Costco vs Sams Club 6V Golf Cart Batteries

[crcr]

Hi,

I'm about to buy two new 6V golf cart batteries for my TT. I am choosing between the Costco and the Sams Club 6V batteries. Here is all the stats provided for each battery where I live:

Costco: Interstate battery, Item #517990, size GC2, Reserve Capacity, 100RC, $79.99 ea

Sams Club: Emergizer battery, size CG2, 107 RC minutes @ 75 amps, 220AH, $81.83 ea

Dimensions of the batteries is identical, at 7" W x 10 1/4" L x 11" H. I know weight is important, heavier indicating more lead plates, but I had no scale to measure the weight of each. Both have 12 month free replacement. I realize the AH is probably the most important factor here, since price is pretty close to equal, but the Costco battery did not provide that information. Can anyone tell me what the rated AH are for the Costco Interstate battery?

Any other comments about pros and cons of one of these over the other, would be welcome. Thanks in advance for any information!

[d-mac1]

I pulled the trigger and installed 2 6v yesterday. I dunno if, with my genny running, I could start my Dodge 2500 but, knock on wood, hopefully I wont have to try.

I was going to switch from dual purpose to straight deep cycle anyway for longer life. We most often boondock. One of my dual purpose batteries had a problem so I had to take action.

[westend]

Gale,
Two 6V batteries become one 12V battery and if you want to use them as such, a set of jumper cables is the easiest method. It's not about bragging rights, to me. I think the 6v GC2 batteries are superior in a number of ways compared to hybrid marine/deep cycle and starter batteries.

[Gale_Hawkins]

d-mac1 wrote:
I'm contemplating switching from 2 12v to 2 6v but I don't understand why the 6v have an advantage. Can someone enlighten me?

Also, am I correct that the 6v need to be wired in series...seems like that must be how you get 12v out of 6v batteries, but again, what is the advantage of the 6v? I had the 12v connected parallel.

Thanks!

d-mac1 I have contemplating do doing that as well for all the good reasons stated. One think that stopped me is my under the radiator rack for the engine and 2 house batteries would require some major changes.

The big factor was it would rob me of having a back up starting battery setting next to my starting battery only requiring me to move the starting battery cables over to one of the house batteries.

When the Nissan PU battery died I just robbed the new in 2011 Interstate engine starting battery from the MH and moved the MH starting cables over to one of the two house batteries after I disconnected it from the other house battery
BUT there was no battery moving required.

If I was running out of 12v house power every night then maybe yes to two 6v batteries but that is not the case. I like having two extra batteries that will start the engine if required.

6v batteries sure have their place but sometimes it is just for bragging rights. 🙂

[MEXICOWANDERER]

yotta see my new Lifeline with the knurled beryllium copper posts, bolts and washers. The post threads feel like a No 2 machine fit.

Heh heh heh. Buy a pair of GC220 batteries. Connect in series. One Costco or Sam's Club battery, the 2nd one an embossed Maroon Case Trojan T-105. Use them. See which battery of the pair fails first. Do this with a hundred sets of batteries. They are 5% antimony with similar ampere hour ratings. The pile of red over white batteries is going to grow mighty large.

[mena661]

Plus they just look cool.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Durability, Forgiveness of Abuse (to a point). Positive plates are thicker than run of the mill cyclable 6 cell batteries. Greater acid to active plate area volume.

[westend]

d-mac1 wrote:
I'm contemplating switching from 2 12v to 2 6v but I don't understand why the 6v have an advantage. Can someone enlighten me?

Also, am I correct that the 6v need to be wired in series...seems like that must be how you get 12v out of 6v batteries, but again, what is the advantage of the 6v? I had the 12v connected parallel.

Thanks!

It's been discussed here so you could do a search and find more than a few threads.

My take: 6V Golf cart batteries are superior to the usual 12V marine deep cycle hybrid because of heavier construction and the application of a true deep cycle in an RV. They do stand a bit of abuse, more so than a typical 12 V, other than the true 12 V deep cycle batteries like Trojan and their counterparts. Price per AH is also somewhat better than 12V.

[d-mac1]

I'm contemplating switching from 2 12v to 2 6v but I don't understand why the 6v have an advantage. Can someone enlighten me?

Also, am I correct that the 6v need to be wired in series...seems like that must be how you get 12v out of 6v batteries, but again, what is the advantage of the 6v? I had the 12v connected parallel.

Thanks!

[MM49]

crcr wrote:
Hi,

I'm about to buy two new 6V golf cart batteries for my TT. I am choosing between the Costco and the Sams Club 6V batteries. Here is all the stats provided for each battery where I live:

Costco: Interstate battery, Item #517990, size GC2, Reserve Capacity, 100RC, $79.99 ea

Sams Club: Emergizer battery, size CG2, 107 RC minutes @ 75 amps, 220AH, $81.83 ea

Dimensions of the batteries is identical, at 7" W x 10 1/4" L x 11" H. I know weight is important, heavier indicating more lead plates, but I had no scale to measure the weight of each. Both have 12 month free replacement. I realize the AH is probably the most important factor here, since price is pretty close to equal, but the Costco battery did not provide that information. Can anyone tell me what the rated AH are for the Costco Interstate battery?

Any other comments about pros and cons of one of these over the other, would be welcome. Thanks in advance for any information!

To choose a real deep cycle battery just take one of the caps off and look for the one with the warped plates. A true deep cycle battery has thicker plates that warp in the drying process during manufacturing. Starting batteries have thinner plates that are straight.
MM49

[NinerBikes]

I use an independent adjustable power supply, because after reading on here for months, and establishing who know what they are talking about, and can walk the walk after talking talk, I listened to reason.

It helps that I was a battery buster/tester/installer for Sears Roebuck while going to school, and saw a lot of wrecked batteries and good batteries, as well as tested them for failure.

You'd be hard pressed to not follow a recommendation by a former battery failure engineer here for one of the biggest commercial golf car and sweeper industrial battery makers that sell here in the USA. I'm talking about MexicoWanderer. Until he goes senile, you can take what he posts on the subject matter, with the common sense and test of reasonableness, to the bank.

15.0V while dry camping works for me.... daily... though YMMV. 14.4V might be good for you and your AGM batteries. 15.3 might be good if you own US brand batteries in a Group 29 or Group 31. Applications and V necessary vary by brand, materials and construction. See what your manufacturer recommends is the best you can do. This is why it is so foolish to mix sizes, types and brands of batteries, they all have varying requirements.

[westend]

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.

[chr_]

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.

[westend]

Gale Hawkins wrote:
From my experience neither dumb or smart charges can deal well with batteries at their end of life cycle but both are OK with sound batteries.

Agreed, when they are dying, they're dying.
On the other hand, I now have my truck battery in Hospice, on the charger. This Motorcraft battery is now 10+ yrs. old, has powered a 1000w sound system and endured nearly it's whole life with bad door interlock switches (interior lights don't go off and sometimes come on, intermittently). My point is that even a dumb charger can get pretty smart with a little help. My regimen is to keep connections clean, add water when needed, and if the capacity is low (end of life), do a 40 amp equalize charge and then finish with a trickle charge for the next couple of days.
I'd like to make it through the winter with the Motorcraft but prognosis isn't good.

The good news is that my two Sams Club GC2's are showing good cell SG and the solar is treating them well.

[NinerBikes]

apr67 wrote:
Interstate 6V's were $89 at my (tallahassee) costco.

The same batts were $75 direct from interstate. Just another source for you who can't find them.

How do you buy them direct from interstate? Order them online?