John T, and anyone else....solar battery ?

I'm down here in Quartzsite, AZ and checked on a 1000 watt solar set-up yesterday. Anyway, as Jon T suggested Trojan T- 105 6 volt golfcart batteries. The prices down here are $125.00 + core. I checked on the internet and prices average $329.00 +core + shipping. It seems like the best deal is to buy thee Trojans here, even if I decide to wait on the solar a few months.

Is $125.00 for the Trojan T-105 a good deal or should I just wait until I decide on the solar install.

I bought new Trojans, the red ones-supposed to be the best Trojan--for $700 for 6 batteries in Florida last October.

Hope y'all are enjoying the warm weather. Thunderstorms in Arkansas as we speak.

Be safe.

old bob- Thanks for responding, I didn't know if this was too good of deal to pass up?

I enjoy your posts. Read them all. Don't always respond. I admire what you are doing. Wish I had the courage to do it also.

old bob- Thank you very much.
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If there is a Sams Club around, there are equivalents made by Deka for $90 each. Trojan T105 is a generic type GC-2 battery. Sams Club has one same quality as a Trojan for $117. Made by Deka.

Note that Trojan T-105 is the standard golf-cart battery.
Trojan T105-RE is what Trojan sells for solar and costs a little more.

Trojan T105s were a good deal when they were $75 each. Now there are no real deals. They all cost near the same by amp-hours and longevity.
Best bang for the buck is probably the 12 volt deep-cycle batteries at Walmart.

Seller near me sells the standard Trojan T105s for $100 each.

I just bought a new battery bank but used cheaper and closer by Walmart batteries for $79 each. They won't last as long but are cheaper. In the end, it all works out the same except 12 volt is handier then 6 volt.

Greg, good questions here's my reasoning and take.

1) Good to hear you're going with 1000 Solar Watts. You asked for "more then enough" and while the correct answer depends on your load and location and all sorts of parameters a 1000 watt system is relatively big in many typical dry camping RV applications even if some only run 200 to 500 etc. I have NEVER run out of energy when dry camping with my 715 Solar Watts and four Trojan T-105's and I run an extra 120 VAC fridge 24/7 and a CPAP each night plus the usual TV and electronics and charging and vent fans and water pumps and furnace etc...When I only had 400 solar watts or maybe only 225 Amp Hours of battery energy storage (Two Trojan T-105's) I could NOT get by as I stated above

2) ONE reason I recommended Trojan T-105 is THEY ARE SO STANDARD AND SO RELATIVELY AVAILABLE in soooooooooooo many locations across the US. You can get replacements or warranty etc. sooooooooo easy as compared to many other brands.

3) I recommend that ALL batteries (regardless of brand) be the same type and brand and size and age.

4) I used the Sams Club batteries in a past RV and didn't like them as well as the Trojan. NOTE that was my own personal experience and would expect some others may have had a DIFFERENT experience or opinion and actually that's to be expected, to each their own. I recommend Trojan over the one Sams sells even if on paper they are equal, do as you please, its your money and your choice. Other brands I would consider are Crown and Rolls Surette in addition to all those generics sold at Sams or Costco or Interstate Battery etc etc.........Last time I looked many batteries were made by Johnson Controls or Deka etc just had different brand labels lol.

5) That's a typical price I've seen for the T-105 but I'm sure if you shop around you may find them closer to $100.

6) I considered their solar or renewable energy battery but didn't consider the extra cost gave you more bang for the buck. ALSO they are less readily available and NOT a common in stock unit if you had a problem or only one went bad. However if one of the T-105's went bad you can pick up a replacement so easy.

7) Of course if you're going with 6 volt batteries I recommend 2 or 4 or 6 etc set up in series parallel for the 12 volt RV system AND THE SAME BRAND AND SIZE AND TYPE AND DESIGN AND AGE, regardless of the brand you use.

