Trojan batteries - anybody used them

[DickB]

I am about to spend a huge amount of cash on new batteries. Looking around I see that Trojan batteries seem good value, but I have no idea how good they are and how long they last. Any views?

 

[macd]

Regarded by many as the Rolls Royce of wet batteries, particularly the 6V ones which are true traction batteries.
As for 'how long?', if you send me your piece of string I'll be happy to measure it for you. Seriously, so much depends on how well any battery is cared for, it's difficult to say. Trojan themselves say around 1100 cycles for their 6V batteries (compared to around half that for their 12V); most brands offer no figure at all.

I've no doubt plenty of Trojan users will be along later. In the meantime, if you google 'Trojan' and domain 'ybw.com' you'll get lots of hits from previous threads.

 

[charles_reed]

I am about to spend a huge amount of cash on new batteries. Looking around I see that Trojan batteries seem good value, but I have no idea how good they are and how long they last. Any views?

Highly regarded throughout the industry - the 6v version is a genuine traction battery, ideal for marine domestics.
However, I'm intrigued you should think them cheap.

 

[Daydream believer]

Have you considered 6v golf cart batteries
Designed for deap cycle & get abused so are designed for it
2 of these to give 12 volts would give a massive storage & more bangs per buck to coin a phrase
Only problem is the room needed for them

 

[macd]

Have you considered 6v golf cart batteries
Designed for deap cycle & get abused so are designed for it
2 of these to give 12 volts would give a massive storage & more bangs per buck to coin a phrase
Only problem is the room needed for them

...er...Trojan 6V are golf cart batteries. There are other makes, of course, but such traction batteries are ideal for boat domestic use. They can also start engines, if needed.

P.S. Maybe the OP knows this, but if not, he'll need to:
two (say), 100Ah 6V batteries wired in series to give 12V, give 100Ah, not 200Ah as you might be tempted to think.

 

[Salty John]

I've had excellent service from Trojan batteries, both 12v and 6v. Cruised full time for three years with 6v Trojan, still going strong when we sold the boat.

 

[Mistroma]

+1 on the 6V T105s. I checked the specs. with Trojan & have published the graph on an earlier thread. The T105s are expected to have 2x cycles of the 12V ones which are not true deep-cycle (at least the ones I looked at), though performance quoted seems better than most leisure batteries.

See attached graph:

 

[Bobc]

I have a bank of 105s Trojans. Great batteries and worth the money.

 

[TQA]

Trojan T105s are the weapon of choice for the long term cruiser. There are other manufacturers who make clones. I had T105s aboard when I bought my current boat. They were 5 years old when one failed.

I replaced them with Deka GC15s as that was all that was available in St Lucia.

The 'traction' variant which is made for golf carts seems to last longer than the marine deep cycle version due to the plate design.

 

[DickB]

Thanks everyone, I was looking at TE35 6v deep cycle batteries as the size is identical to the Varta ones I currently have. Varta replacement around £300, Trojan about £150, hence cheaper. I'll check out the T105s too. Cheers

 

[macd]

The 'traction' variant which is made for golf carts seems to last longer than the marine deep cycle version due to the plate design.

I think you'll find that the two are exactly the same. Certainly, going to Trojan's 'marine' and 'golf & utility' sections and selecting 'T105' brings up the identical picture and spex with the same source code. So I guess Trojan think they're the same. For some reason the similar T105 Plus appears in the marine section but not golf & utility, which might be behind your perception. So maybe Plus isn't much of a plus.

 

[Mistroma]

Thanks everyone, I was looking at TE35 6v deep cycle batteries as the size is identical to the Varta ones I currently have. Varta replacement around £300, Trojan about £150, hence cheaper. I'll check out the T105s too. Cheers

If you mean £150 per T105 then try Tayna or BatteryMegaStore. Tayna sell T105s for £117.24 incl. delivery.

I bought mine from them and got an additional discount of 2.5% by "liking" them on Facebook to get a discount code. Might still work.
http://www.tayna.co.uk/T-105-Trojan-Battery-Deep-Cycle-T105-P7253.html

 

[macd]

TE35 is a gel 6V, 220Ah. 'deep cycle'.
If that's the OP's preference, then he ought to know that most of this thread has been about wet open Trojans, which are somewhat different: that's where most of the experience in the boating community lies. That's to take nothing away from gels, or Trojan's other products, but much of what he's read is about something different.

Is anyone else confused about two parallel threads on much the same subject ('Replacing 12V with 6V'), cos I am? (No criticism meant or implied, etc.)

 

[DickB]

Thanks for that, but frankly I had never heard of Trojan until the last few days. I like the idea of gel having spent ages topping up the 24 cells on the eight 6v batteries I have (24v). The TE35 just appeared as a direct size replacement, but gel is a bonus (I think!).

I will definitely check around for prices too before shelling out. Thanks again for the help.

 

[macd]

Trojan is a quality brand, and I doubt you'll go far wrong with their products providing you're using a particular battery for the purpose it was intended. I've never used gels, so anything I could tell you is second-hand.
There are plenty of old threads on the subject, of which these were plucked at random. May give you food for thought:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?300044-Why-Are-People-So-Down-On-Gel-Batteries
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...atteries-220v-Alternator-Solar-Considerations
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?168635-New-Batteries-Gel-or-AGM

 

[Mistroma]

Thanks for that, but frankly I had never heard of Trojan until the last few days. I like the idea of gel having spent ages topping up the 24 cells on the eight 6v batteries I have (24v). The TE35 just appeared as a direct size replacement, but gel is a bonus (I think!).

I will definitely check around for prices too before shelling out. Thanks again for the help.

Good point by macd, I hadn't spotted a ref. to Gel batteries. I thought that it was pretty clear nowadays, if you want low maint. and high charge acceptance then go for AGM. Flooded are cheaper to buy but need maint. and accept lower charge rate.

I'd tend to forget about Gels unless you want low maint. with high cost and lower charge acceptance. AGM make more sense for low maint. but higher purchase price.

So either go for T105s OR AGMs

 

[macd]

Good point, I hadn't spotted a ref. to Gel batteries.

...because there wasn't one

 

[Mistroma]

...because there wasn't one

I meant that I didn't spot the TE35 ref. in post #10 and so didn't know OP had looked at Gel batteries. I'd just been thinking about flooded 6V ones like T105

 

[TQA]

I think you'll find that the two are exactly the same. Certainly, going to Trojan's 'marine' and 'golf & utility' sections and selecting 'T105' brings up the identical picture and spex with the same source code. So I guess Trojan think they're the same. For some reason the similar T105 Plus appears in the marine section but not golf & utility, which might be behind your perception. So maybe Plus isn't much of a plus.

Some manufacturers sell batteries labeled as Marine Deep Cycle. Their plates are not as robust as Trojan T105 plates. The golf cart market is huge in the states and the use their batteries get is very similar to boat bank being charged with wind or solar.

 

[Ariadne]

I have 6 of these for my domestic system, no complaints after 12 months hard work, 9 of which at anchor with 2 power hungry teenagers; most of time relying on solar power for charging.

http://www.trojanbattery.com/products/SCS22512V.aspx