Battery maintenance
We have two 6 V deep cycle Interstate golf cart batteries. We use our RV sporadically throughout the entire year. Is it okay for deep cycle batteries to sit unused for two or more months at a time? Ou...
Forum Discussion
An email response from Interstate said that the life of a deep cycle battery will depend upon how much discharge occurs in each cycle.
100% deep cycle = approx. 300+ cycles
50% deep cycle = approx. 1000+ cycles
25% deep cycle = approx. 2200+ cycles
So, unlike cell phone batteries that do best with nearly complete discharging, deep cycle golf cart batteries will last longer with less discharge - over three times longer when dropping to 50% vs 100 percent.
Interstate also reinforced the idea that sitting for any period of time completely discharged is very hard on a battery.
It is also possible that our batteries were prematurely aged when we purchased the RV. The dealer was located in an area that has very hot summers, with many days over 100°. If the RV dealer did not keep the charge up in that hot weather, the batteries were doomed to begin with.
100% deep cycle = approx. 300+ cycles
50% deep cycle = approx. 1000+ cycles
25% deep cycle = approx. 2200+ cycles
So, unlike cell phone batteries that do best with nearly complete discharging, deep cycle golf cart batteries will last longer with less discharge - over three times longer when dropping to 50% vs 100 percent.
Interstate also reinforced the idea that sitting for any period of time completely discharged is very hard on a battery.
It is also possible that our batteries were prematurely aged when we purchased the RV. The dealer was located in an area that has very hot summers, with many days over 100°. If the RV dealer did not keep the charge up in that hot weather, the batteries were doomed to begin with.
