Amp Hour Test

There seems to be allot of confusion about how to rate batteries, and what each battery can do.  The following link is to an "Amp Hour Test" you can run on a battery in order to get the true specs.
http://www.instructables.com/id/AmpHourTest/

Amp Hour is the amount of amps each battery can output for 1 hour before it is exhausted.  So, if a battery is rated at 55 AH (Amp Hours) it can output 55 amps for 1 hour.

One thing to keep in mind is that for any kind of EV (Electric Vehicle) you need a deep cycle battery, that way you don't damage the battery by excessive discharge, or draining the battery below a set voltage.  They also maintain their voltage for a longer period of time.

Many are using Deep Cycle Auto Batteries, such as
http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/#deepyellowspecs
You see here that each one has a rated Amp Hour, and a size/weight.  Compare that to
http://www.sunxtender.com/xtender_main.php

These batteries are rated for solar, wind, or hydro generation.  They are Deep Cycle, but have a higher rating in AH then is available in a normal Deep Cycle Auto or Marine application.

We are looking at 2 batteries, 1
http://www.sunxtender.com/solarbattery.php?id=7
it has 108 AH and weighs in at 70Lbs, for a total weight of 280 Lbs.
The other is the D31T From 1st Optima.
it has 75 AH and weighs in at 59.8 Lbs, for a total weight of 239.4 Lbs


So for a weight difference of 40.6 Lbs we can pickup an additional 33 AH, an extra 44% on our range.


I think the sunxtender is our battery of choice.