Costco vs Sams Club 6V Golf Cart Batteries

chr$ wrote:
The GMC motorhome community calls those old battery boilers "Buzz Boxes" from the transformer buzz. Thankfully the dead horse about costco vs Sams club GC2's has subsided two pages ago. FWIW, I have two costco interstate GC2's that are 4 and 3 years old (one was replaced under warranty after 13 mos due to a post failure.) Costco gets the nod on support.

I've been reading on the solar forums that NONE of the RV converters are worth a damn, as none of the 3 stage ones can go over 15V and most are fooled by the improper wire size to go into float too soon to properly charge a battery. I'm gonna be adding solar and will go to a Midnight Kid MPPT Charge controller and associated goodies. Converter will be put on a switch to be used only if needed.

I have the Sam's 6V's and couldn't offer a comparison to Costco's since I've never owned them. My new take is that these are used with so few cycles a year and so babied with solar that any battery will last a long time. My tenure at Golf Courses and seeing what kind of maintenance is not performed (topping off water levels with a garden hose, for example), also points positive for the 6v's having a comfortable, long life.

Yes, it doesn't matter what device you have in a circuit, if the wire has resistance, it will effect the entire circuit. I think most of the newer converters do a pretty good job with battery charging. I don't see complaints from RV'ers that upgrade their converters, most are doing so to overcome an existing converter/battery issue. The low voltage (<16V) is an issue and that's why folks like Mex, Niner, and Mena are using independent, adjustable, power supplies.

Please, post back your impressions of the Midnite Kid when you have it operating. I'm probably looking to upgrade my controller, at some point, and the Kid is on my short list.