Construction a battery-electric vehicle - part 2The plan called for 24 deep cycle, luxurious output, 6 Volt golf barrow batteries. Each battery weighs about 60 pounds, so he had over 1400 pounds of battery to 
of like a fraternity house) and I've started messing with tripe like adding another deep cycle battery and picking up a solar panel and accompanying supplies. 
Chuong's Pick: Plantronics Exploration 975--When Form and Function MeldIt'd be discriminative if Plantronics also included a car charger, but with a charging case that already provides two full charging cycle that may be overkill. 
difference between regular battery charger and deep cycle charger.?
The two types of chargers you mention are not quite accurate.
A deep cycle BATTERY can be safely discharged to 50% of its rated capacity (in Amp Hours) while in use. (Other poster is incorrect - discharging batteries to 0% will kill them quickly)
To bring the battery back up from 50% to 100%, there are a couple ways:
1) Using a standard (old fashioned) battery charger, which simply applies a voltage (at a rated current) to the battery constantly to bring it up. This is often called a "bulk" charger and works well to bring the battery up cheaply. BUT... these chargers cause damage to the battery once the battery is fully charged. They aren't "smart" and don't turn off the applied current when the battery is fully charged. Because of this, they "cook" the batteries.
or...
2) Using a smart charger, which is the best way to charge a battery. A smart charger has 3 stages of charging (bulk, absorbtion and float). Bulk charging works like the above old fashioned charger. However, once the batteries reach various states of charge (almost full and totally full), the smart charger accounts for this by changing the amps and voltage of the energy it is putting into the battery. Once fully charged, the "smart charger" or "three stage charger" will taper off its power to the battery, resulting in a battery that is protected from over charging.
If you have expensive deep cycle batteries (like I do - Trojan T-105 batteries), it is well worth it to invest in a smart charger. (also called a three stage charger)
What you are calling a "deep cycle charger" is probably more accurately called a 3 stage or smart charger. If it does not work like mentioned above (with the 3 stages), it is NOT a good charger for deep cycle batteries. Don't buy it.
A deep cycle BATTERY can be safely discharged to 50% of its rated capacity (in Amp Hours) while in use. (Other poster is incorrect - discharging batteries to 0% will kill them quickly)
To bring the battery back up from 50% to 100%, there are a couple ways:
1) Using a standard (old fashioned) battery charger, which simply applies a voltage (at a rated current) to the battery constantly to bring it up. This is often called a "bulk" charger and works well to bring the battery up cheaply. BUT... these chargers cause damage to the battery once the battery is fully charged. They aren't "smart" and don't turn off the applied current when the battery is fully charged. Because of this, they "cook" the batteries.
or...
2) Using a smart charger, which is the best way to charge a battery. A smart charger has 3 stages of charging (bulk, absorbtion and float). Bulk charging works like the above old fashioned charger. However, once the batteries reach various states of charge (almost full and totally full), the smart charger accounts for this by changing the amps and voltage of the energy it is putting into the battery. Once fully charged, the "smart charger" or "three stage charger" will taper off its power to the battery, resulting in a battery that is protected from over charging.
If you have expensive deep cycle batteries (like I do - Trojan T-105 batteries), it is well worth it to invest in a smart charger. (also called a three stage charger)
What you are calling a "deep cycle charger" is probably more accurately called a 3 stage or smart charger. If it does not work like mentioned above (with the 3 stages), it is NOT a good charger for deep cycle batteries. Don't buy it.