Battery question

[ccl]

I am planning on doing some boondocking this year (hopefully) to prepare i have been doing some testing with my batteries to see how long they last.

I have 2, 6 volt GC2 210AH golf cart batteries that i bought from Costco last year. i also have a bayite DC 6.5-100V 0-100A meter. Yesterday at 3:00 i disconnected from shore power waited about an hour an checked the meter reading 13.16V with 103WH, i tuned on my 1500 Watt inverter then turned on the 32" tv, the furnace and a small 200 watt heater in the bedroom. I went back and checked about 2 hours later turned everything off waited about 30-45 minutes and checked the meter my readings were, 12.45V and 263WH.

I then turned on the small 200 watt heater and let it run all night. When ichecked it this morning at around 9:00 the inverter had shut itself off and the meter reading were 11.76V and 297WH.

What would cause my batteries to drain so fast?
Are the batteries bad?

[lightsout]

Go on Costco.com the Reviews on those interstate batteries are the worst most are lucky to get 1 year out of them. Plus 2 is not enough you need at least 4 batteries. Also note since you ran your batteries so low you have likely permanently damaged them. you want to prevent discharge below 12.5 12.2 at the lowest otherwise you damage the plates.

Read the reviews

https://www.costco.com/interstate-6-...100476406.html

Also that 200W heater you mentioned if that is a resistive heat heater NEVER use those on battery power, solar or Gen. Resistive heat is hard on those electronic power supplies.

Buy quality Trojan Batteries or for 4-5 times the cost buy Lithium.

I just upgraded to 4 6V wet here is the post with pictures https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...5&postcount=31

[Carl n Susan]

I would question the 13.6V reading. That is the usual value when the converter is running. Disconnecting shore power, waiting an hour for the voltage to equalize and you should see something like 12.6V. I would not run a resistance heater off an inverter. They suck too much current.



As for Costco batteries, there are many of us here that have them. I replaced my last set at 7 years. The current ones are 3 years old and still fine. There us something wonky about 18 out of 19 reviews being negative. But it is on the internet so it must be true.

[twindman]

I too have Costco batteries and have liked them. Usually get 6-7 years. However, it seems from the reviews the Interstate batteries have gone down hill fast. Many getting less than a year up to 2 years. I need batteries and was going to Sams and get Duracell, but they have shut down the automotive section due to virus. If they remain closed beyond April 1, I will get trojans. $89 vs $120 in Mesa, AZ.