6v batteries from Costco (or somewhere else)
Hey all. I am travelling to Pittsburgh for my sons Ball tourney. While there I want to pick up two 6v batteries for my Travel trailer (since they are a fraction of the cost in Canada). Does anyone h...
Forum Discussion
Quadruple redundancies are not picturesque.
Pair of golf car batteries that cost $90 more. How many gallons of gasoline can you buy with ninety dollars? Not that much. How far would you have to drive to refuel?
The Charge Efficiency Factor is important when serious boondocking is involved and not at all important when a chew & spit battery is used for weekend warrior duty.
Take my Kubota for instance. Think I want to run it for five hours recovering batteries to full 1.260 when three hours would do it?
I have fought US Battery GC220 batteries and US Battery L-16 batteries until I was totally exasperated. They resist charging, sulfate faster and die sooner than a Trojan or Rolls. Now what is that worth?
Many of you have experience with your own batteries whereas for decades I might see four or five different banks in one day. "I don't have that kind of money" was just as true in 1980 as it is today. They HAD that kind of money, but they refused to spend it on batteries.
If you do NOT have problems with off-brand warehouse batteries GREAT! If you do have problems with off brand warehouse batteries don't feel alone.
But PLEASE avoid telling everyone that Costco, Sams and other lesser batteries "Are The Way To Go". That statement is a lot different than stating "Cheapos are the way to go FOR ME".
It gets discouraging when off-grid batteries trash their electrolyte cell equality after 10 days and the batteries are four months old. A weekend warrior will seldom encounter problems. Off grid camping brings out the Mr. Hyde in cheap batteries.
As Mark Daugherty president of Ramcar battery used to tell me about his GC220's "Not everyone needs the superior characteristics of the Trojan" He was and is absolutely correct.
I could have purchased cheap-o batteries, trucked them to Long Beach, shipped them to the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, then jumped through hoops getting them 28 miles north up the side of a hill. Or ferried a Chinese AGM battery 1445 miles below the border. But one thing stopped me -- common sense.
Cheap-o golf car batteries are perfect for SOME people. But they can be disaster incarnate for the majority. When I set up off-grid homes the average life span of the Trojan T-105 varied between EIGHT to TEN years. Off-grid, no public power, ever.
Do you boondock even 30 days a year? Do your cheap-o golf-cars last eight to ten years?
Cheap-o golf car batteries weigh the same as a Trojan. Now what could possibly make them THAT much cheaper? Hmmmmmm? Power windows? Leather seats?
Pair of golf car batteries that cost $90 more. How many gallons of gasoline can you buy with ninety dollars? Not that much. How far would you have to drive to refuel?
The Charge Efficiency Factor is important when serious boondocking is involved and not at all important when a chew & spit battery is used for weekend warrior duty.
Take my Kubota for instance. Think I want to run it for five hours recovering batteries to full 1.260 when three hours would do it?
I have fought US Battery GC220 batteries and US Battery L-16 batteries until I was totally exasperated. They resist charging, sulfate faster and die sooner than a Trojan or Rolls. Now what is that worth?
Many of you have experience with your own batteries whereas for decades I might see four or five different banks in one day. "I don't have that kind of money" was just as true in 1980 as it is today. They HAD that kind of money, but they refused to spend it on batteries.
If you do NOT have problems with off-brand warehouse batteries GREAT! If you do have problems with off brand warehouse batteries don't feel alone.
But PLEASE avoid telling everyone that Costco, Sams and other lesser batteries "Are The Way To Go". That statement is a lot different than stating "Cheapos are the way to go FOR ME".
It gets discouraging when off-grid batteries trash their electrolyte cell equality after 10 days and the batteries are four months old. A weekend warrior will seldom encounter problems. Off grid camping brings out the Mr. Hyde in cheap batteries.
As Mark Daugherty president of Ramcar battery used to tell me about his GC220's "Not everyone needs the superior characteristics of the Trojan" He was and is absolutely correct.
I could have purchased cheap-o batteries, trucked them to Long Beach, shipped them to the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, then jumped through hoops getting them 28 miles north up the side of a hill. Or ferried a Chinese AGM battery 1445 miles below the border. But one thing stopped me -- common sense.
Cheap-o golf car batteries are perfect for SOME people. But they can be disaster incarnate for the majority. When I set up off-grid homes the average life span of the Trojan T-105 varied between EIGHT to TEN years. Off-grid, no public power, ever.
Do you boondock even 30 days a year? Do your cheap-o golf-cars last eight to ten years?
Cheap-o golf car batteries weigh the same as a Trojan. Now what could possibly make them THAT much cheaper? Hmmmmmm? Power windows? Leather seats?
