What are “Deep Cycle” Exide Batteries?
These batteries are designed to provide “deep cycle” power – and that makes them very different from ordinary car batteries. Starting a car requires a high amount of energy for a short period of time (about 5 seconds). Only a small amount of the battery’s capacity is used. Once the engine starts running, the battery is recharged quickly by the alternator, which carries the basic electrical load. On the other hand, deep cycle batteries supply a relatively low amount of current for a long period of time. They are specially designed to power electric trolling motors and other electrical accessories in boats and RVs. Unlike ordinary car starting batteries, they can be run down and recharged (deep cycled) repeatedly with minimum loss of capacity. When a car starting battery is deep cycled, it loses capacity very rapidly and in some cases has lost its useful capacity in 50 cycles (discharges and recharges) or less. These limitations make car batteries a poor investment when used for marine a
