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Trojan T105 vs YUASA - DCB 105-6.


swift1894

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16 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Was this not related to his non-calibrated Smartgauges (plural)?

In part, possibly. But also DMR did eventually get the cycle life figures from Yuasa and they were much worse than for Trojans, barely any better than reasonable leisure batteries.

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2 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

In part, possibly. But also DMR did eventually get the cycle life figures from Yuasa and they were much worse than for Trojans, barely any better than reasonable leisure batteries.

That says it all then. I hope people reading this grasp the importance of cyclic life.

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I can’t recommend Trojans highly enough. After years of trying all makes of wet batteries and sizes I settled on the 6 volt Trojans wired up for 24 volt. At the time 2011 Battery megastore had a good offer on them so took the plunge and they are still going strong. Just need regular checking and topping up.

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3 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Yes Mike the Boilerman had a set. He rued that decision to save a few % on Trojans, they were rubbish. It’s always possible that he was unlucky but…

 

search the forum for “trojanoids”.

Interesting reading.

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1 hour ago, Dav and Pen said:

I can’t recommend Trojans highly enough. After years of trying all makes of wet batteries and sizes I settled on the 6 volt Trojans wired up for 24 volt. At the time 2011 Battery megastore had a good offer on them so took the plunge and they are still going strong. Just need regular checking and topping up.

Trojans are great, ours are 7 years old and still have original capacity. But the Lithiums are 10 times better, albeit with some necessary adaptations.

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2 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Trojans are great, ours are 7 years old and still have original capacity. But the Lithiums are 10 times better, albeit with some necessary adaptations.

The lithium’s also come at a greater price too. My trojans are now 8 years old…might look to replace them next year but will see…I think at present I’ll be replacing them like for like as I can’t really see an advantage in my situation for lithium….weight isn’t an issue and our cruising means the most we are tied up is a few days…and we have a hook Up at the mooring over winter when the solar is less effective. 

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21 minutes ago, frangar said:

The lithium’s also come at a greater price too. My trojans are now 8 years old…might look to replace them next year but will see…I think at present I’ll be replacing them like for like as I can’t really see an advantage in my situation for lithium….weight isn’t an issue and our cruising means the most we are tied up is a few days…and we have a hook Up at the mooring over winter when the solar is less effective. 

I think you have got it about right. One of the main advantages of lithium is that it can charge extremely fast (whatever your charging equipment can output) right up to virtually 100% SoC, and of course never a need to actually fully charge. Which makes it great for live aboards who don’t cruise much. But like you, we cruise most days or are on hookup,  so sticking with the Trojans would have been fine really, but installing the Lithiums was a challenge in itself. I’ve learnt lots of new stuff doing it.

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2/3s of my Trojan bank is now 5-1/2 years old, this is on a full time off grid liveaboard. I can't easily measure the capacity but my intuition is that its still fine. In winter we only run the engine every other day and in summer if not moving its every third day. Trojans are a good investment so don't penny pinch..

 

I want to get some lithiums to play with but realistically a replacement set of Trojans will make more economic sense.

 

However like Nick I do like interesting electric stuff so If I do get Lithiums its going to be 48 volts 😀

 

...........Dave

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I fitted a pair of 6volt US 2200 batteries into Helvetia when the previous batteries were beginning to loose their charge, they proved very reliable and were still keeping their charge when we sold the boat eleven years later.

 

 

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12 minutes ago, swift1894 said:

Is full capacity after 7 years really possible?

Evidentially yes! But this is for leisure use, we are not liveaboard although we have in the past (pre Covid) been out on the boat for perhaps 100 days a year. When we are not on the boat it is on shore power.

 

I am making this statement based on comparing the AH-counting Mastershunt with the Smartgauge. These measure SoC in completely different ways and comparing them gives a good indication of actual capacity.

 

For comparison we previously had 2 sets of “el cheapo” leisure batteries, in each case capacity was down to 50% after 6 months. With the second set I managed to regain capacity a few times by equalising them but after about 18 months they were goosed.

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3 hours ago, swift1894 said:

Is full capacity after 7 years really possible?

 

My experience suggests more than that, but like nicknorman, that was for leisure use only. However, it also needs to be remembered that the US batteries (and probably the Trojans and Yusas) are designed to power golf carts and fork lift trucks etc. which I suspect put a much higher demand on batteries than a boat.

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5 hours ago, swift1894 said:

Is full capacity after 7 years really possible?

 

Yes, if the battery plate are well constructed and they are charged and discharged properly, most are not.

 

I used to work with lead acid batteries which easily achieved their 25  life expectancy. However these were replaced with cheaper, sealed batteries from 1980, which rarely managed 7 of their 10 year life expectancy.

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10 hours ago, nicknorman said:

For comparison we previously had 2 sets of “el cheapo” leisure batteries, in each case capacity was down to 50% after 6 months. With the second set I managed to regain capacity a few times by equalising them but after about 18 months they were goosed.

I'm either surprised you had such a short service life or I'm amazed at my own experience!

 

I fancy we use our boats in a similar fashion, we have the same Beta 43 alternator set up, and I know you understand how to manage batteries at least as well as I do. I replaced my first set of 4 leisure batteries (as second owner) after 7 years in situ and it dawned on me after thinking about your post that my second set (Numax) are now 6 years in and doing fine. The start battery (and thruster if I dared to admit on here that I had one) are both exactly the same as the first domestic batteries and are original.

 

If there's a point or a lesson here, I'm not sure what it is! :D

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I'm either surprised you had such a short service life or I'm amazed at my own experience!

 

I fancy we use our boats in a similar fashion, we have the same Beta 43 alternator set up, and I know you understand how to manage batteries at least as well as I do. I replaced my first set of 4 leisure batteries (as second owner) after 7 years in situ and it dawned on me after thinking about your post that my second set (Numax) are now 6 years in and doing fine. The start battery (and thruster if I dared to admit on here that I had one) are both exactly the same as the first domestic batteries and are original.

 

If there's a point or a lesson here, I'm not sure what it is! :D

 


Our first set were on the boat as the fitout and painting were being finished, so when they dropped to 50% capacity after 6 months, I put it down to them being left uncharged for a long period. The second set we got from Midland Chandlers, Albion badge IIRC. Again after 6 months, of a winter’s morning the Mastershunt would be on 75% whilst the Smartgauge was on 50%.

 

I think one factor is what one’s expectations are. If you have 440 Ah and only use 110Ah between engine runs, it doesn’t matter if the capacity is down to 50%. There does seem to be a process whereby the capacity drops to 50% but then stabilises there for a long while.

 

We were fairly hard on our batteries, often using the electric kettle, toaster etc from battery power, although never taking them below 50% on the SG.

 

But with same treatment, the Trojans lasted 7 years without any loss of capacity, before I swapped them out for the Lithiums.

Edited by nicknorman
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3 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

We were fairly hard on our batteries, often using the electric kettle, toaster etc from battery power, although never taking them below 50% on the SG.

Ah, then that'll be where the difference lies I suspect - I stopped running heavier loads on batteries alone pretty early on. An Aeropress and a whistling kettle stand in for the coffee machine when the engine is shut down! :D

 

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