Well I finally found out how long a set of Trojan T-105 batteries will last when basically ignored, and the terminals not cleaned well.
My first set of batteries where 9 years old when I gave them to a friend and replaced them with this set in April 2006. (motorhome was new in November 1996) The front pair of batteries died last night, 6 years and 2 months old, hint when the lights go off because I turned on the water pump, I know the battery was weak. (it was actually the battery connection was weak to the point it fell apart)
I removed the two wires (not the nut, it was eaten away by acid) and tied those wires back together, this let the rear pair of batteries keep working. The front pair reads 9.5 volts, the rear pair 12.7. So the second pair is still in good shape, despite being ignored a lot.
I do have hydrocaps, and that will recycle the gas leaving the battery back into water, so they stay full about a year, but the good batteries still needed about 1 quart of water last night.
I would replace all 4 at this point, but I don't plan on camping for at least 1 more year, so why bother? The 400 watt solar system is still keeping up, while living in the RV, so I am doing fine with the one pair. And I want to see how long this other pair of batteries will last. When I used to have 12 volt batteries, they rarely lasted over 3 years. Now I can say a pair of golf cart batteries will last 6 years at least, and 9 or 10 if you take good are of them.
Happy camping!
Fred. Moved to Tech Issues forum from DIY.
* This post was
edited 06/17/12 07:03pm by an administrator/moderator *
I hated spending the extra bucks over a run of the mill group 29 but my group 31 in still going strong in it's eight year. I take very good care of it.
Try hooking up a battery desulphater. They DO work.
1937(BAD BOY)pontiac,all steel,chevy 350,dyno=405hp,650 holley double pumper,ps,pb tilt wheel,heat & air,
700 r4 tranny,headers,3" exhaust with flowmasters
just a good ole southern redneck country boy
ScottG wrote: At only 9V's while all the others are 12+, it sounds like you have a shorted cell and it will never come back from that.
I agree. I still might try some EDTA to help restore the cells, but not sure. I might just start running a pair of batteries, instead of 4, this will also remove 120 pounds from the RV. I rarely ever used more than 120 AH in one day, so the extra capacity is just extra weight. And without using the Direct TV, I don't think I will ever exceed 55 amp hours, according to my e-meter.
My work did have a 1 person manlift at one time, and I installed a 5 SHP battery in that. 85 pounds, the heaviest 12 volt battery before stepping up to the 8D. It is slightly larger than a group 31, and has about 165 amp hours capacity.
For now, the old pair of batteries seems to be holding up OK. Running my 3 Fantastic fans late into the night, with a 40 AH load since charging stopped at sundown, the battery voltage has gone down to 12.4, indicating the battery is weak.
Who knows, this battery might last another 3 years, and by then I might be able to change to Li-ion battery - I saw one recently that is 13 volts and 100 AH, but the price is still really high!
Raften wrote: I hated spending the extra bucks over a run of the mill group 29 but my group 31 in still going strong in it's eight year. I take very good care of it.
Was this a Trojan battery? Could you share the model #, if so, please? I am looking for good Group 31's, presently.
Raften wrote: I hated spending the extra bucks over a run of the mill group 29 but my group 31 in still going strong in it's eight year. I take very good care of it.
Was this a Trojan battery? Could you share the model #, if so, please? I am looking for good Group 31's, presently.
It is a SCS225 (Trojan), will be nine years old at the end of the summer. It has never been deeply discharged and water level checked often.
westend wrote: Thanks, Raften. I have a bit of respect for the Trojan line so will see if I can pick up two at a reasonable price. Thanks for sharing the numbers.
If you end up in Long Beach California, there is a good battery supplier that carries the full Trojan lineup, they are located on Long Beach BLVD, just south of the 405 freeway, on the east side of LB BLVD.
Or check with a local golf repair place, and see if they stock Trojan batteries. Usually they have enough volume that they get a good price.
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