A deep cycle battery is built to be drained most of the way and recharged, day after day. A car's starting battery is built for short, high bursts instead. That steady output is why deep cycle batteries run forklifts and pallet jacks, golf cars, scissor lifts, floor scrubbers, trolling motors, RV house systems and off-grid solar banks.
Deep cycle is one of the few battery types still made from start to finish in the United States. The makers listed here mix their own lead oxide, paste and form their own plates, and assemble the batteries in their own plants. East Penn and U.S. Battery also run their own oxide mills, and East Penn recycles spent batteries on site. The lithium versions these companies sell are a different story, as each listing notes.
See also lead acid batteries, lithium batteries, battery chargers and solar, or browse all batteries.
More types in this section ↓
Deka is the motive power line from East Penn Manufacturing, the family-owned battery maker in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It makes forklift and material-handling batteries for every electric lift truck class. The flooded lead-acid series includes D-Series, Hydrasaver (watering about every ten weeks), Maxpowr, Maintenance Saver and Fastcharge. The maintenance-free Deka Ready Power line comes in Flo-Gel lead or lithium iron phosphate. Gel-Mate and Powr-Mate packs have built-in chargers that plug into a 120-volt outlet. Deka also sells conventional, opportunity and fast chargers.
East Penn's 520-acre Lyon Station campus has more than 3 million square feet of buildings. It holds a dedicated motive power battery plant, two oxide facilities, an EPA-permitted lead smelter and refinery, and injection-molding plants for cases and covers. Spent batteries are recycled on site, about 30,000 a day.
Made in: Lyon Station, PA (lead and gel batteries: oxide, plates, cases, assembly and recycling); Ann Arbor, MI (Ready Power lithium, built by East Penn's majority-owned Navitas Systems).
Bought in: lithium cells for the Ready Power lithium packs.
Source: East Penn facilities, 2026 · East Penn motive power, 2026 · East Penn/Navitas release, 2019, checked 10/2026
Lyon Station, PA
Lifeline is Concorde Battery Corporation's marine and RV brand. It makes sealed AGM (absorbed glass mat) deep cycle batteries in 2-, 6- and 12-volt sizes from the GPL-24T to the GPL-8DL and L16, plus AGM starting batteries and TB-series racing batteries. Lifeline says its batteries are "manufactured entirely by hand, from start to finish and built to Military Specifications." They use the same aircraft-class cell construction and processes as Concorde's aviation batteries.
Concorde makes its own lead-oxide paste. It fully seals the edges of the polyethylene separators and runs the intercell welds over the top of the partitions so every weld can be inspected. Lifeline batteries are standard equipment on EarthRoamer expedition vehicles and are supplied to US military branches. The line also includes a 12V 128Ah LiFePO4 GC2 drop-in with Bluetooth monitoring.
Made in: West Covina, CA (Concorde's AGM plant: paste, plates, cell building and assembly). Sales and distribution are run from San Dimas, CA and North Carolina.
Bought in: the Lifeline Lithium LiFePO4 battery and its cells.
Source: Lifeline marine batteries, 2026 · Lifeline home, 2026 · Concorde Battery, 2026, checked 10/2026
West Covina, CA
Sun Xtender is Concorde Battery Corporation's line of sealed AGM deep cycle batteries for solar and renewable energy, made since 1987. The 2v, 6v and 12-volt models serve off-grid homes, grid-tied backup, solar street lights and smart-grid storage. They use pure lead-calcium grids with plates thicker than the industry standard, and a low-impedance design that accepts high in-rush charge current.
Sun Xtender batteries are built by the same staff as Concorde's aircraft and military batteries, under an ISO 9001 + AS9100 aerospace quality system. Concorde calls itself the largest maker of valve-regulated lead-acid batteries for commercial and military aircraft.
Made in: West Covina, CA (hand-built at Concorde's plant on West San Bernardino Road).
Source: Sun Xtender products, site ©2017 · Sun Xtender technical, site ©2017 · Concorde Battery, 2026, checked 10/2026
West Covina, CA
U.S. Battery Manufacturing Co. has made deep cycle batteries since 1926 and marked its 100th year in July 2026. It makes flooded lead-acid and AGM batteries for golf cars and utility vehicles, scissor lifts and aerial work platforms, floor scrubbers and sweepers, marine and RV, renewable energy and backup power. It also sells the Essential Li line of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) deep cycle batteries.
