Excide - Sentenial 6v batteries

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niceshot

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Joined
Mar 24, 2009
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11
I just called down to my local battery guy and this is what he carries.  I'm going to replace my 12 volt batteries with two 6 volt (golf cart batteries).  Do any of you have any experience with these batteries.  Your comments are always apprciated.

About $110 each, does this sound about right?

Mike
 
Based on my personal experience I do not recommend batteries made by Exide.  Trojan T105 or Interstate deep cycle batteries. The Marine starting/deep cycle are not a good choice.  Get TRUE deep cycle batteries.  Another choice would be to get AGM batteries which while they are a bit more in cost they are maintenance free.
 
I'm inclined to support RON

See if your local Sam's or Costco has six volt Golf Car batteries (Energizer or Johnson Controls respectively)  You may find the savings on the battey will pay for the membership needed to shop there by the way.  I prefer Costco but that has nothing to do with batteries.
 
Hi Ron, what exactly is your beef with Exide batteries. Is it just personal?

They have been in business for eons. See their history here

  I don't know all the pro's and con's, yet you are in adamant opposition to that brand of battery all the time.

What do you base your opinion on? Aren't you worried about repercussions from the company?

Just curious,  carson

 
Frankly speaking, based on my experience,   The last Exide battery we bought lasted less than a year.  Oh we did turn it in for warranty but then got smart when it failed again and just recycled it and bought another brand, which by the way is still in use after more than 12 years.  Nothing wrong with providing  a recommendation is there?
 
Carson

I stand strongly with Ron on our opinion of Exide batteries. Our coach came with Exides and they didn't last a year before exploding (only a slight exaggeration). I had the coach serviced less than a month before and the batteries were checked and were fine, but Exide refused any warranty replacement saying that the battery fluid level was too low. TS switched off of Exide shortly thereafter because of excessive warranty claims.
 
carson said:
Hi Ron, what exactly is your beef with Exide batteries. Is it just personal?

They have been in business for eons. See their history here

  I don't know all the pro's and con's, yet you are in adamant opposition to that brand of battery all the time.

What do you base your opinion on? Aren't you worried about repercussions from the company?

Just curious,  carson
Sorry for the last post. Somehow my reply ended up in the body of the quote. Probably something I did, I am sure. but I don't know how to delete my post now....I too have had bad experience with Excide and have heard the same from many others. The numbers far exceed complaints (that i have heard) about other [well known] batteries.
 
[quote author=regularguy]Somehow my reply ended up in the body of the quote. Probably something I did, I am sure. but I don't know how to delete my post now.[/quote]

One of the forum staff deleted your post.

Next time the mis-quote happens, just click the Modify button and check the [ quote ] and [ /quote ] tags. (I've added spaces inside the [ ] to allow the tags to display in this message; The spaces wouldn't normally be there.)

Usually, it's the second quote tag [ /quote ] that's in the wrong place. Go ahead and check it out on the Member practice board. Feel free to quote any message that's there, and edit your quote/reply to see how it works. Yell at me if you need help. Thanks.
 
Tom said:
One of the forum staff deleted your post.

Next time the mis-quote happens, just click the Modify button and check the [ quote ] and [ /quote ] tags. (I've added spaces inside the [ ] to allow the tags to display in this message; The spaces wouldn't normally be there.)

Usually, it's the second quote tag [ /quote ] that's in the wrong place. Go ahead and check it out on the Member practice board. Feel free to quote any message that's there, and edit your quote/reply to see how it works. Yell at me if you need help. Thanks.
Yes I see where I made the error now. I didn't notice that the last "quote" was all alone, a couple of lines below where I started in the first attempt. I need to be a bit more diligent with such things. That is the second time in as many days. Next time I will simply blame Carson.. lol Thanks Tom
 
Back to the original question...
Golf cart batteries are ultra-rugged deep cycle batteries designed for the rather abusive use of a golf cart. As such, they are one of the best designed batteries for an RV, which is actually quite similar to a golf cart in how the batteries get used.  Unless you have very expensive 12v deep cycles from Trojan, Lifeline, or Discovery, thse golf cart batteries are probably the best choice for you. And yes, $110 each installed is around the going price. You might do a buit better at a Sam's or Costco if you area member, but not enough to pay the membership fee just to buy two batteries.
 
