T605 vs Sams Club JC

[beau]

Curious what the opinions are in comparing a Trojan t-605 to the sams club Johnson controls battery.

The t605 is a lighter battery than the t105 or the JC battery. Will the higher quality be worth the reduction in run time when compared to the Mexican made battery?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by beau

Curious what the opinions are in comparing a Trojan t-605 to the sams club Johnson controls battery.

The t605 is a lighter battery than the t105 or the JC battery. Will the higher quality be worth the reduction in run time when compared to the Mexican made battery?

Basically, you are comparing apples to oranges unless both batteries being compared have the same AH rating, or have different AH rating and made by the same manufacturer.

In general terms, there is more difference between different grade (AH) batteries made by the same manufacturer than the are differences between the same grade batteries made by different manufacturers.

What is the AH of the Sam's Club battery?
Find it's AH on the attached chart and divided the total cost (Price+Tax+shipping) by the projected life expectancy in months to get cost per month for comparison.

Do the same for any other battery you wish to compare.

[beau]

[QUOTE=JohnnieB;1107057]snip....
In general terms, there is more difference between different grade (AH) batteries made by the same manufacturer than the are differences between the same grade batteries made by different manufacturers.

....snip [QUOTE]

If that is the case, then why are the Trojan, USBattery and Crown brands considered superior to the Johnson Controls batteries?

Would you sacrifice a bit of AH to get a premium brand if the prices were close?

[beau]

Sams Club
•Minutes at 75 AMPS: 107
•20 AMP Hour Capacity: 208

T-605
•Minutes at 75 AMPS: 105
•20 AMP Hour Capacity: 210


Sams 85. ea. Trojans about 115.00 ea delivered and installed. Cheaper cash and carry.

[Olman]

Beau---unless you are flipping the cart, over the life of the pack (hopefully 5+ years) the price difference won't make that much difference. I would go for the highest AH batteries you can buy. Higher AH batteries will give you more run time and will last more cycles which tends to offset the initial cost. I personally wouldn't buy the T-605's or the Sam's batteries. Just my .02.

[beau]

I'm not actually getting ready to buy. I have a 10 mo old set of t-875s in my DS. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of this industry and what the specs mean. I have heard so many horror stories about Johnson controls batteries, I'll be able to weed thru the hype better if I understand how it works!

[Olman]

I understand Beau. I did a lot of research and bought "off brand" batteries from O'Reilly's Auto Parts at a real good price. They were however 230 AH batteries. They worked out great and the present owner has had good luck with them. The ones I bought were made by East Penn.

[JohnnieB]

[quote=beau;1107088][QUOTE=JohnnieB;1107057]snip....
In general terms, there is more difference between different grade (AH) batteries made by the same manufacturer than the are differences between the same grade batteries made by different manufacturers.

....snip

1. If that is the case, then why are the Trojan, USBattery and Crown brands considered superior to the Johnson Controls batteries?

2. Would you sacrifice a bit of AH to get a premium brand if the prices were close?

I didn't say there wasn't any differences in brands, I said there was more differences in grades (AH capacity).

Lead-Acid battery technology has been around for over a hundred years and is a very mature technology, so the technical differences between brands is incremental and the other differences are more in the public relations areas.

Regardless of brand, a 225AH battery will have approximately a 6% longer useful lifespan than a 210AH battery.

2. Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. I would determine the total installed costs for each contending battery and calculate the annual cost using the projected lifespan based on AH. If the battery with better name recognition or reputation wasn't significantly more costly on an annual basis, I might go for it.

The best bang for the buck is typically the highest AH battery that can be obtained locally for the lowest price.

However, if you do not need or desire to have the range a standard battery pack (225AH) provides, an lower AH battery may be acceptable. That is an individual decision.

------
I wanted to extend the range of my cart past 30 miles and I wanted to keep all the batteries under the seat, so I went with seven higher than standard AH capacity batteries. I actually wanted 260AH batteries, but by the time transportation costs and other factors were included, ended up with a set of 245AH batteries that I special ordered through a local tractor supply.

[beau]

JohnnieB, I posted in this forum hoping you would respond. You definitely have a gift for explaining things. My first thought when I was getting into carting was how low tech the batteries are, yet how much hype there is surrounding them. When I used to sell guitars, there were 3 guitar string manufacturer's and about 30 brands. All of which came from one of these 3 so I do understand the marketing or "public relations" side of the equation.

I definitely have a better understanding, thanks for your time.