6 Volt Battery update; Sam's and Costco

[Ozz]

As usual, one step forward, two back. I double checked the batteries I bought before changing them, as the battery box is hard to get Batteries in and out. I found I had bought the wrong batteries. I assumed.. yep.. that they are all the same at Sam's. WRONG.
The 6 volt batteries my local Sam's carries.. and this may be true for all of them are just 208 AH I have been using 225 AH, Sam's Club switched to the lighter, less powerful batteries. Just like the cereal box that had XXXX amount of cereal in them and sold for $2.50, now they have xx amount of cereal in the box and they cost a bit more.. Where will this trend end I wonder.
I went to Costco to see about 6 volt batteries, they told me when they switched brands, they now no longer offer 6 volt Golf Cart type batteries.
So.. you have to be careful, all 6 Volt wet-cell batteries are not the same in the sixe we all (Mostly) use. This is not about Gel-cells, that would be another thread.
You can end up with a 208,215,225,240 and 242 AH batteries.
I know Johnston Controls makes a bunch of these batteries, but I will post a link to all of the battery makers, there's a dizzying array of them; hundreds.
I stopped at a respected battery shop here in Kansas City and talked to the owner, I ended up ordering 6ea 240 AH wet cell batteries.
So, I upgraded from my 220 to 240, gained some go-juice for my Solar package.

Here is the link to the Peeps that make batteries:
http://tinyurl.com/PeepsThatMakeBatteries

[kdeiss]

Oz I highly recommend Trojan T 605 Have been using in my Golf Carts for a lot of years My cart in Florida are 8 years old my neighbor here in the park are 11 years Old and needing replaced Trojan makes a less expensive T 105 Check out Trogan's website a lot of good Battery info

My friend in S.C purchased Batteries from Cosco they lasted 2 Years

[Ozz]

Ken, glad they are working for you, There are so many brands and types, many are exactly the same, just different colors, branding and such. Yours are 225 AH
If a guy does not need the 240, and daily use matches with the AH you need, why get bigger, heavier, more expensive batteries.
Then on top of all that, you have to have a size that fits in your battery location. That narrows the selection further.

[kdeiss]

Got it Ozz correction T 105 is top of the Line $125.00 entry level T 106 $106.00

[WaltBennett]

T-105 is the only way to go unless you've a lot of extra money laying around and want AGMs. You'll actually save money over the long term with 105s compared to replacing cheaper ones at probably twice in the same lifetime.

[Lenny K]

I replaced my GC2 Interstate batteries last fall after 7 years of solar use with Trojan T-105's. Hopefully they will last as long as the Interstates.
It is important that water levels are checked frequently and only add water until the electrolyte level is 1/8�� below the bottom of the fill well. It is also important that they are charged up to 14.8v as specified by Trojan. A lot of sellers of batteries say never higher than 14.4, but they are interested in selling batteries. They will not last as long at this state of charge.

[DQDick]

It's the "checking water level frequently" part as opposed to the "if you have a pile of extra money lying around" part that caused me to go for the sealed batteries.

[Drifty1]

Ozz, I went with the sealed 6 volt batterys as I wanted to be a little bit more low maintance. These are the ones I have. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have 2 right now but most likely will buy 2 more in the near future. I think they will work well with the inverter I will be installing when I get to Quartzsite later in Oct.

[Ozz]

Larry, those are really nice.
The 225 AH AGM's are super, no nasty fumes to contaminate anything you might want to keep in the same area, not worrying about venting and such. I know you and Dick.. and probably many others went this route. For me with 6 batteries, I just couldn't shake loose with the cash needed for them.
Maybe some day
Who am I kidding, I will probably be on the corner with a tin cup in a couple years , or.. Welcome to WalMart folks, please don't steal the expensive stuff, I need this job...
Lenny, I have been talking with Jim, an engineer at Trojan, he does say 14.8 on the charge for a wet cell battery. I imagine other makers of batteries get different instructions from their engineering department. I really doubt that the company takes the position to mis-inform customers to sell more batteries. That sounds like something from old 'Handy Bob', in some of his rants. I think he needs to chill a bit. Not everyone is a dummy, or dishonest, that is involved in solar.

[Lenny K]

I can tell you for a fact Ozz that a certain RV installer in Quartzsite, I won't mention the name, oops, it's Discount Solar, tells you never to charge over 14.4v. That is where I bought my Trojans. So I had to ask how long batteries last charging that way and the reply was 3 to 4 years.
Interesting isn't it. And I'm not sure that I like the reference to ranting.

[Ozz]

Not you, I know there are some bad installers, but I would bet there are very few,
I just don't believe that most installers and dealers are bad people

[Irlpguy]

According to the Trojan website the T105 absorption charge rate is listed as 7.4V for a 6V battery and 14.8V for a 12V battery. If you have two 6V batteries in series that would equate to 12.8V @ 77 degrees, higher or lower depending on temperature.

T105 data sheet: http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/dat...ata_Sheets.pdf

Your charge rate is restricted to what your converter puts out which in most cases is normally 13.8 volts on charge. I have two 6V T105 batteries that are just over 2 years old and I keep my converter on at all times except when traveling.

There is a local company that sells Northern Energy Batteries, they list a Golf Cart 6V rated at 260 amp hrs. I will certainly look at those if and when my Trojans need replacement.

[Lenny K]

Ed, I charge my batteries by using a solar charge controller. Most charge controllers, including the one I have, you can set what charge rate you require. By using solar you aren't at the mercy of your converter for having your batteries charged up. Having said that, if you don't dry camp and are hooked up to 110 all the time it doesn't matter as your batteries will be maintained by the converter.