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cavilan
Newbie
Posts: 19
Registered: 10-24-2011
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battery power
Has anyone had any experience with cosco golf cart batteries? Alot cheaper than t-105s
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El Camote
Senior Nomad
Posts: 514
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Above the clouds
Member Is Offline
Mood: y Blues
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Have one paired up with an identical size Powerstride for the coach batts in the moho. Installed it 5 years ago and seems to be doing well under a
constant solar (charge controlled) charge. Starting to use more water but that's to be expected. What is the current price and are they still made
by Johnson Controls?
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3507
Registered: 8-27-2003
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I have four 6 volts in a 12 volt system, but only have about a year on them, intermittent use. Always hooked to charger. So far, they work fine in a
small cabin.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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the ONLY good battery right now are surretts
made in canada
they run about $300 each for a 6v one that will work
the rest have "issues"
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Mula
Super Nomad
Posts: 1655
Registered: 8-16-2011
Location: San Nicolas y Lopez Mateos
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You can buy Surrettes here in Mexico, with a warranty valid in Mexico.
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Mula
Super Nomad
Posts: 1655
Registered: 8-16-2011
Location: San Nicolas y Lopez Mateos
Member Is Offline
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I have an August 2012 price list from Tecnosol in LaPaz for the batteries they can provide.
If you would like a copy of this price list - U2U me.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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East Penn has their own lead refinery on site in Pennsylvania, and they manufacture all their components including plate grids and plate paste from
scratch. They enjoy a good reputation.
Trojan in Santa Fe Springs CA. has a very good reputation especially for their 5% antimonial batteries such as golf car, L-16, and 2-volt cells.
Rolls and Surrette (Rolls in USA and Surrette in Canada) are generally regarded as being near the top in design, and quality control. and
unfortunately price. Their manufacturing facility is in Nova Scotia, Canada
Some folks feel the T-105 is worth the almost doubled price for the Trojan. Others argue passionately that the "Costco" and "Sam's Club" GC-220
batteries are a lot more trouble free than they were years ago.
Some folks are shocked when I inform them that all Optima batteries are manufactured in Mexico, and that the brand name LTH is also from Monterrey,
Nuevo Leon. LTH also manufactures the GC-220 battery under their own label.
My engineering company did quite a bit of testing and analysis for various battery manufacturers in the 80's and early 90's. It is definetly worth
learning how to take care of batteries used in applications that require cycling (charging and discharging).
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
Member Is Offline
Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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OPTIMA -BAD IN BOATS !!
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries are wonderful for surviving paint-shaker back roads. The shored-up plate construction keeps things together. I
think this is more an issue with automobiles and pickup trucks than it is with campers, motorhomes or trailers because the driver doesn't want the
mayonnaise jumping on the freshly scrambled eggs.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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El Camote
Senior Nomad
Posts: 514
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Above the clouds
Member Is Offline
Mood: y Blues
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I once made the mistake of buying a Gonher battery in Baja for the Baja bug and in a few months, it was. 
Not the best quality...unfortunate name.
[Edited on 9-13-2012 by El Camote]
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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55steve
Senior Nomad
Posts: 857
Registered: 4-24-2006
Location: Warner Springs, CA
Member Is Offline
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I picked up 8 of these:
http://www.northstarbattery.com/1.0.1.0/188/NSB_170FT_Silver_Battery_(SES-542-06-05).pdf
Darn...you'll have to copy and paste the link into your browser...sorry!
I'm bringing them 2 at a time to our place at Gecko. Plan is to have the system operational next year. I'll let you all know how they hold up.
[Edited on 9-13-2012 by 55steve]
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wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21152
Registered: 8-9-2009
Location: Mission Viejo
Member Is Offline
Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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Thanks to all... great info ... 
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skippermike
Nomad
Posts: 108
Registered: 3-27-2009
Location: San Diego
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Northstar batteries
We have serviced a number of yachts that had large banks of Northstar batteries.
There is an issue, which may be common to other plastic-case AGM batteries, in that you must leave a gap between the batteries for cooling.
