Years ago a mechanic friend of mine intentionally wanted to seize a Datsun engine by running it without oil (a long story). Took over 15 minutes, a lot longer than he expected. As a 16 yr old kid I inadverdently backed my Mom's '70 Mercury wagon off the ramps without oil while doing a lube job, probably about 20 seconds or so. No obvious harm at all. And through cumulative dry starts over an engine's life, it essentially runs many minutes without oil.
A deep cycle battery can provide a surge when needed, but nothing like the surge a car battery can. A deep cycle battery is also designed to be deeply discharged over and over again (something that would ruin a car battery very quickly). To accomplish this, a deep cycle battery uses thicker plates.
Selecting a battery can be confusing. While all will claim to be particularly well suited to a energy storage purpose, all deep cycle batteries are not created equal, even within their own type such as AGM, Gel or Sealed Lead Acid. As a deep cycle battery can be quite an investment, youâll want one that will last the distance. One of the ways to determine this among conventional types is the cycle rating; that is how many times it can be discharged and recharged. One of the best benchmarks for this is the IEC 896-2, based on a 100% discharge.