Replacement GC2 Battery Selection

loonwheeler

Adventurer
In our expedition camper, it is long overdue to replace our house battery bank for 4X GC2 batteries. I am looking to replace them with a high quality battery that will be reliable over the next 5 years or so. I don't need a "forever" battery and am not willing to pay extra $$ just to have a higher quality battery when I can just replace the more often (various schools of thought, discussed many times on various forums).

I am considering purchasing the Duracell Ultra GC2 battery (SLIGC115) mainly based on recommendations in past posts. With a 10% online discount, I can get these for around ~$112 ea if I pick them up from my local store. On the other hand, the next step up in quality / price are Trojan T105s which I can get for around ~$160 give or take (or T105 RE for ~$180-190). So given the prices today, I could replace the Duracell almost twice as often as the Trojan batteries based on the cost alone. Based on the collective opinion, do you think the Duracell is the better value when considering performance / quality / price? I understand it is a bit of a sliding scale depending on personal needs, opinions, etc but it is worth discussing IMHO. Any other brands / models that you would recommend around the same price point in the GC2 form factor?

Also, I know it is best to purchase all 4 batteries that have the same manufacturing date and preferably the same lot number. I have read that the Duracell is manufactured by Deka/East Penn and that the date and lot codes might be stamped on the casing (do not trust the sticker from what I have also read). From a post on another forum, I found an email response from East Penn about date codes on Duracell GC2 batteries:

"Based on the number 1177F28-29 I am able to determine that this battery was formed on the 177th day of 2011. The first digit in this sequence is the last digit of the year and the next three digits are the day of the year."

Does anyone have other advice of what to check or look for when buying GC2 batteries? Is it also a good idea to check OCV on each battery as well as check the date codes (closer to 7.05 V the better)? Any addition checks etc would be helpful making sure I am buying a "fresh" battery and not one that has sat in a warehouse or on the retail floor for 2-3 years while self discharging.
 
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john61ct

Adventurer
Recent mfg date, water level OK, and higher the resting voltage the better.

That huge extra cost for Trojan you mentioned is not worth it compared to the Deka price.

Unless they are RE series maybe.

For the regular GCs, I'd say maybe up to 20% premium would be worth considering, but take different warranty / return policy into account.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
There's no reason to spend extra on premium batteries, if you keep them maintained properly ~5 seasons is doable even with the cheapest GC batteries you can find.. You've got a fairly large bank compared to most of us here, which just compounds premium overhead and returns practically nothing.. however if Money was no object the Trojan RE's are really nice, but will they last longer? probably not, and if they do its not going to be dramatically significant.
 

zelseman

Observer
There's no reason to spend extra on premium batteries, if you keep them maintained properly ~5 seasons is doable even with the cheapest GC batteries you can find.. You've got a fairly large bank compared to most of us here, which just compounds premium overhead and returns practically nothing.. however if Money was no object the Trojan RE's are really nice, but will they last longer? probably not, and if they do its not going to be dramatically significant.
Well said. We use the same number of Duracell GC2's in our skoolie battery bank and I don't see any evidence of the trojans being more prone to last longer.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
It certainly is the case that only those with the tools and knowledge to optimize care will get the extended longevity more expensive FLA banks are capable of.

Five years is indeed normal, nothing special.

13-15 years more of a challenge, and the sort of reliability not really needed for most buses.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
Ive seen many huge battery banks (like 100s of batteries) for data centers to run while gensets fire up, these survive over a decade with regular testing and top of the line maintenance.. they got the mars rovers to survive decades with 90's battery tech and strict longevity protocols.

In a mobile platform used for mostly some form of recreation, apathy is high.. heck they cant even keep em in a temperature controlled environment let alone spend the money required for all the other specialized care needed for long lifetime.. people in like Florida can keep car batteries going for ~10 years commonly, but they never had to deal with a cold night let alone a cold start so just that seems to have a rather dramatic impact on life expectancy.. Here a mile high I'm damn lucky to see a car battery last more than 4 winters before its unworthy of use anymore.. dont matter if its SLA or FLA, Gas or Diesel, cheap or expensive, onboard smart charging or just dumb charging, more than 4 subzero winters seems to be alot to ask out of a lead starter battery in my location.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
For both Standby/backup and Starter life cycle and care factors are far different from regular deep cycling.

Many occasional / weekend campers are indeed careless, because they can afford to be.

But those cycling more frequently, with more critical use cases long-term dwelling off-grid in primitive locations, a higher investment in knowledge, attention and gear is needed for the greater reliability required.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
regular deep cycling

yeah but I'd wager most people's starter batteries see more work than deep cycle house batteries on a rec vehicle, unless your a full timer or retired its hard to get more than say 50-60 days a year of use, if your battery bank lasts a few days its a fraction of that number of cycles per year.. I'd wager for this crowd well over 80% of deep cycle house batteries age out before cycling out.

now if you sold your house and are going to spend the rest of your days on the road living out of your trailer/truck/diesel pusher/mog/boat/remote cabin/whatever then congrats, your one of the lucky ones of us who will actually get the lifestyle to regularly deep cycle your house bank.. and the difference between a cheap battery and a premium battery is far more applicable.
 

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