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garbonz · 05-11-2018, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vette Racer

Your battery bank is like a fuel tank, how long and far do you want to go? My whole house 2k inverter uses 3 amps just idling, add in the TV and dish receiver and one led light and our amps go up to 13-14 amps, when you use that for 6 hrs during the evening you are close to 80 amp hours down by bedtime, add in the use of the onboard propane heater overnight and by morning we are usually down about 125-135 amp hours. We have a 780 amp hour battery bank so we have about 390 amp hour to use and stay above 50% discharge, however with that said real life is that with 135 AH used, we are actually at 12.4 volts which is about 75% state of charge. Bottom line is if you are going to be off grid for awhile, put in all the batteries you can afford or carry. As for the GC2 batteries at Sam's club, I found that 2 years is about it, I now have 6 Trojans T145's which is night and day difference from 6 premium GC2's I had that were rated at 232 AH each. If you are not off grid much I would just go with 2 or 3 12V marine/deep cycle batteries and be done with it.

12.4 volts is only 75 % if the batteries are disconnected and rested. More like 80% or higher if you were still pulling power recently.

Sweetbriar · 05-11-2018, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryn

,,, As far as the duracells at Costco, all I can tell you is that one of the local interstate dealers was lamenting that the ones costco carries are definitely their "entry level" ones, not the more premium models.,,,

Isn't that a bit like asking a Ford dealer how a Mustang compares to a Camaro?

harryn · 05-11-2018, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetbriar

Isn't that a bit like asking a Ford dealer how a Mustang compares to a Camaro?

Maybe, but perhaps more like asking a ford dealer how a Mustang compares to a Fiesta since both batteries are made by the same company.

Both the mustang and fiesta are "cars" but very different performance / use goals.

It isn't always easy to explain to a customer how two sealed boxes with "stuff inside" are different from each other - but can be quite different.

We have the same problem with our products. It isn't always so obvious how to explain to a customer the value of high performance components.

nothermark · 05-12-2018, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryn

Maybe, but perhaps more like asking a ford dealer how a Mustang compares to a Fiesta since both batteries are made by the same company.

Both the mustang and fiesta are "cars" but very different performance / use goals.

It isn't always easy to explain to a customer how two sealed boxes with "stuff inside" are different from each other - but can be quite different.

We have the same problem with our products. It isn't always so obvious how to explain to a customer the value of high performance components.

Ask yourself who gets dinner. Basic sales is that your product is always better than the other guys. If you work for Interstate and sell the customer a Duracell battery the Duracell salesman eats, you do not. It comes down to that level.

FWIW - sometimes there is no value to the customer for high performance components. Just the opposite at times as in one pays more for something that works less well over time.

Vette Racer · 05-12-2018, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbonz

12.4 volts is only 75 % if the batteries are disconnected and rested. More like 80% or higher if you were still pulling power recently.

Thanks, I forgot to mention "rested", you are correct.

Sweetbriar · 05-13-2018, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

Ask yourself who gets dinner. Basic sales is that your product is always better than the other guys. If you work for Interstate and sell the customer a Duracell battery the Duracell salesman eats, you do not. It comes down to that level.

FWIW - sometimes there is no value to the customer for high performance components. Just the opposite at times as in one pays more for something that works less well over time.

Exactly, and all I know about Duracell GC2 batteries is the set I installed back in early March of 2013 are still going strong.

glennwest · 05-23-2018, 08:56 AM

I would put lithion ion batteries in it. Much quicker charging and more advailable use. I will be going with Chevy Volt battery.

garbonz · 06-03-2018, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glennwest

I would put lithion ion batteries in it. Much quicker charging and more advailable use. I will be going with Chevy Volt battery.

Good luck with that! Lots of YouTube vids on reusing the Volt batteries, BUT will take some $ to safely drop them down in voltage and they are less stable then the LiFePo's.

Love the see you project when you do it. Ironically the interest in these batteries are making them more $$$ and less attractive.

glennwest · 06-05-2018, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbonz

Good luck with that! Lots of YouTube vids on reusing the Volt batteries, BUT will take some $ to safely drop them down in voltage and they are less stable then the LiFePo's.

Love the see you project when you do it. Ironically the interest in these batteries are making them more $$$ and less attractive.

I know of several doing this. One has a custom Spacecraft running entire unit off the battery. Solar and park power is to charge battery only. Doing mine the same. As far as price, complete battery running 2500. Not bad for 17kw