RV Roamer said:
Back to the original question...
Golf cart batteries are ultra-rugged deep cycle batteries designed for the rather abusive use of a golf cart. As such, they are one of the best designed batteries for an RV, which is actually quite similar to a golf cart in how the batteries get used.  Unless you have very expensive 12v deep cycles from Trojan, Lifeline, or Discovery, thse golf cart batteries are probably the best choice for you. And yes, $110 each installed is around the going price. You might do a buit better at a Sam's or Costco if you area member, but not enough to pay the membership fee just to buy two batteries.
To go a step further, which would be better; two standard 12v deep cycle batteries hooked up in parellel, or two 6v golf cart batteries hooked up in series, or perhaps one of the 'small' diesel batteries, I think its a series 4D?
 
To go a step further, which would be better; two standard 12v deep cycle batteries hooked up in parellel, or two 6v golf cart batteries hooked up in series, or perhaps one of the 'small' diesel batteries, I think its a series 4D?

The nexus of the question is a term "two STANDARD 12 deep cycles batteries". The things that are typically sold as '12v deep cycle batteries' or  warmed over 12vstarting batteries and hardly "deep cycle' at all. A 6v golf cart battery, however, is a rugged deep cycle by definition, even if not at the top of its class in quality.  I  would rather have a run-of-the-mill 6v deep cycle than 98% of the batteries sold as '12v deep cycle". Unless the 12v deep cycle has a brand name like Trojan or Lifeline on it, pick the 6V.
 
RV Roamer said:
The nexus of the question is a term "two STANDARD 12 deep cycles batteries". The things that are typically sold as '12v deep cycle batteries' or  warmed over 12vstarting batteries and hardly "deep cycle' at all. A 6v golf cart battery, however, is a rugged deep cycle by definition, even if not at the top of its class in quality.  I  would rather have a run-of-the-mill 6v deep cycle than 98% of the batteries sold as '12v deep cycle". Unless the 12v deep cycle has a brand name like Trojan or Lifeline on it, pick the 6V.

This is an interesting subject to me in that I currently have a thread going on in another forum about my dying Trojan T-105 batteries and is there anything I can do about them (short of replacing).  I have a 42v, seven battery golf cart and my batteries are about three years old.  When I'm home (about eight months a year), I play golf 5-6 times a week.  They are properly maintained and have a high dollar charger specifically for these batteries.  My guess, and the opinions of a few others, is that they are nearing the end of their normal life cycle so it's time to bite the bullet and shell out close to $1K for replacements.  T-105s go for $130-160 around here so I'm hoping they are at least diamond encrusted!
 
Denny,

Does your charger have an equalize function? If so, it's worth running the equalize cycle. See this article in our library.  *

If the batteries are shot, it won't help. But, if they've merely lost their ability to be fully charged (or have lost capacity) for one of the reasons explained in the article, equalizing might return them to their prior state.
 
Tom said:
Denny,

Does your charger have an equalize function? If so, it's worth running the equalize cycle. See this article in our library.

If the batteries are shot, it won't help. But, if they've merely lost their ability to be fully charged (or have lost capacity) for one of the reasons explained in the article, equalizing might return them to their prior state.

Tom,

Interesting article and it looks like I do everything correctly.

I just checked my charger in the garage and there is no way I can tell if it has the equalization wizard, but based on the article it probably does.  My determination of dying batteries was based on a good hydrometer reading.  All seven of the batteries read no higher than "fair" and four of them are "low".  This is after it was fully charged.  My cart is always plugged in while in the garage, but automatically shuts off when it considers the batteries charged.  I suspect I'm going to have to bite the bullet, but am reluctant to do it now because we are leaving for four months in May and why have new batteries sit around doing nothing for that time?

Between new batteries and flyfishing, I'm going to be broke in a hurry!  Add no COLA for SS folks for three years minimum, and I'm ready for the poor house!
 
I just installed 8 Energizer Golf Cart EGC2 6 volt deep cycle batteries that I got from Sams. $71 each. I read lots of good reviews about them online and could find no negative reviews.
 

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