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Are there any downsides to using a deep cycle battery in my Honda Fit?

fuzzybabybunny

fuzzybabybunny

Moderator<br>Digital & Video Cameras
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My battery is almost completely shot because I've forgotten to turn off my inverter too many times. The next battery I want to buy is a dee cycle. Are there any downsides to using one for automotive purposes?
 
Not sure but I thought most don;t have the cranking power of regular batteries? At least in the same size range of the factory size/fit.

EDIT:

Yea just looked up and deep cycle don;t have the same cranking power unless you go to a much larger size.
So yea you can do it if you have room for a bigger battery.

"Typically, a deep cycle battery will have two or three times the RC of a car battery, but will deliver one-half or three-quarters the CCAs. In addition, a deep cycle battery can withstand several hundred total discharge/recharge cycles, while a car battery is not designed to be totally discharged."
 
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What do you use the inverter for? If you only need it to be on when the engine is on, you can wire up a simple relay to turn off the power when the engine's off.
 
Marlin1975 said:
That has no more RC than a regular battery. Only reason they even call it a deep cycle is they think they built it well enough to handle drains better than other lead batteries.

That and they seemed to fail as fast if not faster than regular batteries.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it sure isn't rated well for what's supposed to be a DC battery.
 
You wouldn't want to use a deep cycle for that, attempting to start a car with it would kill the battery quite quickly. What you could use it for is to power the inverter. But then you'd have to rig it up to charge when the car is on, and you'd take up a lot of space. Would not be worth the effort. Far easier is to just rig up your inverter to turn off when the car turns off.
 
Stop using computer speakers powered by an inverter. There, I solved your problem.

Or plug the inverter into the cigarette jack that turns off when the ignition is off
 
I have been running an optima red top as my only battery for 4 years now and after draining it multiple times it's back to full power after a jump. I got one at a local auto store and it fires up my LS1 better than a normal battery of the same size.
 
Unfortunately I need the power to be on at times when the car is off.

What I'd REALLY like is an inverter that is smart enough to shut off at a voltage that is still high enough to jump the car.

My inverter right now sounds an alarm when the voltage is getting low, but never ever shuts off. Other inverters I know have a shutoff, but it's at a voltage that is already too low to jump the car, making the feature worthless.
 
scorp00 said:
I have been running an optima red top as my only battery for 4 years now and after draining it multiple times it's back to full power after a jump. I got one at a local auto store and it fires up my LS1 better than a normal battery of the same size.
Click to expand...


Why is that surprising? The Optima Red is their car starting battery. It's the Yellow top that might be the better bet for bunny......deep cycle/starting battery. The Blue top is the pure deep cycle battery from Optima.
 
fuzzybabybunny said:
Unfortunately I need the power to be on at times when the car is off.

What I'd REALLY like is an inverter that is smart enough to shut off at a voltage that is still high enough to jump the car.

My inverter right now sounds an alarm when the voltage is getting low, but never ever shuts off. Other inverters I know have a shutoff, but it's at a voltage that is already too low to jump the car, making the feature worthless.
Click to expand...

You have two options:
1) Install a "battery isolator" along with a deep cycle battery. The battery isolator will allow the deep-cycle battery to be charged by your car's alternator but will not allow power to flow in the reverse direction (i.e. while trying to start your car). Supply your inverter from the deep-cycle battery.

2)Buy an absorbed-glass-mat (AGM) battery such as an Optima yellow-top which is designed for deep-cycle operation. AGM batteries are the ones which look like they're made of six coke-can sized cylinders put together. They have good engine-starting characteristics but tend to have a smaller Ah capacity per kg compared to regular wet cell batteries.

Typical wet cell car batteries are not made for deep-cycle operation. They have a greater amount of thinner plates. Surface area is maximized in order to reduce their equivalent resistance (i.e. reduce the voltage drop when drawing large amounts of current). If such plates are deep-cycled they will be damaged.

