Auxiliary battery help

[macrain13]

I want to add an additional battery to power any aux equipment. Basically lights and maybe a radio. I would just rather not eat into my power supply that runs the buggy. I have a 99txt and have enough room under the seat on the driver side for an additional battery. Not a huge battery but a decent size one. My question is, what do I need to look for in a deep cycle battery to run LED lights and possibly a standard radio setup? I've seen several different types and sizes of deep cycle batteries at Walmart and bass pro, but not sure their applications. I know I don't need cranking amps, but that's about all I know.

Thanks for the help.

[kernal]

The solution I picked was a 35ah 12v glass mat deep cycle battery. Doesn't require maintenance and can be mounted in different ways tho it fits nicely in front of the rear wheel on the drivers side. I mounted it using a generic battery hold down from an auto parts store. Weighs about 20lbs and is considerably smaller than a marine deep cycle battery. Cost about $85 at Batteries+. Harbor Freight sells a similar battery they advertise for solar storage. I charge it (about once a month) with a $30 battery maintainer from Walmart which could be mounted in the cart but I chose not to.

I run the carts lights and an amp and speakers for a MP3 sound system with an ipod or phone as the audio source. I can run this all day without overtasking the battery, however, if your intent is to power a large amp with subwoofers and/or lots of 12v accessories this battery may not have enough amp storage for your needs.

[Xact1]

kernel,

I'm interested in your battery choice.

Can you post a picture of the battery so that we can see it?

[kernal]

Originally Posted by Xact1

kernel,

I'm interested in your battery choice.

Can you post a picture of the battery so that we can see it?

It is a battery like these: http://www.batteriesplus.com/product...sporter/1.aspx

[Gonkulor]

Originally Posted by macrain13

I want to add an additional battery to power any aux equipment. Basically lights and maybe a radio. I would just rather not eat into my power supply that runs the buggy. I have a 99txt and have enough room under the seat on the driver side for an additional battery. Not a huge battery but a decent size one. My question is, what do I need to look for in a deep cycle battery to run LED lights and possibly a standard radio setup? I've seen several different types and sizes of deep cycle batteries at Walmart and bass pro, but not sure their applications. I know I don't need cranking amps, but that's about all I know.

Thanks for the help.

Mac if your only running some LED then even a lawn tractor 12 battery would do you fine. Any choice you make you will have to be vigilant on charging. If it's parked it should be on a charger.

The reality is no one really knows what will be the best battery for you, but you. It all depends on what you are going to install as far accessories. If you only do a radio and LED lights than a Sams club, walmart battery will be fine. Please remember how the battery will bounce around as you drive and it needs to be secured somehow.

[macrain13]

Thanks, I ordered a pair of the 27w high intensity LED offroad lights and a couple of the same type lights in the 1w single LED for cargo lights. That's ill be running right now, I'll add a radio in the spring, no amp or anything, just standard radio.
That's all I can imaging ill be using. So I'm gonna shoot for one of those smaller glass mat deep cycle batteries.

[seamanschad]

I'm new to the site an just read posting an wondering what battery you went with? Cause I'm doing same setup but subwoofer also

[macrain13]

Well for now, I just went with a small 12v riding lawnmower battery. The only accessories I currently have are two offroad driving lights and two bed/cab dome lights. All the lights are high intensity LED so they don't require much power. The battery was about $25 at Walmart and I've ran the lights for a few hours with no problems. I have a small battery maintainer/charger that I use to charge it. I'll consider going bigger when I add anything else.

[Amgclubcar087]

Originally Posted by kernal

The solution I picked was a 35ah 12v glass mat deep cycle battery. Doesn't require maintenance and can be mounted in different ways tho it fits nicely in front of the rear wheel on the drivers side. I mounted it using a generic battery hold down from an auto parts store. Weighs about 20lbs and is considerably smaller than a marine deep cycle battery. Cost about $85 at Batteries+. Harbor Freight sells a similar battery they advertise for solar storage. I charge it (about once a month) with a $30 battery maintainer from Walmart which could be mounted in the cart but I chose not to.

I run the carts lights and an amp and speakers for a MP3 sound system with an ipod or phone as the audio source. I can run this all day without overtasking the battery, however, if your intent is to power a large amp with subwoofers and/or lots of 12v accessories this battery may not have enough amp storage for your needs.

Hello, just wondering here. Do you or anyone else know How could I tie this into the cart so I can have it can charge without charging itself separately? Or connect it somewhere.
Just curious if you had another way

[bronsonj]

Originally Posted by Amgclubcar087

Hello, just wondering here. Do you or anyone else know How could I tie this into the cart so I can have it can charge without charging itself separately?

I mounted two chargers onboard. One for my 12V and one for my big battery. The chargers and a 120V AC Relay all take power from a 120v plug that replaced my old charge receptacle. The power from the two chargers run to different contacts on the multi-contact relay, then on to the batteries. When the system gets 120v, everything powers on and connects. When the system is unplugged the chargers are electrically disconnected from the batteries because of the relay.

This setup has been working well for me for about a year now. Just a single extension cord and everything charges.

--- edit ---
Also of note, the original thread is from 2012. So you are not likely to get any responses from the OP.