Aux Battery questions

[tracemul7]

Hey Folks,

Looking to install a dual battery system in our Patrol - mainly for our fridge, and a few LED lights
But i have questions about batteries .....

- If we are using the 4x4 without anything connected to the Aux battery for 2-3 months between trips, is this bad for the Aux battery?
- Battery brands - are there any to avoid, or any that are recommended? We were looking at AGM batteries, but i hear they don't last well under the bonnet - is this right? We had looked at the Lifeline GPL-27T ($450 ish) - is the extra money likely to meaner longer life of the battery, or should we be looking at middle-of-the-range batteries?
- Any recommendations on dual battery kits? Rotronics, Redarc or Ctek are the ones we've been looking at.

Trace

[daz172]

I have an 105 amp deep cycle for my aux battery, not designed for cranking off infact too much of it will burn it out but if ur stuck somewhere and ur cranking battery has shit itself it's ok use every now n again but extremely good for running fridge and other accessories , and I'm just bout to put an all rounder in as my cranking battery with 760 cold crank and also being a deep cycle battery Aswell with 105amps, not sure how this will go yet but have been assured it's a good choice, I have an old school dual battery set up ATM with a manual isolator but am expecting a new dual battery system to arrive any day now it's the baintech 100 amp dual battery system and again not reAlly sure how it is going to be yet but have heard good things, but a lot of people r talking about the red arc dual battery system that is supposed to be good Aswell

[megatexture]

Personally I'd save some $ and go a mid range sealed batt instead of an agm especially if your only going to use it once a blue moon and put what you save into a better dcdc charger. I love my ctek unit:smile:

[tracemul7]

Thanks :)
What brand/model battery are you using?
Baintech was another we looked at - would be interested to know your feedback when it arrives!

Our main battery is less than a year old and was a replacement through the RAA when our old one died during a trip away. It has a 2 year warranty, so we'll be hanging on to that one for a while. Not sure what model/type it is, but it's bigger than the Aux battery will be, as it wouldn't fit in the space for the aux battery.

[tracemul7]

Personally I'd save some $ and go a mid range sealed batt instead of an agm especially if your only going to use it once a blue moon and put what you save into a better dcdc charger. I love my ctek unit:smile:
Just been looking at the Ctek dcdc - pretty impressed! :)

What brand/model batteries would you suggest to look at as a starting point for mid-range sealed battery?
Have looked at so many different ones i think my brain is going to explode!!

[my third 256]

have a look at cat batteries
https://commerce.cat.com/en/catcorp/batteries

[megatexture]

The last 3 batteries I've purchased were from all purpose batteries
I've got two of these in my trailer and a marine in the car http://www.allpurposebatteries.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=5

[kevin07]

I have a ctek 250s and a century deep cycle marine battery for the aux ctek you can buy now for 200 and that is a good price

[batesy]

Hi i have the Baintech 100amp isolator, been in for nearly 2 yrs now, no drama's.

[tracemul7]

So, to close off this thread, we're going with the Ctek 250s Dual (options to add solar panel at a later date) and going with the piranha battery tray.
Looking at Supercharge AllRounder MRV70 battery, or the Century equivalent :)