Can anyone recommend a good 12v battery pack?

[zommoz10]

Can anyone recommend a good battery pack for emergency power operation of a mobile transceiver? I'll be drawing like 14 amps (not continuously). Deep cycling, frequent charge/recharge cycles but also some long periods of non use.

The last one I got was designed to be a jumpstart kit ... made in china special from the local auto parts store. I liked that it was compact and had cig plugs and usb outlets but it didn't last long before it stopped working. Should I just get a real battery and a charger and just use that or are there any good jumpstart kits? Deep cycle batteries are very expensive right now but then again that holds a charge for a longer time.

[cbr900]

I run a Diehard Platinum P4 for my winch on my Jeep a lot of people will say go with Optima Yellow but the newer ones seem to have a lot of problems

http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinum-automotive-battery-group-size-34-78dt-price/p-02850090000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

[majorhavoc]

Can anyone recommend a good battery pack for emergency power operation of a mobile transceiver? I'll be drawing like 14 amps (not continuously). Deep cycling, frequent charge/recharge cycles but also some long periods of non use.

The last one I got was designed to be a jumpstart kit ... made in china special from the local auto parts store. I liked that it was compact and had cig plugs and usb outlets but it didn't last long before it stopped working. Should I just get a real battery and a charger and just use that or are there any good jumpstart kits? Deep cycle batteries are very expensive right now but then again that holds a charge for a longer time.

Perhaps a marine battery would a be a good choice for you. Deep cycle/discharge and the battery chemistry is designed for long periods of non-use (off season storage). They're on sale at Sears at the moment:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/automotive-batteries-marine-batteries/s-1100201?keyword=marine+battery&viewItems=25&autoRedirect=true&redirectType=CAT_REC_PRED

FYI: you may be able to harvest some of the components from your jumpstart kit to keep those cig plug/usb outlet capabilities you found so useful.

[KJ4VOV]

I think this link will have just what you're looking for.

http://www.powerportstore.com/

[Regulator]

If you don't want to lug around a full size battery check out the little gel cells the use in fire alarm systems. Heavy duty and dependable.

[TacAir]

I'll recommend a deep cycle marine battery with a charger sized to the battery. I assume this is for home use?

The Battery Store has a good selection of trickle chargers at decent price points. Talk with the staff, most know what they are taking aoout.

Good luck & 73

[coldshot]

I've got a couple of inexpensive 7.2 Ah SLA batteries with Anderson Powerpoles and a Watts Up and a trickle charger. They're always charged and they'll run my Yaesu 857D for a long time. They're small enough to put in a County Comm EOD bag. Buddipole makes a nice alarm with Powerpoles. It can be set to give visual and audible alerts at what ever voltage you set so that your batteries don't over-discharge. In my case, I set it to 11V since 10.5V is my cutoff.

[zommoz10]

so many options!!!

Thanks guys.

Portability would be nice. The smaller kits are convenient but going with a marine battery would have some pretty good advantages. I could use it with a 12v fridge when boondocking it offroad. I always thought it would be a good idea to have a backup battery. I don't anticipate needing to lug it around in a bag per se.

@ coldshot... what series tysonics are those?

[coldshot]

Not sure. Bought it from Powerwerx with my Powerpole stuff.

http://www.powerwerx.com/batteries-chargers/sealed-lead-acid-absorbent-glass-mat-battery.html

so many options!!!

Thanks guys.

Portability would be nice. The smaller kits are convenient but going with a marine battery would have some pretty good advantages. I could use it with a 12v fridge when boondocking it offroad. I always thought it would be a good idea to have a backup battery. I don't anticipate needing to lug it around in a bag per se.

@ coldshot... what series tysonics are those?

[nacho]

The 7.5AH SLA Gel Cells are great, I use them in several of my radio set ups, but this is for stuff that pulls 2-5A. If you need to pull 14A I'd just go with a deep cycle car battery.

[Redemption]

I know I'm in late but maybe someone else is looking too.
I've used an optima deep cycle (blue top marine) for 8-1/2 years now.
It outlived my first Jeep (as a starting battery) and it still starts my old Wrangler up daily.
We recently had a few bad storms in the area and had to go to battery power, I pulled this one from my Jeep and loaned it to another ham after his died.
I brought his home and charged it so it would be ready when he needed it, he didn't call me until the third day when he finally got it down too low. He was mostly monitoring on two base rigs, a mobile and a scanner, but he was talking too.
This thing is tough, I hope they haven't gone to crap now but they do have a decent warranty.