Golf Cart Battery

[Ron F]

I'm about to replace my 12v deep cycle battery and I'm considering a golf cart battery. From the specs for these batteries, they seem to offer greater amp/hours for a given size and according to the marketing hype, can be cycled almost twice as many times as conventional deep cycle batteries. The initial cost is greater, but long term, it looks like the cost per amp/hour is significantly less for the GC battery.

Several of the manufacturers offer 12v versions, although it looks like earlier versions were 6v. I'm wondering if the newer 12v versions are truely "golf cart" quality or just re-purposed deep cycle batteries.

Any opinions??

Ron

[kevin61]

Two Trojan T105 6 volts wired in series to give you 12 volts would be a good combination. I don't have Trojans but my 6 volts are still going strong after 4 or 5 years. Just make sure they are topped up regularily with distilled water and give them an equalizing charge every now and then. In the summer the solar panels in combination with the 3 stage charge controller keep them properly charged. In the winter I hook up the 3 stage battery charger to them about once a month while they are stored in the garage.

Not sure about the 12 volt deep cycle. I suppose it depends on your power needs but I am hard pressed to draw this combination down more than 10% running LED lights , CD player, TV and water pump. I have no fan on my furnace so there is no draw there.

Battery Connections - YouTube

[honda03842]

I have 2 Trojan 105s, now 14 years old. I never take them off the 3 stage converter. They've been truly amazing.

Norm

[cpaharley2008]

Ron,
here is a link that may help your decision. I had 2 Lifeline AGM #27 in my last trailer and being agm they were maintenance free year round. The only concern is weight on the Egg's tongue. I think agm's might be less than trojans.
Lifeline Batteries - Marine & RV Deep Cycle Batteries

[Ron F]

Kevin,

I have a morningstar charge controller for my solar connections and a PDI charge wizard integrated with my converter. When connected in series, do you just charge your two 6v batteries as if they were a single 12V battery?

Ron

[kevin61]

Yes, the battery cells are now connected externally via the cable I attached. In a single 12 volt the connection is internal.

You can see where I colour coded the two opposing corners of the configuration with Red tape and Black tape to make it easier to identify where the new12 volt battery positive and negative are.

[Ron F]

Thanks for all the feedback. After checking specs and listening to suggestions, I finally settled on a single Trojan J150. It's a 12v deep cycle spec'd at 150 amp/hours. I figure that I'll need 24 a/h per day, worst case, with lights, furnace, and fridge. So, this should easily give me about 3 days of power without significant sunlight to recharge. I'll let you all know how this one works.
Ron