I need to replace the 12V battery that i use in my off grid hunting cabin. I usually run a couple of 12V
led camper lights and sometimes a small 12V fan. Theses only get used a few times a year, mostly during hunting season,
but sometimes in the spring or summer to work on my land or work on the cabin. I have a propane generator
to run the A/C in the summer and a Mr heater in the cabin so momma can stay warm. Also use the gen to recharge the batteries.

I guess my question really is: Is it worth it to pay the extra money upfront for the deep cycle marine battery, or should i save money and just buy
a regular higher amp car battery. The last two marine batteries only lasted about 3 years. The solar charging panel i got for them didn't seem to do crap!
Gel cells are really expensive, but do they last any longer? I am open to any/all ideas and suggestions.

I think I still have some 250 watt panels I took off a house if you need a bigger panel, if your around NE Texas you can have one.

I’ve had regular deep cycle marine battery’s running on a couple feeders with 100 watt panels and the current battery’s are over 5 years old so personally I’d go back with those.

Thank you for the offer. Actually the cabin is completely wired, it was once a neighbors Brew house and Reloading room. I was trying to bring in AC
but have run into protracted legal problems with "neighbors" that refuse to grant me or sell me a right of way.
Long long story.... I suppose i could figure a way to wire in an inverter to power up the cabin, but that would be more batteries than i could use or possibly afford.
Even during the hot summer, I can cool the cabin with the window unit AC by using a couple of propane cylinders for the generator.
I just wasn't sure if the marine batteries were worth the extra cost up front. I started with just one battery but went to two to allow less recharging.
Not sure if that was worth the cost given the price of those durn things now a days.

Look into one of the Solar Generators like Ecoflow Delta Pro or Bluetti you can do a lot with 1800 watts of panels and it's portable..

I kind of consider the "solar" generators to be expensive battery units, as opposed to true generators. Does anyone here have experience with fully recharging these using just the solar cells. Half a day, a full day? what is the turn around time on average? How many cycles will these things really go through?

Sorry to sound stupid here, but my experience with these has been really limited, and I don't really buy into all the hype.

I’d probably either look into a quiet generator and fuel tank and run it all the time or look into the legality of running power. If you have an access easement you may be able to run power in it as well.

A Honda 2000 or 2200 is pretty quiet, and I got 8+ hours of runtime day after day during power outages. One gallon per 8+ hours.

Honda EU2000i. You beat me to it.

Any time you discharge a lead acid battery below about 80% charge, it starts forming sulfate crystals on the plates. The deeper you discharge, the faster they grow. When you bring it back to 100% (Not 90% or even 95%) you convert those crystals back into the acid solution where they started. If not fully charged often enough, the sulfation begins to harden up and act like insulation and doesn’t allow the battery to reach full charge. That in turn causes more sulfation because it can’t get to 100%, thus destroying the battery. This is what causes most early battery death.

Generally speaking, these deep cycle batteries need to reach 100% once per week as a minimum. Less than that will shorten the life. When in storage, flooded batteries will self-discharge around 10%-15% per month. Gel and AGM self-discharge around 1% to 3% per month. So many batteries need frequent charging while in storage. Lithium can be left at 20% to 90% for months

Starting batteries are designed to provide short bursts of high energy and almost instantly recharged. They suffer badly when deeply cycled. Stay with some type of quality deep-cycle battery. Avoid so called “Marine deep cycle” batteries that are maintenance-free. If you buy a cheap lead-acid battery for deep cycle use, expect to get 2-3 years. All batteries are NOT created equally. You are better off finding a lower cost Lithium battery on Amazon than a cheap AGM for example.

Pick up a couple of golf cart batteries (Examples are Trojan, Crown) and take care of them to get many years of service.

Marc

In my younger years I worked for interstate battery, rebuilding and installing industrial forklift batteries. I can vouch for what Marc K said regarding SLA battery plates and discharge. We would pull plates, replace them, refill and run discharge/charge cycles. Having visited facilities where the batteries are made, several brands are made in one factory, they just put different stickers on them. I helped my dad install a solar system for a pond diffuser. Solar panel, controller, inverter and deep cycle battery that all fits in a nice box. All for $200 (I did give him my 5 yr old trolling motor battery). The components are so cheap these days, I’d definitely go that route than spend $300 or more on a gel cell or other expensive batteries.

Great info! Thanks. I learned something from ya.

I have a deep cycle marine battery at the front gate, for the gate opener. It’s old, and I don’t even know how old it is. More than 5 years, and maybe 10. The solar charger is a good bit older than that.

Yep, solar can do a great job of keeping that evil sulfation at bay! The trick is to have a good ratio of panel size to battery size so that it does get to 100% charge.

https://www.vatrerpower.com/product...h_8p6qlEcUDB58rUN2kyMcHM-jnBNu5itdmNnNYM


Or Dakota has they have 10 year warranty vs Vatrer’s 5 year