power over a sustained period of time. It’s designed to withstand constant discharge and to then be recharged, ready to use again. You might be wondering why you’d choose a deep cycle battery over a regular automotive battery. It’s obvious for boats, but why not just use your car battery when camping?

A car requires a high burst of power for a short time – just enough to get started. Cars use SLI (Starting, Light, Ignition) batteries, or ISS (Intermittent Stop Start) batteries. Only a small amount of the power stored in the battery is used, and then as you drive the car the alternator restores what was used. The way an automotive battery is constructed suits these requirements.

The power needs for camping or marine are different to automotive. They need energy over a long period of time, so they discharge to a lower level, and then recharge to full capacity via solar panels or simply connecting to a charger that’s plugged into a power point.

Deep cycle battery is different to SLI or ISS batteries used in cars as they have:

Thicker grids and corresponding plates, which gives them longer life.
High density active material to increase capacity.
High percentage antimony in the positive grid alloy which improves cycling ability.
Separators made of rubber with a glass mat designed to retain active material and control water loss.

If an automotive battery is used for a deep cycle application, it will suffer damage that will shorten its life. So while you think you’re saving money by multi-purposing your car battery, you’ll be replacing it sooner and it won’t be covered by warranty.

There are a variety of deep cycle battery types. The one you choose will depend on where and how you want to use it.

Why choose lithium technology?

Up to 2x useable power compared with lead-acid
Up to 50% lighter than an equivalent lead-acid battery
Can receive partial charge (unlike lead-acid which need a full re-charge every cycle)
Will not sulphate if left discharged so there is no risk of damage
No power ‘tail-off’ – voltage remains relatively constant until almost fully discharged

Specifications:

Service Life: 10yrs+
Cycle Life: 1500+ cycles (> 80% capacity retention)
Nominal Voltage: 12.8V
Cut-Off Voltage: 10V approx.
Charge Type: Constant Current / Constant Voltage
Discharge Current 50A
Max Continuous Current ≤100A (5 sec)
Internal Cells: Prismatic LiFePO4
Maximum Internal Resistance: 35M?
Output Terminals: M8 Bolt Down
Operating Temperature: 0-45°C (60°C max discharging)
Operating Humidity: RH < 85%
Storage Temperature: 0-40°C (15-25°C recommended)
Storage Humidity: RH < 50%

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