Looking for info on Trojan BT-105 Batteries
My two Costco 6 volters have lasted 6 years and it's time to replace them. In looking around for the replacements I ran across a Golf Cart Supply Company offering Trojan BT-105s for a very attractive...
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Update: So work has been crazy and I finally had a chance to go by the Trojan distributor today to talk about the "BT-105" batteries.
I asked him the difference between the two 105s and he said that the BTs are $30 less per battery, they are .05 lbs lighter and have 210ah vs. 225ah capacity. The warranty is for 12 months vs. 18 months and the "B" is for black because they come in a black case and they are production overruns of batteries that Trojan makes for another company.
This distributor says he goes through about 1 pallet of Trojan batteries per week on average.
They look exactly the same except the case color and the Trojan sticker. They are even shipped to him on a Trojan pallet. I did not have my voltmeter with me to check on the charge of the batteries but John told me to bring it when I'm ready to purchase and he'll let me cherry pick the batteries I want of either color I choose.
I'll be using the batteries about 1 weekend per month for boondocking and then on the yearly family vacation for 10-14 days with never a hookup in sight. I have an Iota DLS-55/IQ4 converter and a Champion 3500W genset that I've used to keep the batteries topped up while camping. When the trailer is in storage I keep it plugged in.
Unfortunately I do not know what my battery usage is while I camp as I don't have an ammeter. We usually run the gen in the morning and evening for a total of about an hour and then every few days for a 3-4 hours if I notice the voltage dropping to 12.2 or so.
My trailer is a toyhauler so when in use there is always lots of gas to feed the generator and motorcycles. It does not have a furnace, the fridge and water heater are propane; really it's just lights, music, eneloop/camera/laptop charging and propane/CO2/smoke detectors that eat up battery usage.
I've got 15+ years till I can even think hitting the road fulltime so I don't think these batteries will ever see constant heavy usage.
Last weekend my head was spinning going through all the posts I could find about battery charging, maintenance, cheapowatt, mega-watt, etc. I have a hydrometer on order and now that I've learned the deficiencies of my "smart" charger I'll be purchasing a Mega-Watt S-400-12 with my next paycheck (or use the $60 I'll save if I go with the BTs).
Soooo... T-105s or BT-105s, what say you?
I asked him the difference between the two 105s and he said that the BTs are $30 less per battery, they are .05 lbs lighter and have 210ah vs. 225ah capacity. The warranty is for 12 months vs. 18 months and the "B" is for black because they come in a black case and they are production overruns of batteries that Trojan makes for another company.
This distributor says he goes through about 1 pallet of Trojan batteries per week on average.
They look exactly the same except the case color and the Trojan sticker. They are even shipped to him on a Trojan pallet. I did not have my voltmeter with me to check on the charge of the batteries but John told me to bring it when I'm ready to purchase and he'll let me cherry pick the batteries I want of either color I choose.
I'll be using the batteries about 1 weekend per month for boondocking and then on the yearly family vacation for 10-14 days with never a hookup in sight. I have an Iota DLS-55/IQ4 converter and a Champion 3500W genset that I've used to keep the batteries topped up while camping. When the trailer is in storage I keep it plugged in.
Unfortunately I do not know what my battery usage is while I camp as I don't have an ammeter. We usually run the gen in the morning and evening for a total of about an hour and then every few days for a 3-4 hours if I notice the voltage dropping to 12.2 or so.
My trailer is a toyhauler so when in use there is always lots of gas to feed the generator and motorcycles. It does not have a furnace, the fridge and water heater are propane; really it's just lights, music, eneloop/camera/laptop charging and propane/CO2/smoke detectors that eat up battery usage.
I've got 15+ years till I can even think hitting the road fulltime so I don't think these batteries will ever see constant heavy usage.
Last weekend my head was spinning going through all the posts I could find about battery charging, maintenance, cheapowatt, mega-watt, etc. I have a hydrometer on order and now that I've learned the deficiencies of my "smart" charger I'll be purchasing a Mega-Watt S-400-12 with my next paycheck (or use the $60 I'll save if I go with the BTs).
Soooo... T-105s or BT-105s, what say you?
