What Battery for my 12 V winch

[jteneyck]

I have a 12V winch that I occasionally use with my log mill to par buckle logs onto the mill. I'm also planning to use it rotate logs on the mill. The wince specs. say it needs a minimum 12 Ah battery. I used to use my backup sump pump battery but it died and I no longer need the battery operated sump pump since I got a whole house generator. I plan to replace that pump with a second AC pump. But I still need a battery for my winch. What type battery will last longer than the 2 - 3 years the sump pump batteries lasted? Those were typical golf cart type batteries and died with amazing regularity. There must be some type of battery that lasts longer than that. Thanks.

John

[cndamm]

I use a deep cycle battery for my boat and use a Battery Tender Jr. To keep it charged between uses. The current battery is 8 years old.

[jteneyck]

I had the same set up - deep cycle battery with a 2 amp battery tender. They lasted 2 - 3 years. The battery guy said lead acid batteries don't do well unless they are used. I have no clue if he is right but my experience suggests he might be. My back up sump never came on so the only time the battery was used was with the winch was was only a couple of times. So I'm wondering if there is another type of battery that will last a lot longer, or if I should just buy the smallest, cheapest battery that works and replace as needed.

John

[daddo]

Typically batteries are good for 3-4 years, but it depends on climate and percentage of discharge before recharging and not overcharging it.

Sitting with an unregulated 2amp charger can overcharge it and cause it to fail early. The charger should fall down to .5-1 amp (Or even stop charging) after the battery is fully charged.
You shouldn't drain the battery more than 65%-75% before recharging.

[jteneyck]

I used one of these from Sears with the first battery. When that died after what I thought was a very short life I switched to another brand, but the same idea. I think two more batteries have failed in a couple of years. I think at least one of them died from being overcharged, because I smelled sulfur and it was pretty warm.

Since I'm not going to need a battery for my sump pump anymore, would I be better off just letting the battery sit for a couple of months, charge it it up, let it sit, etc., than keeping a battery tender on it constantly? Or is there just a plain better type of battery? Another option that would work in most cases would be to get a 120V AC to 12 VDC transformer, large enough to handle the winch, and use a long extension cord. Any thoughts on that approach? The manual says the winch is 12V, needs a minimum 12 Ah battery, and is 1.5 HP at full load. My simple electrical skills says 1.5 HP x 760 W/HP = 1120 W, which means I'd need at least a 1 KVA transformer but I'm not sure if that's valid when mixing AC and DC.

Thanks,

John

[jlanciani]

How about just making up a longer cord with alligator clips and using your car/truck/lawn tractor/etc. battery as needed? Cheaper and easier than keeping a battery around and trying to keep it charged just for occasional use.

[jteneyck]

That's a good option whenever my car can get to the site where I'm milling. Honestly, that probably covers at least 80% of the times I'd need the winch, too, just like the AC transformer option would. A stand alone battery is a 100% solution, but may not be worth the hassles it seems to lead to. Thanks.

John

[daddo]

Anyone try a Lithium battery for something like this?