ACTUALLY since you're starting from scratch (what I will do next round) is to consider the use of AGM batteries versus flooded lead acid. Sure they cost a bit more, but there's less venting concerns and problems and mounting location considerations etc etc versus flooded lead acid. I have been looking at Lifeline and FullRiver in the AGM type if I ever revamp my system.

For your 1000 watt system and Class A and based on PURE GUESS not knowing your use and loads etc I recommend AT LEAST 450 Amp Hours of energy storage (that's four Trojan T-105) and really if you had 600 to 700 or more amp hours THAT MAY WORK BETTER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE but that's more money and re weight and requires more storage AND DEPENDS ON YOUR USE AND LOADS.

Shop around, do your homework, read some reviews, listen to the opinions and advice offered here THEN MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE

John T Retired Electrical Engineer but NOT a solar expert

Which Sam's club batteries did you use? Last time I was there they had three different levels of quality for a GC2 battery. Trojan has two levels of quality for a GC2.

I have experienced no difference in quality when comparing "apples to apples." My last set of Deka GC2 batteries lasted me 8 years at an off-grid cabin. Same as the Trojan T-105 standards I had before them. Deka is sold by Sam's club as Duracell and also by NAPA.

I can get Dekas locally. Have to travel 200 miles one-way for Trojans here or pay a lot of shipping fees.

Trojan T-105 "standard" or "solar" weighs 62 lbs. rated 225 AH, and is tested to endure 1600 cycles at 50% discharge
Deka "Duracell" EGC2 at Sam's Club weighs 68 lbs., rated 235 AH, tested to endure 1600 cycles at 50% discharge

Both also are rated for 800 cycles at 100 % discharge. So - no difference in lifespan overall if run down completely. 96,000 total amp-hours of life either way for either brand.

John, Best I recall the Sams batteries I used were something like the EGC2 ?? Supposed to be slightly better and a bit more expensive then the regular EGC if I remember??? One important thing I experienced (I'm sure your already well aware of but to help Greg) to improve longevity is to keep them full and correctly charged (I use a so called "Smart" 4 stage charger) so as NOT to use up any of their finite number of "Life Cycles". With enough solar harvest and a good 3/4 stage solar charge controller if they never get below say 30% discharged as I sometime experience you're not quite consuming an entire "Life Cycle" and like you I can envision 7 to 8 years of life. To the contrary if a person discharges them to 50% on a regular basis I wouldn't expect them to last near as long. Depending on where I'm at and the degree and angle and time of sunshine and loads I often reach 100% SOC by mid morning After which my charger goes into its "Float" charge level of around 13.2 volts and stays there all day. Its AFTER the sun goes down and I'm running my second fridge and fans and water pump and electronics and the CPAP all night and some times furnace my batteries do their job and may discharge to 30% r 40% and over. But then early AM my wife may run the 4 KW genset a short time in which case my 80 amp charger kicks in to give the batteries a good "jump start" on the day prior to sunshine.

I would have to agree if you compare true apples to apples you're likely NOT going to see any HUGE difference in Trojan or Deka or several other battery brands so I consider dealers and common in stock products and other factors when deciding what to purchase......With so many golf cart dealers all over the country (and Im running 6 volt deep cycle units) I find its easier to buy Trojan then some other brands.

I haven't used but heard good about Crown and Rolls Surette but still go back to the sentence above to make a decision. As I noted I'm gonna try the AGM route next time. BOTH my chargers have AGM capability and settings. I'm NOT ready nor do I need the expensive Lithium at this time. Some dudes I know who use them have like 1000 amp hours of storage and may even run AC part of a day but I'm nowhere near that yet and don't plan to be lol I'm a MODEST energy user in my little 29 footer...

As always fun sparky chatting with you

John T

My only complaint with Trojans if they are usually only worth buying (for me) if there is a golf course nearby that stocks them.

I still have a battery bank on a grid-tie house with Rolls-Surette batteries from Canada. At the time of the install 9 years ago, Trojans were not allowed to be used if I wanted my incentive money. So I had to pay extra for the Rolls.