BUYERS’ GUIDE: 4X4 BATTERIES
TO LEARN THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF 4X4 BATTERIES, WE CHAT TO THE INDUSTRY’S EXPERTS.
UNLIKE the average tarmac-dwelling motorist, a 4x4 adventurer requires a more sophisticated battery setup. For those lured by dirt and remote campsites, a capable cranking battery that’ll reliably fire an engine into life is essential, as is a unit that’ll power a host of campsite essentials for days on end: fridges, lighting, charging docks for the kids’ phones and laptops … the list goes on.
Obviously a stock starting battery isn’t going to have the required juice to start a vehicle and power campsite electrics – cranking batteries are designed to provide short bursts of energy.
Enter the deep-cycle battery. Rather than provide short, strong bursts of power, a deep-cycle battery instead provides consistent power for longer, and they’re ideally used as an auxiliary battery in tandem with the main starting battery, as they’re great for
powering campsite accessories for lengthy periods while the starting battery snoozes.
TYPES AND SIZES
ESSENTIALLY there are three types of batteries used on the 4x4 scene: starting batteries, dual-purpose batteries (a mixture of starting and semi-cycling abilities) and pure deep-cycle batteries. A quality starting battery, as John Kilby, Century Yuasa Batteries’ national training manager, told us, must be able to cope with “excessive under-bonnet temperatures, continuous vibration and repeated impact from rough and uneven outback roads”.
A dual-purpose battery dabbles in both worlds; it provides enough oomph to fire an engine into life and it can power campsite accessories, provided the 4x4 it’s installed in is on the
MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE TURNING TO LITHIUM AS A SOLUTION
move every couple of days and the workload is light when the engine isn’t running.
Pure deep-cycle batteries are built for long-term remote adventure, where you can kick back at camp with cold beers, charged electronic equipment and a dormant starting battery – when optimised with a dual-battery setup, of course.
CHEMISTRY LESSON
LEAD ACID (FLOODED BATTERIES): The lead is pasted to a plate inside the battery and these are immersed in a battery fluid (electrolyte), which is a mixture of sulphuric acid and water. There are two types of flooded battery available: Low Maintenance, which provides the ability to top-up the battery fluid; and Sealed Maintenance Free (SMF). The term SMF is used when this type of flooded battery is in a container that is sealed and the fluid is unable to be topped up.
AGM (ABSORBED GLASS MAT): In an AGM battery the electrolyte solution is absorbed into glass mat microfibres that are compressed against the plates so there is no loose electrolyte.
GEL: In a Gel battery the electrolyte solution is immobilised in a chemical agent called silica that adheres to the battery plates. Again, there is no loose electrolyte.
A LITHIUM FUTURE
THANKS to their light weight, quicker recharge times and their ability to produce more cycles, lithium batteries are fast becoming all the rage. But what is the difference between a typical Lead Acid battery and a lithium battery, and why are more and more people turning to lithium as a solution? Sealed Performance Batteries is an Australian distributor of Lithium LIFEPO4 deep-cycle batteries built for heavy-duty 4x4 use, so we asked marketing manager Callen Price to shed some light on the topic.
“The main difference in the technologies is the base material utilised for the batteries,” he explained. “Both lead acid and lithium contain the standard battery component which includes a cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte; however, lead acid batteries utilise lead for the cathode and anode plates which make them inherently very heavy.
“LIFEPO4 utilise LIFEPO4 as the cathode and graphite carbon for the anode which make the batteries less than half the weight of the lead acid equivalent. The other large difference is that, with lead acid batteries, a chemical reaction is undertaken during the charge and recharge cycle; whereas with LIFEPO4 a transfer of ions is undertaken, which greatly increases the cycle life of LIFEPO4 batteries to a point of up to eight times that of lead acid battery.”
Prepare to pay more for the privilege though, with lithium batteries notably more expensive (often five to six times the cost) of lead acid equivalents – although, with their extended running life, a lithium battery can end up being cheaper in the long run. In addition, as lithium batteries are a relatively infant technology they can’t be installed under the bonnet (for overheating reasons). However, they are safe to install inside the cabin or tray.
DUALITY
TWO IS better than one, surely? While running two batteries mightn’t be essential for every 4x4 application, it sure does make off-road life a hell of a lot easier. By using a starter battery in tandem with an auxiliary deep-cycle battery, you can (almost) guarantee you won’t wake up to a flat battery and/or warm beers in the morning.
“A dual-battery system is in itself not essential, for its primary purpose allows the use of creature comforts,” Denis Dwyer, branch manager at Piranha Off Road, told us. “But the secondary gain is that it adds a safety net while in the outback to prevent you from flattening your starting battery; it even acts as a back-up battery if your starting battery should suffer a premature failure.”
Callen Price reiterated that sentiment: “There are two main reasons to have a dual-battery system. One is to run extra equipment like fridges and lights while the 4x4 is not running as the starting battery alone is not designed for those applications. The second is to have the ability to jump-start your vehicle if the main start battery either fails or is flat.”
How much electrical charge, or amps, a battery features is also important. For the average weekender, a deep-cycle battery with 80 to 100amp/h is common.
“The camping and 4x4 lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular, though, and with this popularity people are finding themselves staying away from the hustle and bustle for longer periods at a time,” Kahlan Cester from Redarc said. “In order to achieve this freedom, people are moving up to 120, 170, and 200amp/h deep-cycle batteries, with upgrades to LIFEPO4 (Lithium) batteries rising at an exponential rate.”
