Which Inverter Batteries?

mountainfrog said:

Our two Trace-DR3624 inverters team up with 16 batteries.

The first set of batteries ("Trace T-115") lasted five years and four months (!).

Then I found out that Trace does not make batteries and thought I should buy 'better' ones and subsequently bought 'Trojan-T105', the famous and recommended golf cart battery.

Now with another three months to go to reach only a four year life time the Trojans show signs of weakness. Their capacity is depleted faster and on some I can find some acid spillage (which may be due to vivid gassing during charging).

I expected the Trojans to last longer...

Which brand of batteries do you recommend for my next set?

mountainfrog

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Everybody used to say the reddish ones were better than the blacks, yet I got more years out of the blacks, and my best batteries so far, probably aren't available anymore.
Bought them from Mr Mike in STI, and they were called ??? 2000.
None of us know anymore which are the best to buy.
Maybe you can find a type of consumer's report on battery comparisons, and hope you can find them in this country.
Wish I could be of more help.

Never,repeat "never", Buy Motorcraft!!!!!!!!!!

I bought 12 Motorcraft deep cycle batteries from VIAMAR,the Ford Dealer in Santo Domingo. They had a big advertising campaign about a year ago when the batteries were introduced. By the way,they are having another campaign now,so BEWARE!!! Anyway,they came with a "20 MONTH GARANTEE"!!!!!!!

"BULL$HIT"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I repeat,."BULL$HIT"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When one of the batteries failed after only 6 months,(A "pole" pulled out of the top!!!) I took it back. They informed me that the so called "Garantee" was pro-rated. meaning that I would not get a new battery,but "credit" toward a new battery based on how many months I had used the battery. They sent me to the "KIA" dealership.Where their "Technitians" were located! They "examined" the battery and said that I was responsible for the "damage"! Asked if I had been in an "Accident"??? They thought it was a car battery! Anyway,they declined to honor their garentee because they said I was responsible for the damage.
They should be careful who they "PI$$OFF". A "PI$$EDOFF" customer could return the "ACID" from a "Damaged" battery! Return it to the upolstery of the seats in all the new cars/trucks in their showroom!!!!!!!gre:gre::glasses:

PS: If you are shopping for a new FORD vehicle in the DR,don't sit in any of the cars/trucks at VIAMAR's Showroom in Santo Domingo. You could "GET BURNED" if you buy from VIAMAR, just like I did!!!!
CRIS COLON CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

If batteries are duty free, I'd consider some of the gel batteries. They are practically bullet proof. I switched from Trojan T105's to equilavent gels on my sailboat, and never had to touch them. A little pricy, for sure, but one more worry gone.

Those are "US Battery" brand batteries. They are supposed to last longer because

a) the plates have more metal in them so they take longer to corode
b) there is an extra half inch of fluid in the bottom so that the coroded sediment from the plates has a place to settle and does not interfere wth the battery's operation.

Last I heard Luis Hernandez y Associados was the major importer of this brand in Santiago, but it has been over 18 months since I have been in that business so I don't know what he carries now.

MrMike said:

Those are "US Battery" brand batteries. They are supposed to last longer because .....

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Sorry Mike, I lost you there, WHICH is the "US Battery"?

SantiagoDR said:

Sorry Mike, I lost you there, WHICH is the "US Battery"?

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The ones I mentioned in my post, whose brand I couldn't remember.
US Battery 2000.

JDJones said:

Somehow, threatening to cause what could amount to thousands of dollars of damages to new vehicles in retaliation for getting a bad battery doesn't sound like a very smart thing to do.

You make it sound like they knowingly sold you a defective battery on purpose, just to ruin your day.


Retaliation is never

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Hey JD,
Just thought I'd mention that CC's makes whacked out posts.
One can never know for sure how serious he is being.
I can tell you that the alleged revenge would have to do with them not honouring their guarantee, not for selling a bad battery.

mountainfrog said:

Yes, they still carry them, although only the '1800' is available at present.

I was told the '2200' is now called '245' and I now wonder whether the new name came with a new quality...

Anyway, I do hope my weakening 'Trojans' will not give in completely before I have made up my mind what to buy
(most likely the '2200' made by U.S. Battery).

@ Mike
Thank you for the information

m'frog

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I bought them at the peak of the Hippo fiasco, when we were getting an average of 1 hour of city power per day.
It's been three years now, and they always run cool and take less fluid than the others.
There have been times when I ran so much load that even the black Trace batteries got hot, but never the US Battery 2000's.

mountainfrog said:

Cool stuff then...
6 Volt Golf Car

m'frog

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Those are the ones.
I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with them.
They're as good or better than any battery I have ever used.

mountainfrog said:

Good.
At the moment the '2200' are out of stock...
Hope, it's not a 'ma?ana' thing...
Price should be a little bit cheaper than the red Trojans and somewhat more expensive than the 'black one'.

Back to my crystal ball...

m'frog

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If and when you find them please let us know, so others can know where to purchase them.

AGM "no aqua" batteries

mountainfrog said:

Our two Trace-DR3624 inverters team up with 16 batteries.

The first set of batteries ("Trace T-115") lasted five years and four months (!).

Then I found out that Trace does not make batteries and thought I should buy 'better' ones and subsequently bought 'Trojan-T105', the famous and recommended golf cart battery.

Now with another three months to go to reach only a four year life time the Trojans show signs of weakness. Their capacity is depleted faster and on some I can find some acid spillage (which may be due to vivid gassing during charging).

I expected the Trojans to last longer...

Which brand of batteries do you recommend for my next set?

mountainfrog

Click to expand...

AGM, sealed, no maintenance, 10-15 year lifetime(depends on depletions)
Please PM me for more info.
Georgios

windeguy said:

Deep cycle batteries need to be equalized periodically. Equalizing is an extended, low current charge performed after the normal charge cycle. This extra charge helps keep all cells in balance. Actively used batteries should be equalized once per week.

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That's odd.
Their description of equalizing is quite contrary to the Trace/Xantrex theory & application.
When equalizing with a Trace/Xantrex inverter, the batteries are subjected to a fairly lengthy overcharge, thus heating them up, and slightly boiling the acid.
The theory behind this practice would be to remove sulfate build up to keep them performing at their max and also balancing them to each other, much like an EDTA treatment.

windeguy said:

AGM Batteries: MrSolar.com, Online Solar, Inc.---Solar Panels and Solar Power Systems

More pricey for sure, but the AGM style battery could be worth it if they really have a significantly longer lifetime in an inverter/charger system than the normal lead-acid battery. Note that the system is important. Preliminary reading about them indicates that they like to be charged very quickly, probably more quickly than our inverters have the capability.

I had been using the every month or two approach on equalization for lead-acid batteries, so I was a bit confused by the US Battery recommendations.

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They may last longer, but not enough to justify the price differential.
They emit less fumes, therefore would be ideal in certain contained applications, but for a standard inverter system, as we use here in the DR, the deep cycle lead acid batteries are a much more economical choice.

PS: That was rather confusing, as I was replying to this text from windeguy

The AGM style battery could be worth it if they have a significantly longer
lifetime in an inverter/charger system than the normal lead-acid battery.

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and he must have edited it as I went to reply.