Fred and Richard,
>
> > Is there any reason why "starting gas recombinant" batteries are
> twice the
> > price of "deep cycle" ?
> >
> > Richard
>
> I suspect production volume. Besides a few people building airplanes
> where a few pounds count, the only other good application I've seen
> for RG starting batteries is for an emergency starting power pack you
> keep in the trunk of the car. Last one I saw for sale was
> deep-discounted in our local "closeouts" store! Deep cycle batteries
> are common in a bunch of stuff.
I do not concur : the recombinant gas technology has been developped for the
computer uninterruptible power supplies, and is largely spread. On the
contrary, deep cycle batteries are now confined to traction duties. I seem
to remember there are only two manufacturers remaining in the world.
You'll have difficulties in finding specific "starting batteries" : the
beste batteries for our applications are UPS batteries with large cranking
current ability.
For instance the Hawker SBS batteries sold by Lyndhurst Touchdown are
recombinant gas floating batteries. But their scranking current is circa 400
amps for the SBS 8 and 600-800 amps for the SBS 15. Those batteries perform
very well with Rotax engines.
The SBS 8 cost 47 euros in France last year. They are manufactured in GB.
Panasonic and Yuasa also make satisfactory models. Not forgetting Odyssey.
Regards,
Gilles Thesee
Grenoble, France
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