Lets talk about GC2 6V (golf cart) battery's - whats good?

[Redapple63]

I used Interstate GC batteries on my boat and they were still going 7 years later when I sold the boat. Had a 4 battery bank running a household fridge thru an inverter.

The two 6v Interstate batts in my mh were going on 9 years old when I sold it in July.

Have two new ones on my Reflection.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[RV Sailor]

I was a user of Lifeline 6 volt AGM and very happy with them getting 10 years out of my last 6 battery bank. ( 35 ft sailboat)
I purchased these carbon foam AGMOasis Fireflys .
Similar characteristics as Li.
1/2 the cost.
Can use up to 80% of battery vs 50% for normal AGM
Charges more quickly than my premium AGM
3000 plus cycles vs 1200 for Lifelines
No special charger like Li
Charge in cold weather unlike Li
Check them out. I have 4 on the sailboat and 3 on the Imagine

https://www.pysystems.ca/recommended...rbon-foam-agm/

[powerscol]

Interesting but expansive. Thanks for the information.

[TwoElkhounds]

I had four Trojan T-105's I purchased with our 323 back in 2015, they lasted about 5 years. The last year was really rough with them, I couldn't run any high load off of them, pretty much limited to radios and TV's. However, I beat the hell out of them for those five years. I replaced them with six Interstate Batteries GC2 from our local Interstate dealer last year for about $1000 (I think $183 each). Really came down to cost and convenience, Interstate had a store in the area and all I had to do was swap out the old and new. So far they have been fine, but only time will tell. I am committed to taking better care of them this time around. I purchased the extra set so I can better manage SOC and avoid deep discharges.

DAN

[RV Sailor]

For years I was a proponent of golf cart batteries. I’ve has two sets of 6- 6 volt Lifeline AGM in our 35 foot sailboat. Each set lasted approximately 10 years . They are premium AGM and about $300 apiece. If you figured out the costs they are actually cheaper than low cost 6 volt in that their longevity is at least twice as long.

One of the keys on taking care of batteries is desulfating them and also having a good three stage charger with temp probe.
A MUST with wet cells. BTW Lifeline is the only AGM I know which permits them to be desulfate.

I have gone to Oasis Firefly Carbon Foam AGM BECAUSE OF THEIR EXTENSIVE CYCLES AS WELL AS THE ABILITY TO DRAW DOWN PAST 50% without damaging.

[cookinwitdiesel]

I went big Lithium, but if I had to do lead acid, I would do AGM due to the higher performance, durability, and maint free. They cost more but you will get the value. I have had the bottom $$ Duracell 6v GC2s from Batteries and Bulbs, they were garbage and got returned 3 days later. Did not perform anywhere near their published spec.

For the people putting 4+ of GC2 batteries (or bigger) in a trailer, what is that doing to your weight?! Those things are BRICKS

[RV Sailor]

Weight is one large advantage of lithium. I guess that’s your point. 4- 6volt Lifelines at 220 usable ah would be 53x4 = 212 lbs. if placed under the bed, behind or above the rear axel at 20% = 40 lbs. not really a factor once you investigate it affecting you decision. You could get 3 group 31 Oasis Firefly AGM and have 300 usable AH. And only 150 lbs.

Lithium has advantages over AGM in its charge rate, discharge ability ( not carbon foam AGM) , cycles, weight

The potential disadvantages, They require a different charger if you are not set up on yours. They are a little more finicky in terms of charging in colder weather. The internal battery control on each lithium requires special consideration when putting Lithium in series as each battery has its own. There are differences between lithium ion and lithium phosphate. The warranties on some from non descriptive companies producing them are harder to enforce.

Aside from Battleborn ( which is the only one I might consider) there are issues of warranty fulfillment, quality control etc as many Chinese companies have jumped into this business. Not all lithium’s are created equal so it’s difficult to make blanket statements about them being better than all AGM. Just like AGM has stratified quality ( Lifeline vs COSCO) so does lithium.

Before buying Li I would suggest doing do diligence into the company you are buying them from. I suggest you look into Carbon foam Firefly AGM .


https://rvdaily.com.au/12-pros-and-c...ium-batteries/

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/..._ideal_battery


I have no vested interest in any battery companies

[wjpatter]

This is something that I just did. You can review at the fo0llowing but the short story is I went with Crown Battery from BatteryPlus because I could pick them up. I'm a big Amazon Prime fan but not with something that can be dropped by a driver. With 20/20 hind sight, I would have looked harder at USbatteries and Trojan. Specifically Trojan as some of their product line that fall into the emerging Carbon AGM category, which is how Oasis Firefly is constructed. When it comes to batteries, I favor USA made, as I believe the lead purity is better controlled which singularity control the temperature with high charge rates.

Look at post #21 of this thread. I just plowed that field. I went with AGM which doesn't require venting but I still vented because everything was right there.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...y-for-RV/page3

[Dougstar]

I am presently using 2 Aims Power AGM-6 volt 225 amp/hour golf cart batteries wired in series. I have also installed a Magnum 2000 watt, 12 volt inverter/charger. I connected the inverter to all the plugs in the travel trailer. I use a satellite for tv and have watched several soccer games in succession with no issues. also works well when using my ninja blender for making margaritas. I also purchased a monitor for the inverter. I have had the batteries going on two years and I have had no issues.
They are group 27 batteries and don'
t fit in the space allowed so I had to mount them on top of the trailer frame.

[frank4711]

These have done excellent https://www.samsclub.com/p/duracell-...=plp_product_1