In the boats that had problems, there were 6 or 8 batteries packed snugly in a box. The inside batteries in the "pack" overheated, distorted, and
self-destructed.
When we re-did the installation, we left some space between the batteries for air circulation - no problem.
Also, some charges or inverter chargers have temperature sensors to limit charging if the battery is overheating. If so, I'd suggest attaching to one
of the middle batteries.
On a separate, but related topic, I've had a Northstar as the backup battery in my Tacoma, behind the rear seat in a crew cab - it has worked great,
and stood up to the banging around in Baja. The tall, narrow form factor was the only battery that would fit.
Good luck.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Arne Alvarado and I used to refer to the Gohner distributor in Sta Rosalia as"The Gohnería"
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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55steve
Senior Nomad
Posts: 857
Registered: 4-24-2006
Location: Warner Springs, CA
Member Is Offline
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Great info - Thanks!
| Quote: | Originally posted by skippermike
We have serviced a number of yachts that had large banks of Northstar batteries.
There is an issue, which may be common to other plastic-case AGM batteries, in that you must leave a gap between the batteries for cooling.
In the boats that had problems, there were 6 or 8 batteries packed snugly in a box. The inside batteries in the "pack" overheated, distorted, and
self-destructed.
When we re-did the installation, we left some space between the batteries for air circulation - no problem.
Also, some charges or inverter chargers have temperature sensors to limit charging if the battery is overheating. If so, I'd suggest attaching to one
of the middle batteries.
On a separate, but related topic, I've had a Northstar as the backup battery in my Tacoma, behind the rear seat in a crew cab - it has worked great,
and stood up to the banging around in Baja. The tall, narrow form factor was the only battery that would fit.
Good luck. |
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Full Time Residents
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agm batteries are NOT what you want for a solar application...
cars are a different animal
and my neighbors are having troubles with all the trojans
they are made in china not...not the usa
trojan does not stand behind their batteries either
someday there will be a better battery...using a different "water"
edit...also think about your voltage
if you use 6 volt batteries and have a 12 volt system
you only lose 2 batteries if one fails
if you have a 48v system and one dies
you lose 8 batteries
think ahead...it not if they die its when
you should never mix and match batteries even old and new same company same model batteries
[Edited on 9-13-2012 by Bob and Susan]
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cavilan
Newbie
Posts: 19
Registered: 10-24-2011
Member Is Offline
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battery power
I sure do appreciate all the feed back. thank you
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bajamedic
Nomad
Posts: 392
Registered: 12-5-2008
Location: Northern California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just waitin for baja
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You might want to consider paying more up front for a much better battery system, we specified ABS LYTE in our last install and they have been trouble
and free for years. This was a solar system with an auto start generator system for backup. JH
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob and Susan
agm batteries are NOT what you want for a solar application...
cars are a different animal
and my neighbors are having troubles with all the trojans
they are made in china not...not the usa
trojan does not stand behind their batteries either
someday there will be a better battery...using a different "water"
edit...also think about your voltage
if you use 6 volt batteries and have a 12 volt system
you only lose 2 batteries if one fails
if you have a 48v system and one dies
you lose 8 batteries
think ahead...it not if they die its when
you should never mix and match batteries even old and new same company same model batteries
[Edited on 9-13-2012 by Bob and Susan] |
bob, where do you get your information regarding trojan batteries?
 the folks at the new state of the art maunfacturing facility in georgia might
get a little butt hurt!
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daveB
Nomad
Posts: 244
Registered: 11-6-2003
Location: B.C. Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: wondering about Nomads!
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Interstate 6-v have worked well for me. First bank of 4 changed out, MoHo application, after 8 years but still serviceable; second four have 5 years
on them so far. No problems with any of the eight.
Sorry, I don't know who makes Cosco batteries.
I think that AGM's do have a place in solar applications. Although they do cost more they can recover their charge faster than the flooded wet cells,
a plus.
I don't allow the voltage to go under 12.2 (about 50% of full charge) and seldom ever charged them with the generator. Never equailize either although
it's probably a good idea on occasion.
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