What is the difference between a Deep Cycle Battery and a normal Lead-Acid Car Battery?
Both car batteries and deep cycle batteries are lead-acid batteries that use exactly the same chemistry for their operation (see How Batteries Work for more information). The difference is the way that the batteries optimize their design: A car’s automotive battery is designed to provide a very large amount of current for a short period of time. This surge of current is needed to turn the engine over during starting. Once the engine starts, the alternator provides all the power that the car needs, so a car battery may go through its entire life without ever being drained more than 20% of its total capacity. Used in this way a car battery can last a number of years. To achieve a large amount of current, a car battery uses thin plates in order to increase its surface area. A deep cycle battery is instead designed to provide a steady amount of current over a long period of time. A deep cycle battery can provide a surge when needed, but nothing like the surge a car battery can. A deep cycl
