Inverter Batteries

boca chica dave

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Sep 25, 2004
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Thanks Eddy

I'm new at this. Would you say these are better than the trace batteries and do you remember what they cost? Thanks again.
 

Eddyx

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Sep 9, 2005
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They are much better than Trace, because they don't need maintenance and are designed for 10 years of use. The cost is RD$7,000 each, but if you need 4 trace, with this one just will need 2. Also, avoid the pollution with lead in indoor areas.
 
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SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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Trace, the inverter company does not make batteries. An electrician friend of mine who has worked in the D.R. for ten years told me he once checked with the parent company of Trace about some ?Trace? batteries. He was told they were not from the Trace company,as they don?t sell batteries, only inverters. Someone is using the name.

Trojan makes the best batteries according to my friend. You can get them in Pricemart for about $75.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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I Am Trying To Learn MORE About The "Gel Filled" Batteries!

They "sound" just about "To Good To Be True" for "Inversor" use!
They are commonly used in "Boats",motorcycles,"Ski-Doos" aand "things" that don't just stay on the "straight & Narrow" like cars usually do! Maybe they are used in "Aircraft" which also turn "up-side-down" from time to time.
Anyway,Even if the initial cost is double,or even triple ,what a "Normal" deep cycle batery used in an inverter system in the DR.costs,if it is
Maintenence Free",and last "up to 10 years" it would be fantastic!!!
What I would need to be 100% sure of before I buy 4 or 8 of the "Gel Filled" batteries is,Where's the "PROOF" that they will last 10 years??? "Up To",can mean "One Year","Five Years",or "Ten Years"!!!!!:bandit:

I am back to the "NET" to see what more I can find.I wwould love to hear much more about these batteries,and they use with invertors!
CCCCCCCCC
 

Mirador

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Apr 15, 2004
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Eddyx said:
I recently bought this model:
http://www.powbat.com/acro-file/slf-12205.pdf.

You can get this in DIGITAL TV C/ Proyecto No. 4 Urb Constelaci?n. Phone 809-563-6446. To get this address you should go by the Los Pr?ceres Ave. (the continuation of Luper?n Ave.)


I bought one recently. I can't believe this outfit operates from a tiny hole-on-the-wall outlet, in an out-of-the-way barrio, and on an off-the-beaten-track side-street from the main road. I paid a couple of strong Haitian hands (from a construction site down the street) to carry the 120 lbs battery up four flights of stairs to my apartment. However, I'm very happy with the battery, which is connected to an automatic 500W inverter. Considering I'm having regular 'apagones' of up to six plus hours daily, something unheard previously in this barrio (Bella Vista).
 

boca chica dave

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Sep 25, 2004
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Criss Colon said:
They "sound" just about "To Good To Be True" for "Inversor" use!
They are commonly used in "Boats",motorcycles,"Ski-Doos" aand "things" that don't just stay on the "straight & Narrow" like cars usually do! Maybe they are used in "Aircraft" which also turn "up-side-down" from time to time.
Anyway,Even if the initial cost is double,or even triple ,what a "Normal" deep cycle batery used in an inverter system in the DR.costs,if it is
Maintenence Free",and last "up to 10 years" it would be fantastic!!!
What I would need to be 100% sure of before I buy 4 or 8 of the "Gel Filled" batteries is,Where's the "PROOF" that they will last 10 years??? "Up To",can mean "One Year","Five Years",or "Ten Years"!!!!!:bandit:

I am back to the "NET" to see what more I can find.I wwould love to hear much more about these batteries,and they use with invertors!
CCCCCCCCC
Agreed. They do sound good, but for the price it would be nice to have more feed back.
 

Eddyx

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Sep 9, 2005
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SKY said:
Trace, the inverter company does not make batteries. An electrician friend of mine who has worked in the D.R. for ten years told me he once checked with the parent company of Trace about some ?Trace? batteries. He was told they were not from the Trace company,as they don?t sell batteries, only inverters. Someone is using the name.

Trojan makes the best batteries according to my friend. You can get them in Pricemart for about $75.

Trace is now Xantrex. This is the website now http://www.xantrex.com/
 

Eddyx

New member
Sep 9, 2005
124
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Criss Colon said:
They "sound" just about "To Good To Be True" for "Inversor" use!
They are commonly used in "Boats",motorcycles,"Ski-Doos" aand "things" that don't just stay on the "straight & Narrow" like cars usually do! Maybe they are used in "Aircraft" which also turn "up-side-down" from time to time.
Anyway,Even if the initial cost is double,or even triple ,what a "Normal" deep cycle batery used in an inverter system in the DR.costs,if it is
Maintenence Free",and last "up to 10 years" it would be fantastic!!!
What I would need to be 100% sure of before I buy 4 or 8 of the "Gel Filled" batteries is,Where's the "PROOF" that they will last 10 years??? "Up To",can mean "One Year","Five Years",or "Ten Years"!!!!!:bandit:

I am back to the "NET" to see what more I can find.I wwould love to hear much more about these batteries,and they use with invertors!
CCCCCCCCC

The 10 years really depends of many things but that is what the manufacturer say in their brochure, in the link above. Also, that's the type of batteries that telephone companies use in their centrals for power failures. The problem with this battery is because is too heavy.
 