U.S. Battery runs its own oxide mills, a step most battery makers buy in. The Augusta mill was built in 2008 and the Corona mill was expanded in 2015. Augusta added a formation room in 2012 and the new Line 4 production line in 2021. U.S. Battery has owned a battery plate company since 1975.
Made in: Augusta, GA (oxide, plates, formation and assembly); Corona, CA (headquarters and oxide mill); Evans, GA (listed facility, originally built for golf car batteries).
Bought in: Essential Li lithium batteries (the 2026 safety data sheet lists U.S. Battery as distributor).
Source: U.S. Battery about, 2026 · U.S. Battery 100th, 2026 · Essential Li SDS, 2026, checked 10/2026
Corona, CA
Deep cycle battery makers by state
- California: Concorde Battery (West Covina), Lifeline marine and RV AGM batteries
- California: Concorde Battery (West Covina), Sun Xtender solar AGM batteries
- California and Georgia: U.S. Battery (Corona; Augusta and Evans, GA), flooded and AGM batteries for golf cars, lifts and floor machines
- Pennsylvania: East Penn (Lyon Station), Deka forklift and material-handling batteries
Flooded, AGM, gel or lithium
Flooded lead-acid batteries are the lowest-cost choice per amp-hour and the most forgiving of rough charging. They need watering and ventilation and must sit upright. Golf car fleets and forklift operations still run on them. Designs like Deka's Hydrasaver stretch watering out to about every ten weeks.
AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries hold their acid in fiberglass mats. They're sealed, spill-proof, need no watering and handle vibration well, which suits boats, RVs and solar banks. They cost more than flooded batteries and need a charger with an AGM setting.
Gel batteries thicken the acid into a gel. Deka's Ready Power Gel and Gel-Mate lines use it for maintenance-free forklift and pallet jack batteries.
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries weigh about half as much, can use nearly all of their rated capacity and last more cycles. They cost much more up front and need a lithium-compatible charger. Most LFP cells are made overseas. Check each listing's "Bought in" line.
Choosing a deep cycle battery
- Match the group size and voltage. Golf cars and floor machines use 6-, 8- and 12-volt batteries in series. RVs and boats commonly use group 24, 27, 31, 4D, 8D or GC2. Solar banks often use 2-volt or 6-volt cells for larger capacity.
- Compare amp-hours at the same rate. Ratings are usually given at the 20-hour rate. A battery drained faster delivers fewer amp-hours.
- Look at cycle life at your depth of discharge. Lead-acid batteries last much longer when regularly drained to 50% than to 80% or more.
- Use the right charger. Flooded, AGM, gel and lithium each need their own charge profile. The wrong one shortens battery life.
- Plan for recycling. Lead-acid batteries are almost entirely recyclable, and most sellers take old ones back. East Penn processes about 30,000 spent batteries a day at Lyon Station.
Reading "Made in USA" on deep cycle batteries
Under FTC rules, an unqualified "Made in USA" claim means all or virtually all of the product is made here. A lead-acid battery whose oxide, plates and assembly are done in a US plant can meet that standard even if some raw lead or separators are bought on the world market. A lithium pack assembled here from imported cells can't. At most it can carry a qualified claim such as "Assembled in USA with imported cells." When a battery brand sells both chemistries, the claim on the lead-acid line doesn't carry over to the lithium line. Check where each product is actually made.
Know a USA-made company we missed?
If a company makes its products in the USA and is not listed, send us its website.
Add your site
Disclosures
Company names, logos and website previews belong to their owners and appear here only to identify the companies listed. If you own a listing and want an image changed or the listing removed, please contact us.
This site takes part in the Amazon Associates program and other affiliate programs, so some links earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
* This site does not have any relationship, business or personal, with any of the manufacturers listed. Our only affiliations are with the affiliate programs described above.
A company may be based in the USA while making some products elsewhere. Check the manufacturer's own site for where a specific product is made.
