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SPECIAL FEATURE: VOLTS WITH VINCE
and/or keeping the battery charged. Keeping a battery correctly
charged is the best way to ensure it has a long and useful life.
The other threats to your lead-acid battery’s health include
extremes of temperature, age, vibration, over-charging and using
the wrong type of battery for your particular use.
Wet cell batteries aren’t the only kind of lead-acid battery
available. Dry cell or VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) batteries
have been around for many years and are available in either Gel
or AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) construction. AGM batteries are
used in vehicles with very high-power requirements, whether it
be higher cranking or some semi-cyclic requirements, such as
vehicles fitted with stop/start functionality. Gel batteries are used
in small electric vehicles like Gophers and many standby power
supply applications.
In summary, wet and valve regulated lead-acid batteries have
their specific applications, including the previously mentioned
SLI (starting lighting ignition), or
the ‘normal’ battery found in all
vehicles and the primary use for
wet cell type lead-acid batteries.
Other applications for the various
lead acid battery types - not
necessarily wet cell - include deep
cycle, marine, stop/start, dualpurpose
SLI/semi cyclic along
with commercial use standby and
small electric vehicles.
When it comes to 4WDers,
caravaners and campers, most of
my time is spent finding out how
they plan to use, and what they’re
expecting from the battery they
are looking to buy. When it comes
to SLI or starting batteries, the
rules are simple, replace the old
battery with something the same
or better than what the vehicle
manufacturer recommends.
Secondary batteries – adding
a second or third battery to the
vehicle - are a popular addition
to many 4WD builds. Owners
running accessories such as
fridges, lighting, inverters and
even coffee machines – as
camping evolves into glamping
– need more than just the
starting battery to handle their
12-volt requirements. Secondary
batteries are usually deep cycle
types, and the sky is the limit
when selecting this type of
battery and ‘the system’ that
adding and making the most of
secondary batteries requires.
Consider the following questions
as a starting point:
What battery size do I need?
When it comes to camping,
people have very different
requirements. The accessories
you want to run will determine
what battery size is suitable for
your setup.