Trace batteries T235 T245

AlterEgo

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Both banks of batteries died at the same time, they were Trojan reds.

I know I’ve seen threads about Trace batteries before, and that’s what we ended up buying this week, 8 of them. We got 4 T245 and 4 T235, not sure why two different, bought different days. Inverter guy seems impressed with them, said they’re “industrial” and better than the Trojans (we bought them directly from Trace, not from him)

So we’re curious if anyone has bought these and how they’ve held up?
 

SantiagoDR

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Both banks of batteries died at the same time, they were Trojan reds.

I know I’ve seen threads about Trace batteries before, and that’s what we ended up buying this week, 8 of them. We got 4 T245 and 4 T235, not sure why two different, bought different days. Inverter guy seems impressed with them, said they’re “industrial” and better than the Trojans (we bought them directly from Trace, not from him)

So we’re curious if anyone has bought these and how they’ve held up?

Windeguy is the expert on batteries.

However, the 2 sets you purchased I think may be a problem as they have different current/power ratings. That's what the model numbers refer to.

Combining them may be an issue in charging from the same source.
That's if you hook them up as 8 batteries (2 sets of 4) or (4 sets of 2).
 
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cobraboy

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Windeguy is the expert on batteries.

However, the 2 sets you purchased I think may be a problem as they have different current/power ratings. That's what the model numbers refer to.

Combining them may be an issue in charging from the same source.
That's if you hook them up as 8 batteries (2 sets of 4) or (4 sets of 2).
Correct.

Optimally, all the battery banks should be the same capacity and condition.
 

AlterEgo

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When I pointed out that the first two are T245 and second are T 235, Mr AE immediately got on the phone. The 235 have not been installed yet, and the plan is to exchange them for 245s.

Right now the two banks of 4 go to different inverters, one for the house and one just the refrigerator and separate chest freezer. We’d like them all the same because we’ve discussed getting one larger inverter for everything if our bigger one dies.

Meanwhile, Generac guy was here yesterday, returning today. Hopefully we’ll have that 8 KW up and running too.
 

windeguy

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TRACE as a company was purchased by Xantrex and Xantrex was then purchased by by Schneider Electric.

So TRACE has not existed for many years. TRACE never made batteries.

Whoever sells TRACE batteries in the DR has them made somewhere by somebody, but they were never made by TRACE or Xantrex or Schneider. The TRACE battery name is just a sticker applied by a DR based company on batteries of unknown origin. I used TRACE batteries one time before I realized all this. They were certainly not better in life expectancy than Trojan Red batteries.

As for mixing one capacity of batteries with another capacity of batteries in two banks of 4, that is not a good idea because it will eventually cause imbalances and earlier failures in your system.

I would have continued to purchase Trojan Red Batteries. They are the best for the higher temperatures in the DR that I have found in this size range of batteries.

At this point, definitely exchange the batteries you were going to exchange to get all of the same exact type. That is the best you can do now.
 

windeguy

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Another comment on flooded lead acid batteries: If those batteries really are 245 AH batteries, they would suffer from being "electrolyte starved" as in having more metal and less acid than a Trojan T105 which have a 20 hour rate of 225 AH. An electrolyte starved battery will in general not last as long as one with more electrolyte in our warm climate.

I learned about battery technology by speaking directly to the technical people at TRACE, CROWN, INTERSTATE, ROLLS and other battery companies over the years. There was a time when we got only 10 hours of power each day when Hippolito was the idiot president here, so batteries were really a critical concern. Now we have the DR version of 24/7 power, which has been far easier to deal with.
 

AlterEgo

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We’ve had lousy luck with the red Trojans and now only a one year warranty, so decided to try something different. We bought them from Trace International in SD.

Our inverters run about 10 hours a day :(

I’m hoping the 24 hr electric all around us gets here soon.
 

william webster

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Here's what I bought AE.... haven't used them yet

Settled on the ROLLS S-550 --- 8 of them @ 22,000 pesos each
US price is $100US less... but we have shipping and taxes... so actually a pretty good price - IMO

Trace in Sto Dom has a recent shipment
should be a pickup early next week
 

SantiagoDR

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Important things to remember:

(1) Check the water lever often - especially with using them 10 hours a day.

(2) DO NOT OVER FILL - Water level should only just reach the split-ring and not above it.

(3) Fill the batteries AFTER they are charged, otherwise individual cells may spill over as they are charged.

I believe the above comments are correct.
 

windeguy

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We’ve had lousy luck with the red Trojans and now only a one year warranty, so decided to try something different. We bought them from Trace International in SD.

Our inverters run about 10 hours a day :(

I’m hoping the 24 hr electric all around us gets here soon.

There are places that sell "fake" Trojan Red batteries. Perhaps Trace International in SD is selling fake ones, or ones that were new and genuine but "old" stock. Certainly, any TRACE batteries they sell are their own private label of some unknown company.

I used to purchase my Trojan T105 batteries from LH International, but recent purchases have been from La Sirena with good results.
 

