Trojan T-145

[waterdog]

Has anybody used Trojan T-145 batteries?   Seem to be the exact same footprint as the T-105 but they are rated at 260 AH instead of 225 AH.  On a $/AH basis they cost 14% more for 15% more capacity at 16% more weight.  They might buy an extra day on the hook.  Do they fit vertically in the space?   

[Sailing Steve]

I had looked at the T145's, and if memory serves me correctly they had about 1/8" of clearance height.  The supplier however, suggested that the time to charge the extra capacity over the T105's, wasn't practicable in the circumstance.  As such, he suggested the batteries would tend to be undercharged on longer trips, decreasing their overall service life.

Although he supplied both Trojan and US Battery brands, he recommended US Battery based on lower cost for the same capacity, and he claimed in all the time he'd been selling both brands, US Battery had only come back twice for warranty returns.  The Trojans didn't fair as well (I forget the numbers he quoted, but he did say they were overall, still a good battery) - US Battery was a better value.  Perhaps he had better price margins/profit on the US Battery, but I went with the "US 125's", splitting the capacity/price difference between the T105's (US 2200) and T145's (US 145).

The supplier felt they could be reasonably recharged in a practical time frame to at least 80%, and have been happy with the decision.

[waterdog]

What an interesting comment. 

I've been thinking of capacity as capacity and it's all the same, the more the merrier, if you can afford the lbs/$/space.  But it's not all the same. 

It's way easier to get the last 50 Ah back into a 200 Ah bank than it is to get it back into a 500 Ah bank.  On the 200 Ah bank, your are 25% depleted on the 500 Ah bank you are only 10% depleted.  So the charge rate, given the same regulator settings, is going to be a lot higher (initially) on the lower capacity bank. 

Given a battery bank of infinite size, it will never be fully charged.   

So if you want capacity, you'd better have the charging capacity to support it.

I think I am starting to understand why cruisers who don't tie up to shore power very often tend to have wind generation, and solar, and gensets and think of ice cubes as a ridiculous luxury...

I'm convinced that with any decent sized bank (ie large investment), a battery monitor is a must have.  I'm pretty sure that my batteries were chronically undercharged last year.  This year I developed a battery monitor obsession.  Hopefully, I'll recover over time.