6 volt Golf Cart Batteries Help

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by tjwoods1

If wanted a battery disconnect on my two 6V batteries (wired in series) would I need to put a disconnect on both negative terminals?

See post #17 above with pictures...that's how I did mine.

[Bradley G]

Ok so here is where i am at. I talked to Randy at best converter and he wants me to get the Progressive Dynamics WildKat MBA 55 amp charger converter.
HE aslo suggested the the Fullriver 220-6 6volt battery. They are a group 27 battery so i need to make sure they fit.

As for my current Interstate batteries, i took them to an Interstate battery shop (yes i removed them myself and did not blow up my Airstream!!) here in seattle. they tested them both of them and the first one had 2 bad cells the second had one bad cell. They are brand new and the guy at the shop just said "well this seems to happen" He gave me two new ones and i installed them and again i did not blow up my airstream.

I have a guy that will instal the converter and the batteries. So thats the update and i can't thank you guys enough for all your help! Once the job is done i will upload some photos.

Thank you!!!

Brad

[pteck]

There's so much focus on converters, when really, it's such a minor thing when one has solar.

I literally use my converter less than a handful of times a year to actually charge the batts. Solar is what charges and maintains my batteries. Investment should go towards solar or expansion of solar, and the solar charger.

At a camp with full hookups, I'll turn my systems to "off" which disconnects the converter from the batteries.

[AirMiles]

I agree with Pteck. I rarely use my Airstream's converter and leave it disconnected except for a few times per year to boost charge due to poor solar conditions. Since you went through the effort to get the new Interstates, you could spend the money on solar instead of new AGM batteries and a converter.

Call AM Solar in Eugene OR and ask them for an installed price for 200W of solar using the factory prewire with a Victron 100/30 controller. Then ask them how much additional it would cost to increase the solar to 400W in series-parallel on the factory prewire.

With solar, you can leave your Airstream in storage and your batteries will always stay fully charged. With the solar, even with the low amp hour Interstates, you will be able to use more than their rated amps because the solar will provide your daytime amps while recharging your batteries. You will only use battery amps at night when there is no sun. I'd burn up the new Interstates before buying new batteries. With the solar keeping the Interstate's fully charged, they probably will last for years.

You could also just buy a portable solar kit for about the same cost as the Fullriver's and new controller, but I prefer the fixed mounted solar so it works in storage without the risk of being stolen.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Ummm .... errr... pardon me ...

Solar will charge while you are in storage? Not so much if you pay for an indoor storage location. If you live in ice and snow land, that's generally considered a wise thing to do.

Same point with camping in the same area. If you are in the northeast (as opposed to much further south) you get way less solar hours per day on average. There's maps and charts and web sites that dig into this. Toss in the >80% of sites that are in deep shade .... not so much.

Indeed if I'm out on a beach site off on some barrier island, likely not much shade. The costal site I'm at right now seems to have .... errr .... big tall pine trees. It's not deep shade like you would get in the northeast. It's still will cut the solar a bit.

I think solar is great. I think it's a really good idea to drop on your trailer. It's *not* the 100% solution in all cases for everybody. Going without a converter charger very much would not work for us.

==========

What makes '6V Golf Cart Batteries" a cool thing is the unmentioned part of that statement. It's the "Trojan T-105" part that got lopped off. Not all "Golf Cart Batteries" are made the same. 6V vs 12V is completely irrelevant. As soon as you move away from the specific brand and model .... watch out. That's not to say there are no other good brands. It's just that > 90% of the advertised success on these conversions traces back to Trojan T-105's.

Oddly enough RV folks aren't the only ones who freak out about batteries. In fact the big boat crowd puts us to shame. They spend *way* more on a single bank of batteries than we likely do in a lifetime on an RV. They also have multiple banks. If they get five years on a bank, it's a real good thing. They use them pretty hard. There's a lot of data out there ...

Bob

[AirMiles]

Response to Uncle_Bob:

1) No one said you won't "ever" need a converter. The OP has a 2019 Airstream with a converter and a generator.

2) Thank you for sharing that solar doesn't work inside buildings, I'll bet that's news to everyone.

3) Doesn't work in trees. Our Airstreams can be parked wherever we choose. Select campsites that get at least some direct sun around mid-day and your solar will likely charge your batteries. Use the LUMOS app to park where direct sun will hit solar panels between 10 am and 2 pm.

4) Less efficient up north. Yes, but has not been an issue for me. I travel all over the country in all seasons but winter. I spend a lot of time in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Northern WI, U.P. of Michigan, Northern Minnesota. I have been successful with solar in all of these tree-filled locations. I rarely camp in Florida where I live in the winter.

