Golf cart batterys

I have two 6v GC's and are long lasting with plenty of reserve...One thing that has yet to be mentioned is that when you connect two 6v's 'in series' (to now produce one large 12v battery), understand that when the voltage doubles (now to 12v) the total amp/hr capacity is thereby cut in half, thus two 220 amp/hr batts 'in series' = 220 amp/hrs total at 12v, not 440.

3 tons

sweetridehd wrote:
I thank everyone for the advice !
But I think there's a need for more information.
Battery installed from manufacturer is a Interstate HD24-DP 405CCA Reserve cap of 100. Battery seems to be degrading now that it's 2 years old.
We boondock 98% of the time , adding a top charge when necessary with a Honda 2000watt generator. I know I have to replace the battery , Just want to do this while adding depth to my avalible power.
thanks
Tony

Two years? Yes you need to upgrade the converter and your maintenance and usage routine.

I also recommend 100w to 250w of solar.

wa8yxm wrote:


I will explain
1. Six volt GC-2's are just about the most common lead acid battery in the world, they ship them by the pallet load to golf courses, this means lower unit production cost and lower final cost.

2. They are TRUE DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES

3. Yes, you can get 12 volt True Deep cycle as well but they tend to be more expensive per amp hour.

4. And AGM is way more expensive, does not last as long and thus is more expensive still and has NO advantage unless there is a problem with installation (Such as you need to put it in edgewise).

No, not a salesman.

1. Fact

2. Fact

3. Fact.

4. Might be room here for a little discussion!


HTH;
John

sweetridehd wrote:
I thank everyone for the advice !
But I think there's a need for more information.
Battery installed from manufacturer is a Interstate HD24-DP 405CCA Reserve cap of 100. Battery seems to be degrading now that it's 2 years old.
We boondock 98% of the time , adding a top charge when necessary with a Honda 2000watt generator. I know I have to replace the battery , Just want to do this while adding depth to my avalible power.
thanks
Tony

A weekend camper might have only enough AH and then use the rest of the week to recharge. If you use the holy heck out the bank and get only 200 weekends, that is 4 years.

Now, if you are talking weeks, or even full-time, you need to focus on a more serious and complicated recharging regimen including proper battery type selection.

HTH;
John

sweetridehd wrote:
I thank everyone for the advice !
But I think there's a need for more information.
Battery installed from manufacturer is a Interstate HD24-DP 405CCA Reserve cap of 100. Battery seems to be degrading now that it's 2 years old.
We boondock 98% of the time , adding a top charge when necessary with a Honda 2000watt generator. I know I have to replace the battery , Just want to do this while adding depth to my avalible power.
thanks
Tony

When talking about boondocking, the measurement of interest on a Deep Cycle battery, is the 20 hour rating. That rating your battery is in the 75-80 AH rating range. Find out what brand/model of charger is in your Palomino. It's probably not providing the charging voltage you need to get that battery completely topped off before putting it into storage. Two batteries with higher Amp hours would serve you better.

I thank everyone for the advice !
But I think there's a need for more information.
Battery installed from manufacturer is a Interstate HD24-DP 405CCA Reserve cap of 100. Battery seems to be degrading now that it's 2 years old.
We boondock 98% of the time , adding a top charge when necessary with a Honda 2000watt generator. I know I have to replace the battery , Just want to do this while adding depth to my avalible power.
thanks
Tony

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
If speed of charge (length of time) is an issue, then apply 14.8 volts to a battery at 50% depth of discharge and the amount of AMPERAGE you see flowing under that condition sets the OPTIMUM upper limit of the capacity of the charger you should seek. If it's 83 amps, so be it. An 83 ampere charger would offer the optimum fast level of charge for that battery (series, parallel, it doesn't matter).

CONTROL of the amperage is another matter. There's no sense at all, if a charger starts out at 83 amps, then wimps down to say 45 amps with a battery still needing 35% of capacity worth of charging. The 14.8 volt level of charge at 20C should STAY AT 14.8 volts until the electrolyte starts bubbling. Then it can be backed off. The algorithm used in smart chargers seldom even gets close to this optimum,

For forum members foaming at the mouth to contest my recommendation, go back and read the first ten words of my response again.

When time is NOT an issue 20% of the total ampere hour rate is a great compromise. Around 45 amps.

For optimum life 5% of amp hour capacity is excellent. Ten amperes. Around 15 or so hours to recharge 50% depleted batteries.

It all depends on how stupid the smart charger algorithm is.

Now go back and re-read how I phrased "bubbling". Light bubbling is not vigorous bubbling. As batteries charge throughout the protocol, maintaining a slight cell bubbling is the best possible compromise between speed and plate erosion. This is where a smart charger is as dumb as dirt. They can't tell. Only a programmable charger can be tweaked to try and do this.

But if a battery is primarily maintained by shore power a person can get away with near murder, unless the battery charge un-control is something out of Frankenstein's Castle.

Well, damned if I do, damned if I don't. Think I've seen 14.45V out of my PD 9245 in bulk charge mode. But 45 amps capacity is right in line with your optimum R/5 ratio for a 225 amp pair of 6v batteries.

I'm just going to call it "Good enough" for my application. Pulling down 50 -60 amps in a night would be a big night, for me. Seems I have plenty of charging capacity to get it back up to where it needs to be, God Willing, and the sun keeps shining from blue skies. And if it ain't enough, I can always go back to the drawing board and add another 120-130W solar panel.

It may be an upgrade if you are replacing one 80 AH 12v battery with two 110 AH 6v batteries, thus giving you 110 amp hours to draw on at 12 volts. If one fails you get less than 12 volts and some electronics equipment will not function at all.

Using 6v batteries is more practical when you have four 6v batteries wired in pairs for 12v output.

Woowee, like Democrat versus Republican, Catholic versus born again Baptist, Ford versus Dodge, New England versus The Niners, and Global whateverthehell...

Glad I read that book on what shopping in the old USSR was like...

Vladamir! You are crazy person! Battery from heroic struggle long march factory number sixteen way better than battery from Leningrad resistance lake skater number forty two factory! That is that! No argument!

full_mosey wrote:


X2! Not everyone sees 2 x 6V GCs as an upgrade over 2 x 12V dual purpose.

Of course, I don't see either choice as an upgrade over AGMs. :)

HTH;
John

Battery salesman are you?

I will explain
Six volt GC-2's are just about the most common lead acid battery in the world, they ship them by the pallet load to golf courses, this means lower unit production cost and lower final cost.

They are TRUE DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES

Yes, you can get 12 volt True Deep cycle as well but they tend to be more expensive per amp hour.

And AGM is way more expensive, does not last as long and thus is more expensive still and has NO advantage unless there is a problem with installation (Such as you need to put it in edgewise).