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ve7prt's avatar
ve7prt
Explorer
Aug 01, 2017

WOOHOO!! New Batteries!

Well, after 9 years of faithful service, and one too many times being allowed to boil dry, not to mention twice being run into the ground, the trailer's battery bank (4 Trojan T-105 6V batteries) finally gave out earlier this year. Even after re-watering them in June, the bank would not hold a charge. All things considered, they did very well.

So, I sourced out new batteries, and today on my way home from Victoria, picked up a pallet of 8 brand spanking new Trojan T-105's. 4 of them are now nestled in the battery box in the trailer, and have the Hydralink watering system installed. The other 4 are now charging up and will be the standby 12V power source for our computer network and my amateur radio station, replacing a bank of 4 Trojan SCS-225 batteries. I have to acquire a Hydralink system for them, though.

Tomorrow I will take the old batteries to the retailer for recycling, and have them bring in 2 more Hydralink kits, maybe 3 as I have 2 T-105's for the emergency power system.

I also ordered 2 of the PD9245 charger/converters that are configured for the Trojan batteries. I am awaiting their arrival, but these chargers will deal with the network and emergency battery banks. The trailer has 400W of solar to do the same job alongside the PD9280 (for bulk charging).

Cheers!
Mike
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Aug 03, 2017
    Beats me how much fussiness is worth it. The batts are going to take a beating in RV use. It is nice to have the specs for a "baseline", but the real thing we want to know is --what are the actual consequences of going off spec for how long?

    IAW, what can I get away with that won't cost me very much? After your "learning set" of batteries, you kind of get an idea, but there isn't a lot of info out there. Some other guy's lessons learned may not apply to you close enough to be useful. Mostly it is hard to figure out what his situation really is.

    Only hope is to stay on rv.net and maybe pick up a good idea or two. :)

    Luckily the cost of batteries does not come near the cost of buying gas for the truck or beer for the fridge. So even if you do screw up with the batts somewhat, it is not a financial disaster.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Aug 03, 2017
    My Interstates also lasted 9 years.. and like you I abused them some. Roughly identical treatrment
  • ve7prt's avatar
    ve7prt
    Explorer
    Sep 09, 2017
    One comment I have to add is, if you get the T-105's (or any Trojan batteries), invest in the Hydralink watering system. Only 1 set of my T-105's don't have the system installed (due to the offset in the cell tops). The rest do. And the system makes it so easy to water the batteries WITHOUT spilling water or running the risk of having a cell burp in your face as you hover over it with a flashlight while adding water to the correct level.

    Cheers!
    Mike

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