5) Trojan T105 batteries are awesome. Without a doubt the best wet-cell deep cycle batteries on earth. Agree that one must be careful about buying any cheap GC2 battery. Not all GC2 batteries are built to commercial grade. I chose Duracell EGC2 batteries from Sam's Club, also available from Costco, or Batteries Plus (make sure their fresh). These are commercial quality Deka/East-Penn batteries that are "almost" as good as Trojan T105 batteries. You are correct that boaters are battery experts. That's why I recommend reading this article that recommends the Duracell EGC2 as the best low cost deep cycle choice: https://marinehowto.com/what-is-a-deep-cycle-battery/

6) You are correct that 6V or 12V makes no difference as there are quality deep cycle batteries available in both formats. But there are many more poor choices among the 12V format, including most 12V Deep Cycle Marine/RV batteries.

And back to the solar recommendation. If I had a brand new set of Interstate batteries with a brand new Converter in a 2019 Airstream with $1,000 to spend. I would buy a pair of these solar panels: https://amsolar.com/rv-panel-klts/11s-tlt-zs100 . I would buy this solar controller: https://amsolar.com/victron/cctlr-vt-mpp-030a . I would buy a few feet of 6 gauge duplex 2-2, a 40A breaker, a Blue Sea high current switch and I would self install these parts on my Airstream. I would get much more value from this $1,000 of solar parts than by replacing the batteries with AGMs and a replacing the stock controller. If I did not have the ability to self install this equipment, I would buy a quality suitcase solar kit.

[gypsydad]

QUOTE=Bradley G;2238635]Ok so here is where i am at. I talked to Randy at best converter and he wants me to get the Progressive Dynamics WildKat MBA 55 amp charger converter.
HE aslo suggested the the Fullriver 220-6 6volt battery. They are a group 27 battery so i need to make sure they fit.

As for my current Interstate batteries, i took them to an Interstate battery shop (yes i removed them myself and did not blow up my Airstream!!) here in seattle. they tested them both of them and the first one had 2 bad cells the second had one bad cell. They are brand new and the guy at the shop just said "well this seems to happen" He gave me two new ones and i installed them and again i did not blow up my airstream.

I have a guy that will instal the converter and the batteries. So thats the update and i can't thank you guys enough for all your help! Once the job is done i will upload some photos.

Thank you!!!

Brad[/QUOTE]

Sounds good; Randy knows his stuff! Shop around for the T105 Trojans if your going that route; I found a $30-40 difference pricing difference on the Internet in my area last summer; (also asked for/got Veterans discount). I am happy with the Trojan's so far, but many folks also use the Sams Club or Costco 6V Golf Cart batteries; not sure how big a difference if any with the Trojans, but that's the way I went for now.

I also advertised my "new" Interstate 12V's Interstate gave me as replacements, on Craigs list; got a hit in 10 minuets from a used car dealer...got $125 for the pair.

FYI- my friend who has the 2017 23D, got the T105 Trojan's also but he opted for the AGM version, same size as my wet cell, and they fit in his box. He also got the Progressive Dynamics converter installed.
Good luck and let us know which way you decided to go...

I see some folks still not convinced about swapping the AS supplied older single stage converter for one of the models mentioned with 4 stage "smart" technology...my comment; glad it's all working out for you... so far...

[Bradley G]

Great ideas for selling the Interstate's on craigslist!!! Hoping to have the work done in the next few weeks. My instal guys is overbooked right now. So stay tuned

[tjwoods1]

My Interstate Batteries went bad in less than a year. Interstate has agreed to replace the two bad 12v batteries with two Interstate GC2 6v batteries. Is anyone familiar with Interstates GC2 5 volts? Are they renamed from another brand? How good are they?

[tjwoods1]

Opps - I meant GC2 6 volts.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by tjwoods1

Opps - I meant GC2 6 volts.

Hi

Since they are "free batteries" what's not to like? If I was spending money on batteries, they aren't the way I would go.

Bob

[Zil]

Are there better wet cell golf cart batteries? Yes there are. Are Trojans better than Duracell EGC2's? No. Are the batteries sold at Cosco the same as Sam's Club or batteries plus? I did not know that.

[AirMiles]

Originally Posted by tjwoods1

My Interstate Batteries went bad in less than a year. Interstate has agreed to replace the two bad 12v batteries with two Interstate GC2 6v batteries. Is anyone familiar with Interstates GC2 6 volts? Are they renamed from another brand? How good are they?

- Lead acid batteries with thick lead-antimony plates, Golf Cart Batteries, are designed to be deeply discharged to 80% repeatably.

- Lead acid batteries with thin lead-calcium plates, like Marine/RV Deep Cycle & Automotive Starting Batteries, are designed to be discharged to 50% without severely shortening their lives.