Deep cycle wet cell batteries have fewer, thicker plates in order to prevent the structural damage from deep discharges. Consequently, they have a larger equivalent resistance and the voltage at the terminals will be lower than a normal starting battery when used for starting purposes.
 
futuristicmonkey said:
You have two options:
1) Install a "battery isolator" along with a deep cycle battery. The battery isolator will allow the deep-cycle battery to be charged by your car's alternator but will not allow power to flow in the reverse direction (i.e. while trying to start your car). Supply your inverter from the deep-cycle battery.

2)Buy an absorbed-glass-mat (AGM) battery such as an Optima yellow-top which is designed for deep-cycle operation. AGM batteries are the ones which look like they're made of six coke-can sized cylinders put together. They have good engine-starting characteristics but tend to have a smaller Ah capacity per kg compared to regular wet cell batteries.

Typical wet cell car batteries are not made for deep-cycle operation. They have a greater amount of thinner plates. Surface area is maximized in order to reduce their equivalent resistance (i.e. reduce the voltage drop when drawing large amounts of current). If such plates are deep-cycled they will be damaged.

Deep cycle wet cell batteries have fewer, thicker plates in order to prevent the structural damage from deep discharges. Consequently, they have a larger equivalent resistance and the voltage at the terminals will be lower than a normal starting battery when used for starting purposes.
Click to expand...

1. If I were to do number 1, would this put too much strain on my alternator? I heard that alternators are only designed to keep batteries topped off. They are not designed to recharge batteries.

2. I was about to jump on #2, but I've heard that the Yellow Top 51R have some real issues with dying after just 2 years:

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1588217

So now I don't know what to do.
 
Get a Battery Brain: http://www.batterybrain.com/batterybrain.pl

And if you are looking for a deep cycle, I strongly recommend the Die Hard Platinums. Optima's aren't what they used to be. I rock crawl with my Jeep and everyone I run with has winches/high powered lights/etc...those that have or had Optima's over the past couple years regret it.
 
Deep cycle batteries are intended for things that use a continuous power draw. That's why you see them on boats, job sites, RVs, and home off-grid setups. They're not meant for cars. I doubt you're rock crawling or using winches with your FIT.

So wait? You can run your inverter when the car is off and no key is in the ignition? Odd. The older Hondas (ie mine) don't do that.
 
Get a battery booster and keep it in your trunk. Buy a new, regular battery with a good warranty such as Duralast Gold from AutoZone. If your new battery gets ruined within 3 years, they will replace it for free.... and up to 8 years, they will pro-rate it starting at 3 years. Just bring it in, they will test it, if it doesn't work, they replace it. They don't ask what the usage has been.
 
fuzzybabybunny said:
Unfortunately I need the power to be on at times when the car is off.

What I'd REALLY like is an inverter that is smart enough to shut off at a voltage that is still high enough to jump the car.

My inverter right now sounds an alarm when the voltage is getting low, but never ever shuts off. Other inverters I know have a shutoff, but it's at a voltage that is already too low to jump the car, making the feature worthless.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you need to dedicate a battery to powering the invertor
 
slashbinslashbash said:
Get a battery booster and keep it in your trunk. Buy a new, regular battery with a good warranty such as Duralast Gold from AutoZone. If your new battery gets ruined within 3 years, they will replace it for free.... and up to 8 years, they will pro-rate it starting at 3 years. Just bring it in, they will test it, if it doesn't work, they replace it. They don't ask what the usage has been.
Click to expand...
That's actually not a half bad idea.
 
fuzzybabybunny said:
1. If I were to do number 1, would this put too much strain on my alternator? I heard that alternators are only designed to keep batteries topped off. They are not designed to recharge batteries.

2. I was about to jump on #2, but I've heard that the Yellow Top 51R have some real issues with dying after just 2 years:

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1588217

So now I don't know what to do.
Click to expand...

How about some numbers? ie year and model of car, inverter power rating and what is being powered by the inverter.
 
I'm sure the alternator in your car is at least 90 amps which is plenty to charge a battery. I think you're confusing the issue that you shouldn't expect to be able charge a dead lead-acid battery.
 
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