AlterEgo

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There are places that sell "fake" Trojan Red batteries. Perhaps Trace International in SD is selling fake ones, or ones that were new and genuine but "old" stock. Certainly, any TRACE batteries they sell are their own private label of some unknown company.

I used to purchase my Trojan T105 batteries from LH International, but recent purchases have been from La Sirena with good results.

Oh we know that, got stuck years back. Bought all from La Sirena. I think in our case it’s the extreme usage and that the water isn’t monitored as well as it should be when we’re not here.
 

jd426

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I said this before, but some of the " experienced" guys said its no big deal and irrelevant
. but Now I also recently heard it from a Electronics Engineer, with a Background in Chemistry as well ..
take it for what its worth..
It does not matter what manufacturer you buy .. as much as WHEN THAT BATTERY WAS FILLED with the Acid , that is the moment the Battery starts AGING, and going bad ..
Theoretically if you could buy a wet cell battery with NO Fluid in it, like the old days.. that battery could sit on a shelf for 20 years , and be Brand New until the moment you add the Fluid ..that is when the CLOCK starts Ticking .
So if a Battery (and they are all ZERO maintenance now, ) is filled and sits on a Shelf in a warehouse for 6 months to a year... that battery is already DETERIORATED a couple years ,because its not being USED and Re charged ...
That is where like 80- 90% of the damage is taking place .. IMHO.

Not to sound defensive ,,but some people here decide they are experts on everything ( not on THIS thread , but before) ...
And some are just trying to help..

and again, I just got 14 full years ( 2004 to jan 2019) out of my 2 Dodge Mopar Batteries , and NO ONE believes that either .. But I found out that the Dodge Factory in Mexico had the Battery Manufacturer close by, so the battery was literally filled, and in the Truck and then in my possession within Weeks , not months and that is the only reason for their Long Life.
so i just find all this Theorizing very amusing ...

The adding of the Distilled water and all that certainly helps to keep the cells wet & of course check the acid level or ph whatever it is with the Ball sucky specific Gravity thingy .. ( Battery Hydrometer ) ..that is certainly very important as well.

Electrical Engineers , please feel free to bash this backyard mechanic .
 

SKY

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A very good German electrician on the North Coast told me about 15 years ago that Trace did not make batteries. Now that was 15 years ago so it could well have changed.
 

windeguy

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A very good German electrician on the North Coast told me about 15 years ago that Trace did not make batteries. Now that was 15 years ago so it could well have changed.

TRACE does not exist any more outside of the DR when a local DR company appropriated their name.
So it would be hard for the original TRACE company to make any batteries at any point in time since they did not when they existed and no longer exist outside of the company here that stole their name for brand recognition. Yes I called the real TRACE company back then to confirm they did make any batteries.
 

JD Jones

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Important things to remember:

(1) Check the water lever often - especially with using them 10 hours a day.

(2) DO NOT OVER FILL - Water level should only just reach the split-ring and not above it.

(3) Fill the batteries AFTER they are charged, otherwise individual cells may spill over as they are charged.

I believe the above comments are correct.

I'm a little late to the party, but here's my take: I had 4 Red Trojans that lasted for about 7 years. After one bit the dust I decided to sell them as scrap and buy new batteries.

I have Interstate gel batteries in all of my vehicles, so I decided to go with the Interstate inverter batteries this time. It's been a year now, but so far so good.

A bit of history first: My inverter started acting up, so I took it the the factory shop to have it fixed.

When I picked it up, they told me the dip switches were not set correctly. I told them to go ahead and set them correctly and off I went.

One thing I did notice afterwards - I was having to top them off every month.

I thought that was a little strange, so I checked the manual and discovered the shop had set the charge rate at 40%. Way too high considering I'm on an A circuit 24/7 IMHO.

I reset them to 20% and will be checking to see if that makes a difference.

AE, I hope that Generac tech is the light at the end of the tunnel.
 

windeguy

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Interstate certainly makes excellent batteries. They make batteries for many brands that private label them. There are remarkably few battery manufacturers of deep cycle lead acid batteries. TRACE is not one of them, but I have never been able to find out who actually makes those batteries labelled as TRACE.

It depends upon the capacity of the Interstate battery as to how well it will do in the DR. The comments I made about a higher capacity battery being electrolyte starved and not being as well suited for our climate applies.

It was a good idea to decrease the charge rate. It could have been at least a part of the reason for their losing "water" more quickly. High charge rates can cause heat build ups and imbalances in the batteries and decrease their life time as much as deeply discharging them also harms them. Lifetime is dependent upon several factors: charge rate, discharge depth, number of discharges, temperature quality of the design among them.

Gel batteries are more convenient, more expensive, can certainly last longer than wet cell lead acid types, but also in general have lower capacities. I have little real world experience with them.

I have only known two people with Generac propane generators and both of them had very bad experiences with them. Neither had them for more than a couple of years.
 
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AlterEgo

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We have Dominican-American friends who own a home near us here, they’ve been running a Generac propane generator for many years and love it. Like us, they also have inverters.
It’s his repair guy who’s working on ours. Ready to go, we need to buy a battery because ours died from sitting