“A DUAL-BATTERY SYSTEM IS IN ITSELF NOT ESSENTIAL, FOR ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE ALLOWS THE USE OF CREATURE COMFORTS”
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
IT’S VITAL to buy 4x4 batteries and accessories that are designed, manufactured and tested in Australia, to be safe in the knowledge that they’ll survive the continent’s harsh and brutal conditions. With heat and vibration the biggest enemies of the 4x4 battery – two things commonly encountered on outback Aussie roads – it’s essential to swipe your credit card for a battery that has robust internal components, and one that can deal with the stress forced upon the plate system.
“Batteries gain extra support on the plate system via a plate lock at the bottom of the plates, which connect it to the case to give extra support,” Callen Price explained. “Others may encase the plate in a sleeve, which protects the plate from shorting the battery if the plate falls due to extreme driving.”
Price also explained AGM batteries contain a glass matting which compacts the plates together, and thus vibration on the plates is drastically reduced.
A STANDARD STARTING BATTERY SHOULD ONLY BE DISCHARGED TO ABOUT 80 PER CENT STATE OF CHARGE
As touched on, a key difference between a 4x4-specific battery and a starting battery is when comparing battery cycle life versus depth of discharge – how much you can drain the battery without affecting its ability to recover is capacity (80amp/h, 100amp/h, etc.).
“Generally speaking, a standard starting battery such as a maintenance-free lead acid battery should only be discharged to an approximate 80 per cent state of charge,” Kahlan Cester from Redarc said. “Discharging the battery further can cause one or more of the cells to fail to recover, meaning that it will no longer hold nominal voltage under load. A deep-cycle battery can maintain its advertised cycle life when drained to approximately 50 per cent.”
Once you’ve decided on a setup that suits your requirements, it’s time to ensure it’s maximised to work at its potential and that it’s protected from critical failure. The best way to do this is to utilise a Battery Management System (BMS).
“Outside of monitoring the battery’s status, Battery Management Systems also protect the battery from critical failure caused by over-charge and discharge, over-voltage, over-temperature, short circuit and misuse,” Callen Price from Sealed Performance Batteries said. “However, modern lithium batteries contain an internal BMS system which performs the same critical features as an external system but without the need to install costly equipment. In fact, the internal BMS found on these batteries can connect to your phone via a free app, which allows you to wirelessly monitor your battery and its status.”
A complete Battery Management System can also advise tourers on the most economical ways to use a system and accessories, “so that you can continue your journey without worrying about potential flat batteries,” added Redarc’s Kahlan Cester.
WHAT’S THE IDEAL SET-UP?
OPTIMISING a set-up, like most aspects of the 4x4 lifestyle, comes down to intended purpose. If you don’t spend days on end relying on battery power to charge your accessories, then your set-up doesn’t need to include a state-of-the-art deep-cycle battery, solar panels and generators. It’s important to remember that a battery regenerates its power via the vehicle’s alternator – the more often you’re on the road, the more recycled charge your battery will receive – which is why the amount of time you spend sitting at camp using the battery to power electronics is critical.
“Reliability and safety are key for remote-area travel, and a system should be designed for the loads it will need to supply and its ability to be recharged,” Callen Price from Sealed Performance Batteries said.
“The ideal system is one that has been designed around your loads and your ability to charge the system. If you are travelling for short periods (and once a year) you may want to look at an AGM. However, if you are going for longer trips where the battery will be used for long periods of time, and doing this at least twice a year, you might want to consider a lithium battery.”
John Kilby from Century Yuasa added that pairing a
THE CHALLENGE FOR THE AFTERMARKET IS TO MAXIMISE THE LIMITED SPACE THAT’S AVAILABLE IN MOST MODERN ENGINE BAYS
quality starting battery with an equally good deep-cycle battery is ideal: “The combination of a good staring battery gives you the reliability of starting the vehicle each morning, while a deep-cycle battery takes care of all the accessories,” he said. “Having these batteries isolated from each other is added insurance; in the event that the accessories over-discharge the battery, you will still be able to start the vehicle.”
Combining a battery set-up with related aftermarket kit – solar panels and generators, for example – can also elongate campsite retreats, by relieving the burden put upon your batteries, as Kahlan Cester from Redarc explained.
“If you are not driving between locations, you want to prevent having to run your car all day just to make up for any power you lost overnight running your fridge and lights. There are two ways to overcome this,” he said. “This first method is to bring a generator with you, relying on running this during the day or overnight to maintain your battery. This is continually costing money whilst in use, takes up valuable storage space, and makes plenty of noise.
“The second option for extending your remote camping is via solar power. Having a permanent or portable solar power source is a silent way to recharge your battery bank and is a one-time cost. The sun hasn’t been taxed or metered yet…”
INSTALLATION
IF deciding to plonk that all-important second battery in your engine bay, you’re going to need to find somewhere to install it – not easy due to overcrowded bays – and something to attach it to.
“The challenge is always finding the real estate to actually locate the auxiliary battery and mounting tray,” explained Piranha’s Denis Dwyer. “The under-bonnet area continues to become more crowded as technology increases, plus the trend for modern cars is to become smaller and lighter.
“This is reflected in the actual internal panel work which means weight becomes a real factor as does the engineering to locate a tray that the manufacturer never expected to allow for.”
The challenge for the aftermarket is to maximise the limited space that’s available in most modern engine bays. A tricky job that’s best left to the experts.
“Compared to past years there are less vehicles that fall into the DIY category, and moving forward with current trends will be even less in a few years’ time. With modern design vehicles, there is peace of mind in having a qualified workshop carry out the install,” Dwyer said.
Piranha Off Road, for example, sells and installs a range of battery trays designed specifically to suit most four-wheel drives currently on the market. When asked if a second battery underbonnet installation is a DIY possibility, Dwyer told us that it’s getting harder and harder as each year passes.
“Compared to past years, there are fewer vehicles that fall into the DIY category,” he said. “Moving forward with current trends, there will be even less in a few years’ time.”