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gary short

Guest
Gell cells are the way to go and it's been my experience that they last at least 10 years, however they are 3 times as expensive as, for example, deep cycling Trojans. So if you have a regular maintenance schedule, the price is probably the same. I've worked on some mega yachts as an electician and I'm astounded by gellcells toughness and 0 maintenance.
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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In our experience, the gel cell batteries are perhaps overrated. We used some on our sail boat and discovered that they really do not stand up to tropical conditions. They were 'se fue' in about six months on the boat. Maybe things have changed, but I will not easily buy these again. On a boat, you make all your own power with generator, inverters and so on, so, the batteries are all important - it is just a little more complicated than doing it on land here in the DR. We reverted to normal lead acid flooded batteries (my ecological soul cringes - but we have to have power). They are by far the best value for money. We have a set of 12 that need another EDTA treatment around now. These are almost 5 years old. With regular EDTA treatments, they are lasting us very well.

I have to add something, in the cooler climates and marine environment I believe the gel cells are excellent.
 
G

gary short

Guest
Chris said:
In our experience, the gel cell batteries are perhaps overrated. We used some on our sail boat and discovered that they really do not stand up to tropical conditions. They were 'se fue' in about six months on the boat. Maybe things have changed, but I will not easily buy these again. On a boat, you make all your own power with generator, inverters and so on, so, the batteries are all important - it is just a little more complicated than doing it on land here in the DR. We reverted to normal lead acid flooded batteries (my ecological soul cringes - but we have to have power). They are by far the best value for money. We have a set of 12 that need another EDTA treatment around now. These are almost 5 years old. With regular EDTA treatments, they are lasting us very well.

I have to add something, in the cooler climates and marine environment I believe the gel cells are excellent.
To be sure I'm talking about about a cooler climate, but if they are properly ventilated no problem. Where did you have them, let me guess jammed under your cockpit hatch, with no ventilation, where the temp is way up there. I'f that's the case, go with lead cells however for the original poster research gellcells and always buy a product with a good rep.
 
G

gary short

Guest
Also Chris I'm basing my opinion on years of experiance as both an industrial and marine electrician. I refuse to believe that you managed to pooch a gellcell in 6 months regardless of climate. Yachts I have worked on travel between the tropics and the pacific northwest yearly. Also the original poster's power supply comes off the grid your's comes from a generator inorder to recharge the batteries. How is it that you're implying it's more complicated? O.K. you've got a sailboat great, I'm willing to bet you shorted something out either from your own wiring or some unqualified " electrician". I believe the original poster needed a qualified opinion, yours is not. I've never suffered fools lightly.
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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gary short said:
Also Chris I'm basing my opinion on years of experiance as both an industrial and marine electrician. I refuse to believe that you managed to pooch a gellcell in 6 months regardless of climate. Yachts I have worked on travel between the tropics and the pacific northwest yearly. Also the original poster's power supply comes off the grid your's comes from a generator inorder to recharge the batteries. How is it that you're implying it's more complicated? O.K. you've got a sailboat great, I'm willing to bet you shorted something out either from your own wiring or some unqualified " electrician". I believe the original poster needed a qualified opinion, yours is not. I've never suffered fools lightly.

Mine was not an opinion - it was an experience. As we had a catamaran and two battery banks, the two banks were installed in the hulls - between the forward cabins and the aft cabins, in a properly designed space, under the bunks, with properly designed ventilation. They were installed by a qualified and reliable marine electrician with years of experience, replacing our other batteries for gelcells as we had heard good things about the technology. Perhaps if we travelled between the cool climates and the tropics, they would have lasted longer. But totally in the tropics, we could not make them last. I am talking about some 5 odd years ago, so things may have changed -as I said in my original post. No need to get your knickers in a knot - simply take the environmental aspects into consideration. It is allowed to have different experiences here. Oh yes, in my opinion, it is a little more complicated on a boat because of the corrosive environment, and the fact that one is on a boat - we actually sailed, not just down the intercoastal waterway - but this is way off the topic of this thread.

So, to Ccccccc who posted the question about gell cells, perhaps you can look at other experiences - it may just be that we 'shorted' ours out, or did something really stupid - perhaps you can find someone who has run these successfully in our DR environment over a period of time. Also, with the EDTA, we're making our old batteries last a hell-of-a-lot of time longer. If you're looking to buy new, take this into consideration as the economics change.. It is way cheaper because you don't have to replace the batteries as frequently.
 
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MrMike

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Mar 2, 2003
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There is a reason gel cells have not penetrated the DR market in any significant way. They may be a luittle better, but they are a lot more expensive and in the end not worth the extra bucks.

Get some Trojan T105's from Pricemart (There are some counterfeits going around, be careful) and you are good for 3-5 years if you check the water levels every month or two and make sure they don't dry up.