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Using Automotive Batteries

I am building a ride on tractor for my kids and was looking at using 2 24volt 500 watt motors to power each axle.  I was wondering if there is a difference in using car batteries compared to the batteries sold on this page.  What would be the difference?

Thanks for your help 

Car batteries are designed for delivering high amounts of power for short amounts of time, so they have thick lead plates to accomplish this. That makes them not a good choice for a small electric powered vehicles which draw low amounts of power for long amounts of time. Car batteries will wear out and not last very long if used in this manner. If you already have a couple of used car batteries laying around there is no harm in using them, but I would not recommend buying new ones because they are expensive and would not last very long.

The type of batteries needed for a small electric vehicle are deep cycle batteries, which have thin lead plates and are designed to deliver low amounts of power for long amounts of time. These type of batteries are designed for relatively low power draw and long run times and will last a long time under these conditions. Deep cycle batteries are most commonly used for electric scooters and bikes, mobility power chairs, and boat trolling motors. They range in size from small 3 pound 5Ah batteries all the way up to big and heavy 88 pound 135Ah batteries.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.



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