More Hi-lux surf questions....!

[clive05]

re; battery problems

HI.O.K WILL HAVE ANOTHER WORD WITH MY MECHANIC TOMORA,BOUT ORDERING 2 FULL ON BATTERIES.I'VE JUST BEEN EYING UP OPTIMA'S SUPER POWERED YELLOW TOP BATTERIES.THEY LOOK GREAT BUT NOT AT £150 EACH!
THEY SAY SOME ARE 'STARTER' BATTERIES AND OTHERS ARE 'DEEP CYCLE'.
I THINK I UNDERSTAND THE STARTER ONES ARE BETTER FOR STARTING UP CARS IN COLD WEATHER,OR IF LEFT PARKED UP FOR MONTHS,BUT I HAVENT A CLUE WHAT DEEP CYCLE MEANS.
THEY SELL RED TOP STARTER BATTERIES,AND YELLOW TOP DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES FOR BIG DIESEL THINGS LIKE TRACTORS.THEY ALSO STATE THAT A DEEP CYCLE BATTERY CAN DO BOTH JOBS -THAT IS ACT LIKE A STARTER BATTERY AND A DEEP CYCLE BATTERY AT ONCE.ALL VERY STRANGE AND CONFUSING. IF I GO FOR ONE OF THESE MORE EXPENSIVE SUPERIOR BATTERIES,WILL MY SURF SURVIVE ON JUST THE ONE? OR SHALL I GET TWO CHEAPER £50 ONES?
ALSO MY BATTERY HAS NO STRAP TO HOLD IT IN PLACE,ANY IDEA WHERE I CAN GET ONE,SORRY MAKE THAT TWO STRAPS-!
ANOTHER PROBLEM IS WHEN I HAD MY CAT 1 ALARM FITTED FOR INSURANCE COMPANY,THEY FITTED THE SIREN IN THE PASSENGER BATTERY BAY! OH THE HEADACHES CONTINUE...NOW I GOTTA TAKE IT BACK TO THE ALARM PEOPLE AND GET THEM TO MOVE IT UP OUT THE WAY,WHICH PROB WONT HAPPEN,AS THEY'VE CUT WIRES TO SPECIFIC LENGTHS.
THINK I MIGHT BE BETTER OFF RIDING MY PUSH BIKE AGAIN
I CHECKED THE TOP INSIDES OF MY BATTERY LEVELS,AND THEY ARE ABOUT HALF INCH DOWN FROM THE TOP,I DON'T KNOW THE CORRECT TOP-UP LEVEL! IS THIS NORMAL?!
YOUR INVALUABLE ADVISE IS PRICELESS,
THANKS CLIVE.

[woz]

So long as the electrolite level is above the plates you should be fine about 1/2-1/4 " is the norm. Only prob can be if you got silting in the base of the battery due to someone using tap as opposed to de mimerilised water. Either way 2 batteries is best option as it should spread the load and stop any plate buckle on the initial shunt load from the starter.

[clive05]

re; battery problems

O.K THANKS.WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO WIRE UP THE TWO BATTERIES,BOTH TOGETHER,OR ONE FOR ENGINE ELECTRICS,AND ONE FOR INTERIOR ELECTRICS-STEREO,LIGHTS ETC?

THANKS CLIVE.

[MattF]

Both batteries in parallel will give you the best current handling. You can use one as a leisure battery if you wish with a split charge relay. Your choice. Can you please turn your caps lock off, BTW.

[MattF]

Standard batteries are designed so that the voltage should be kept within certain limits. Deep discharge batteries are exactly that. Even if you discharge the battery to an extremely low voltage level, it will recover fine once on charge. A normal battery won't always recover if deeply discharged.

[Sancho]

Can you please turn your caps lock off, BTW.

Cheer up Matt, it's a sunny day.

[MattF]

Cheer up Matt, it's a sunny day.

What...? I was just mentioning it incase he hadn't noticed the rather loud and tooth jarring text he was posting in. Honestly.

[John h]

I'm on a single battery in my Hairdressers wagon and have just started with starting problems after the last cold spell so used some Bat-aid tablets from motosave and fingers crossed it is holding its charge ....for now