house batteries

mh3860sh wrote:
thanks for the info. what is trojan battery's reputation,reliability?

The Trojan T-105 is the standard for golf carts, the largest application of 6V batteries. Folks in FL are getting the best prices since there are thousands of golf tracks in FL. Unfortunately, they also have the poorest climate for battery longevity. The South is hard on FLA batteries. Up here in the North, the Winter is tailor made for battery storage and longevity. I replaced my original battery in my truck, last year. It was 10 yrs, one month old and not used lightly.

AGM batteries are easier to maintain but discharging them below 50 percent continually, just like a FLA battery, will remove life cycles rapidly. GC2 batteries are more forgiving about this because of the thicker plate structure. Some AGM batteries also require a different charge schedule than FLA so a buyer should know what their charger is capable of and make sure a match can be made.

Presently, I have a bank of three AGM batteries and a bank of two GC2 batteries in my trailer. For storage and typical operation, both banks are paralleled and charged by the solar system. In the future, I may move to all of the same type but I am not experiencing any problems, currently.

The 6 volt golf cart batteries are easily the best bang for the buck for deep cycles. There are a lot of them made and sold to buyers that are very conscious of price and reliability.

Price aside, AGM's are better than flooded in almost all respects. They have less internal resistance and can be charged and discharged at higher amps without overheating. They withstand abuse better, are maintenance-free, and do not leak explosive hydrogen gas.

I recently changed my Trojan T-105 house batteries(4) out as they were getting way too hot during charging, and boiling off the water quickly. I bought new T-105 Trojans at my local golf cart store for $87 each. I know that they were 6 years old when I replaced them.

mh3860sh wrote:
thanks for the info. what is trojan battery's reputation,reliability?

Go to tech issues and search 'trojan'

thanks for the info. what is trojan battery's reputation,reliability?

I got ten years out of a wet cell, and it even took some level of abuse from me too when used. The rest of the story, which explains much of 'why', was it didn't get used very much once I bought the first AGM (hey I brought it in for the trade in, it may still be in use). Blanket assumptions about years without the rest of the information may just lead to trading in batteries early.

wa8yxm wrote:
and last up to 10 years

And exactly how did you come to that conclusion ??

Both my personal experience and reports from places like this lead me to believe that one must be absolutely OBSESSED with taking care of your batteries to have them last anywhere near that long. More likely 5 years or less.

AGMs, OTOH will tolerate a higher "float" charging voltage (which many single stage chargers have), don't need water and suffer a LOT less if left sitting for long periods unattended and/or only partially charged.

Whether or not they are worth the extra money is a matter of personal preference.......and how much time you want to spend screwing with them.

Make sure you have a good three stage battery charger that can be set for the type of batteries. I did a load test of my 7 year old AGMs recently and I expect to get 5+ more years out of them... maybe even more. No watering, no corrosion but I never let them get below 50 percent. For me, they have been well worth the money. Not sure how much solar you'll get in WI.

Now if I can kill this ant.

Do an energy audit. Double that number for a single night of boondocking. Quadruple it if you want two nights.

Add a solar system designed to recharge the quadruple size and you may find yourself nearly totally energy independent.