Source: https://www.solar-electric.com/learn...ttery-faq.html

The Duracell EGC2 (Deka GC15) batteries use thick lead-antimony plates: http://www.ieeco.net/Documents/Batte...kaSolarC&L.pdf

Trojan T105 batteries use thick lead-antimony plates: https://ressupply.com/batteries-and-...looded-battery

Interstate GC2 batteries state they have a "lead-antimony grid - Works in conjunction with the high-density paste to reduce corrosion and improve battery performance".
Source: https://www.interstatebatteries.com/...ts/gc2-ecl-utl

It appears Interstate GC2 batteries use lead-antimony and therefore should share the deep cycle capabilities of the Trojan T105 and Deka GC15. I could not find the manufacturer which I'm sure changes to the lowest bidder occasionally. But I agree with Uncle_Bob, "Since they are "free batteries" what's not to like? If I was spending money on batteries, they aren't the way I would go."

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Zil

Are there better wet cell golf cart batteries? Yes there are. Are Trojans better than Duracell EGC2's? No. Are the batteries sold at Cosco the same as Sam's Club or batteries plus? I did not know that.

Hi

There are lots and lots of details to how a battery is made. Without physically tearing some apart and measuring a bunch of stuff, there is no way to really know what's what. ( How thick is a "thick plate" ....). The bottom line is that the Trojan T105 (yes that one model) seems to be well regarded based on decades of use (as in many batteries over decades, not one battery for that long ...). Anything else is pretty much an unknown.

Bob

[Zil]

I can say the same about Duracell from East Penn. If you want the best, Crown has the best reputation among battery experts.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Zil

I can say the same about Duracell from East Penn. If you want the best, Crown has the best reputation among battery experts.

Hi

I have a couple of buddies who went with East Penn for their boats, they both had a really bad experience .... When "experts" are also sales guys, watch out.

Bob

[pteck]

Those are all nice batteries. Correction, really nice.

I'll do with my Costco branded 6V golf cart batteries and invest the savings else where. Perhaps more solar at ~$100 / 100 watt panel.

IMO, there's no need to chase "better" here. They all work the same, unless you're particularly abusiveness to the batteries. Which any 6V will already puts up with very well.

Your electronics won't care one way or another.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There is absolutely noting at all "better" about a battery just because it runs at 6V. Randomly picking a 6V is no better than randomly picking a 12V battery. People tend to have a (random) bad experience with one brand / type and decide it's junk. They have a (random) good experience with th next brand / type and decide it's golden. Unless you look at a lot of batteries, neither one is correct.

Bob

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

There is absolutely noting at all "better" about a battery just because it runs at 6V. Randomly picking a 6V is no better than randomly picking a 12V battery. People tend to have a (random) bad experience with one brand / type and decide it's junk. They have a (random) good experience with th next brand / type and decide it's golden. Unless you look at a lot of batteries, neither one is correct.

Bob

Oh, come on UB; how many posts have you seen here on the Forum where folks have had bad batteries for what ever reason, all from Interstate??
What ever the reasons, you see a post a week almost where folks are asking for "help" trouble shooting their "new" AS with Interstate battery issues... Just happens Interstate is in the "barrel" for now... Good news, is they seem to stand behind their products and will replace under warranty. As for 12V or 6V; AGM vs wet cell vs Lithium; so far, I am with the folks using 6V. Good luck with my Trojans...many good things said about them over the years...same with Li's, but a bit too expensive for me to switch...my 6V set up works fine. Take care of your batteries, no matter which one you get, and it likely will last awhile for your needs.

[AirMiles]

I agree that there are different levels of quality between 6V battery golf cart batteries (GC2), but I believe all 6V GC2 batteries are a far better choice than the typical 12V Marine/RV Deep Cycle battery sold at big box stores. The GC2 6V battery has thicker plates, plates are made out of deeper cycling material, has more lead weight, and has more room below the plates for sediment.

As far as levels of quality. I believe Trojan GC2 batteries are the highest quality as they lab test with a greater number of 80% depth of discharge cycles. I believe Duracell EGC2 batteries (Deka GC15) are slightly below the Trojan's as they test with about 20% fewer deep cycles than the Trojans. I would not buy the "cheapest" GC2 at Sam's Club which would be the next best choice over a Marine/RV battery which would be the poorest choice. The stock Interstate 12V batteries are Marine/RV batteries.

My opinions were influenced by this article from a Certified Marine Mechanic and battery expert that recommends the Duracell EGC2 battery, not the Duracell GC2 battery or a Marine/RV 12V battery: https://marinehowto.com/what-is-a-deep-cycle-battery/

I can say that my Duracell EGC2 batteries have held up to 140 extremely deep cycles and still test and perform "as new". Test meaning they still peg my specific gravity test gauge at 1.300