House Battery Life
Hi All, My 2 - 6 volt, deep cycle golf cart house batteries just died after only 3 & 1/2 years. Bought at Sam's June 2011. We live in our MH full time and almost always plugged into 30 amp powe...
Forum Discussion
I disagree. I have seen far too many off-breed golf car batteries that were hard to charge, and impossible to maintain at full specific gravity. Used HARD they die soon. Used lightly they will last two to four years. I tore them down and gagged. This is the -tough- part about determining the true qualities of a battery. You have to cycle the hell out of them in order to determine if they have the grit to last in a cyclable environment. The OP stated her batteries were pampered. This is like using a wrench once and having it snap. Buying a pair of shoes and having a heel come off on the way to the car.
I read so many accounts here of about batteries that demand World War III just to maintain 100% charge, full specific gravity. When I board a cruising sailboat and hear "Oh these are brand X, I couldn't afford name brand" it doesn't take long for me to dig out the fact that those Brand X garbage cubes cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars in wasted fuel for charging and are slated for an early demise. This to me is not wise shopping.
The problem was and is this: Customers try and base their opinions on one battery. This is again, not the wisest way to sort through battery quality. Then they compound their error by making declarative statements of "This battery does this, and that battery does that". They should pre-amble declarations by saying "In my experience...". So a user who ties a Brand X and has used or uses a Trojan, has in my opinion about a thousand times greater credibility.
If I want to learn how tough a car is, I'll ask a bunch of metropolitan taxi drivers or their mechanics, not the local librarian or dry cleaner store owner.
If you purchase ANY battery and have to fight it to gain 100% electrolyte specific gravity, that battery is junk. As a battery ages, the same holds true. Many very popular (because of price) RV batteries are nightmares encased in plastic. I am referring to GC batteries and I am referring to heavy cycling off grid (boondocking use).
Like any professional tradesperson on this forum I have learned the hard way which means years of experience, what works and what doesn't.
I am not recommending abandoning all hope for off-brand batteries. I am recommending learning the difference between a good battery and stuff that should never have arrived at the loading dock. I laughed yesterday when I checked a cheap new 2032 coin cell battery and it's voltage read "excellent". I put it into a One Touch glucose meter and it fell on it's butt. Expiration date, 2018. Sometimes cheaper is a hell of a lot more expensive.
By the way, using a 5% antimony battery for a power pole umbilical connected RV is not even a fair choice. If the batteries are seldom cycled at all, a better way to go would be a single group 31 AGM battery, that has it's maintenance charging system selected for AGM maintenance. Second choice would be a good quality flooded car jar battery.
Golf car batteries like most things in the RV industry have become a "Must Have" buzzword. Too large a percentage of RV's have no business whatsoever being fitted with a high antimony battery.
I read so many accounts here of about batteries that demand World War III just to maintain 100% charge, full specific gravity. When I board a cruising sailboat and hear "Oh these are brand X, I couldn't afford name brand" it doesn't take long for me to dig out the fact that those Brand X garbage cubes cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars in wasted fuel for charging and are slated for an early demise. This to me is not wise shopping.
The problem was and is this: Customers try and base their opinions on one battery. This is again, not the wisest way to sort through battery quality. Then they compound their error by making declarative statements of "This battery does this, and that battery does that". They should pre-amble declarations by saying "In my experience...". So a user who ties a Brand X and has used or uses a Trojan, has in my opinion about a thousand times greater credibility.
If I want to learn how tough a car is, I'll ask a bunch of metropolitan taxi drivers or their mechanics, not the local librarian or dry cleaner store owner.
If you purchase ANY battery and have to fight it to gain 100% electrolyte specific gravity, that battery is junk. As a battery ages, the same holds true. Many very popular (because of price) RV batteries are nightmares encased in plastic. I am referring to GC batteries and I am referring to heavy cycling off grid (boondocking use).
Like any professional tradesperson on this forum I have learned the hard way which means years of experience, what works and what doesn't.
I am not recommending abandoning all hope for off-brand batteries. I am recommending learning the difference between a good battery and stuff that should never have arrived at the loading dock. I laughed yesterday when I checked a cheap new 2032 coin cell battery and it's voltage read "excellent". I put it into a One Touch glucose meter and it fell on it's butt. Expiration date, 2018. Sometimes cheaper is a hell of a lot more expensive.
By the way, using a 5% antimony battery for a power pole umbilical connected RV is not even a fair choice. If the batteries are seldom cycled at all, a better way to go would be a single group 31 AGM battery, that has it's maintenance charging system selected for AGM maintenance. Second choice would be a good quality flooded car jar battery.
Golf car batteries like most things in the RV industry have become a "Must Have" buzzword. Too large a percentage of RV's have no business whatsoever being fitted with a high antimony battery.
