Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneilkeys
That's really interesting and significant. I read thru the User Guide and they say nothing about not routinely discharging below 40 or 50%. Everything I have read (see below for an example) says that a deep cycle battery will last up to twice as long if you do not routinely discharge it below 50%. If Trojan stands behind its ability to routinely discharge its battery down to 20%, that gives you 30% more amp hours that you can use before you have to turn on your generator. I think I would get Trojan to confirm that before I did it, but it would be a good reason to buy Trojan batteries.
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In my opinion battery cycle life is not a black-and-white issue. You are always going to get more cycles if you don't discharge them as much -- that's a given. Manufacturers haver charts which estimate how many cycles we can expect based on repeated discharges to different levels.
If prolonging battery life (in cycles) was only measure, then we should install a lot more batteries and discharge each less amount. But initial cost would be much higher, which begs the question whether it's better to have less battery capacity and replace them more often?
There has to be an optimum balance depending on total cost, functionality, convenience, etc. The 50% number (or even range of 40 to 60%) seems to be a good all around number many feel comfortable with and recommend. I can't believe that there is just one "right" answer for everyone considering how many variables there are.
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