I'm in the design phase of battery sizing, solar etc and got an interesting email from a Lifeline distributor.  Some of the  items are user controllable and others are design and equipment. Any comments / observations?

Lifeline forwarded your inquiry to me for response. (We are a Master Distributor for them)

Unfortunately, the only data available for depth or discharge vs. cycles is the graph that you already have. We sell 3,000 to 4,000 of their batteries per year and we see FAR more battery failures caused by other factors including:

1)      Chronic undercharging. This includes:

-          Charging voltage being too low

-          Not enough charging time to get to 100%

-          Charging voltages not properly temperature compensated

-          Undersized charging system (should be 20% of battery bank capacity for deep cycle applications

-          Allowing battery bank to sit at low voltage levels for long periods of time

2)      Exposure to elevated temperatures for extended periods