Batteries

Regarding Batteries for the AX2550HE:

What is the difference between the robot Lead-acid batteries at say Robot Marketplace and the average 12V car battery? Cannot the average car battery dump 140A for a short time?

Also, in our case, the AX2550 will be used for a robotic crane on top of a car: would it be a really bad idea to use the car's alternator to charge/maintain the 3 or 4 series batteries?

Response from Tony Santoni:

There are two kind of batteries:

1 - Automotive Crank Batteries. They are the ones in every automobile.
They are constantly being charged, can put out huge current for a
fraction of a minute. They are used intermittently and do not handle
many deep discharge cycles.

2 - Deep discharge batteries, also called Electric Vehicle batteries.
They supply a moderate current for long time until discharged and can
be recharged many times.

Depending on your use you may need one or the other. If you choose a
crank battery (very large current out) remember to keep it always
fully charged and not to drain it completely, or it will not survive
many recharges.

Connecting the alternator to an auxiliary battery is tricky; voltages
need to match and generally a power diode is required to isolate the
auxiliary from the crank battery.

You best source would be an automotive shop selling accessories for an
auxiliary 24 Volt battery for RV's, used for RV air conditioning,
refrigerator etc. They come with schematics, mounting instructionns
and all accessories.

--
Tony Santoni