Interstate vs Trojan Batteries

sailaway78 · Aug 12, 2013

I have

I have 4 6v golf cart batteries from Sams. They are now 4 years old, and seem to be holding up as good as when new, and are treated pretty badly. I don't see how you could justify that much more money for the Trojan's.

svchickadee · Aug 12, 2013

Re: I have

I have 2 6V AGM Lifeline batteries. They have a 5 year warranty. Expensive but worth every penny.

zeehag · Aug 12, 2013

my first set of 4 of the 6v trojans in this boat lasted 7 years. good stuff.
i put costco 6v in san diego, 2011, march. one year later they were toast---so .... when i got to puerto vallarta,january 2012, they were exchanged by costco, mexico and those are still in great shape--hoping they remain that way.

Don S/V ILLusion · Aug 12, 2013

You might also want to compare t-125s which are the big brother of the T105s

Chuckbear · Aug 12, 2013

We've used Interstate EU2000 batteries while cruising for the last 18 years. We typically get 7 1/2 years out of the batteries. When one goes bad on us we replace the pair just in case. No telling how long some of them might last if we kept using them. Chuck

Dave602 · Aug 12, 2013

Used the Duracell 6v batteries from Sam's based on Maine Sail's article. two batteries for around $190. Very pleased with their performance.

Marc14857 · Aug 12, 2013

Based on a previous article that Maine posted we purchased (4) Crown 6 Volt lead acid batteries. As I recall we have ~ 425 AMP Hours of capacity. Batteries were in the neighborhood of $100 each. The problem I had with the Trojans is that they were about 1 inch too tall and did not fit in the space previously occupied by the original 12 volt interstates. Going on our 4th year and very happy with the performance

twalker H260 · Aug 12, 2013

I had planned on going the 6v route using Costco 6v batteries on our 260. With the height difference over the existing 12v batts I would not have been able to pass them thru the access hatch provided by hunter in the aft bulkhead.

Choice was to remove the bulkhead to install the bats, enlarge the access panels or stay with 12v.

I stayed with the 12's. 210AH total vs 225AH with their 6v bats. I am axpecting slightly less life with the 12's but my last set (mismatched and miswired from dealer) I got 8 years of use.

Lost Parent · Aug 12, 2013

Using 4 six volt Interstate for three years now , work like a charm

Rich Stidger · Aug 12, 2013

I have used Excide, Trojan T105, and US Battery 2200XC. I use four batteries in series/parallel for a capacity of about 465 AH. I have gotten about 4-5 years from each set, and I am currently on my second set of US Battery 2200XC. After my first set of Trojan T-105's, Trojan had a high price on their batteries and so I went to US Battery. They perform just as well in my experience for a much lower price- about $100/battery.

Rick D · Aug 12, 2013

Totally ditto Rich. 14 years and the same experience.

Anonymous 121765 · Aug 13, 2013

Guys,

Just a side note here, but I do not like Interstate batteries. Has anyone been to any of their locations? I visited one such place in St. Pete. They also did the rebuilds. It was the filthiest shop I'd seen.

The look changed my mind. Add to this all the 8D's I helped to pull out of boats that failed prematurely, and knowing many of their batteries are rebuilds, didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Some will disagree, but this is how I feel.

Also, on smaller boats, I don't understand why some prefer big 6volt batteries. Especially what with size & weight concerns.

I have 2 group 27's deep cycle AGM 12 volt batteries. At times, I'm on the hook for a few weeks at a time & have a recharging regimen that has served me well for years.
Albeit, I am not running inverters, A/C's or the like, but I would think most small boat users are not also.

If anyone wants to know my system, just PM me.

All boaters boat differently and that decides what their power systems demand. I don't know but boats under 30 feet having these big/heavy 6v batteries surely transfer weight & room.

CR

Ron20324 · Aug 13, 2013

Some folks suggest if you have only two batteries of 6 volts, if one dies you've got nothing left to run the boat. Using two 12's, if one dies, you still have the other.

Chuckbear · Aug 13, 2013

Ron20324 said:
Some folks suggest if you have only two batteries of 6 volts, if one dies you've got nothing left to run the boat. Using two 12's, if one dies, you still have the other.

If your replacing 2 12 volt batteries with 6 volt, you'll have 4 batteries. If you have only one 12 volt and it dies you have none. Chuck

Anonymous 121765 · Aug 13, 2013

Chucky bear,

Is that like the movie? Ya know, the evil doll?

Well, even so, it's sounds like you think like me pal.
I'm expecting a lot of guff from my post.

Let's wait & see what transpires..........

CR

Maine Sail · Aug 13, 2013

Interstate batteries are Johnson Controls batteries and Interstate is nothing more than a "brand label" for JCI batteries. Seems people will pay more for a brand like Interstate then when the same battery has the Wal*Mart or Advanced Auto logo.. JCI is one of the largest re-badgers of batteries out there. Deka also does a ton of re-badging...

That said all of the GC2 golf car batteries are fairly good quality these days. I would put Trojan & US Battery at the top of the quality list for GC2's and JCI batteries closer to the "value" end of the spectrum..

kentobin · Aug 16, 2013

Costco 6 volt golf cart batteries

Two banks of Costco 6 volt golf cart batteries. Each bank is 12 volts with 2 six volt batteries in series. The Costco batteries are still working fine after 10 months.

With CA sales tax each battery was under $100.