What is a “deep cycle” battery and how is this different from a normal battery in a vehicle?
• Deep Cycle batteries tend to have much heavier internal plates. They are a more rugged battery that can take a much higher degree of abuse and vibration compared to normal starter batteries. • Deep cycle batteries can tolerate a much higher degree of discharge than the thinner plate thickness starter batteries. • Deep cycle batteries are rated in amp-hours, whereas regular starter batteries tend to be rated in terms of Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) which does not reliably relate to amp-hours. • Neither type of battery should ever be fully discharged. Doing so will shorten the battery’s life. Discharging a starter type battery to near dead conditions can lead to permanent battery failure in less than 30 such cycles.
