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Good thing it didn't leak. How are the johnson deep cycle batteries. They are pretty reasonable at costco. I need a new deep cycle battery and it is either a cheap costco one or a Trojan.
I'm using that Costco battery with a UPS. It runs my phone system, a VOIP adapter, and a Linux machine as well as a switch and a router for at least 2 hours. I've calculated it should last about 4.5 to 5 hours given it's a 15-amp load and the battery is an 85 amp-hour battery.
It's been floating at 13.8V for the last several months and I have seen no water loss.
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As far as automotive batteries, what about Lead-Antimony vs Lead-Calcium construction?
There are actually three kinds:
lead-calcium
lead-antimony
hybrid
Most are hybrid construction (from what I've read) with one lead-antimony plate and one lead-calcium plate. This cuts down on water loss compared to a battery that only uses lead-antimony plates.
The AC Delco batteries are apparently all lead-calcium which requires a higher charging voltage. GM vehicles, which come stock with these batteries, have a higher charging voltage than do Ford vehicles which come stock with a hybrid battery. The difference is about .4 volts. (Does anyone besides GM use lead-calcium batteries? Doesn't look like it based on what I've seen).
Supposedly using a hybrid battery in a GM vehicle will result in more water loss, but I have not seen any water loss in the battery I installed in my mom's car, which I installed in April. I suppose it's possible that it isn't a hybrid battery..after all, what besides a GM vehicle is a side terminal battery going to fit? So it might well be a lead-calcium battery like the AC Delco.
I don't think you'll find a lead-antimony car battery for sale anywhere--the deep-cycle batteries are apparently lead-antimony since this is better for that purpose. But they apparently use more water.
Although I'd think with a 13.8V float voltage on a lead-antimony deep cycle battery I'd see more water loss (13.4 volts is optimal from what I have read) I thought I'd have to add water once a month but apparently not. It looks like I may need to add water every 6 months if that.