Interstate Batteries at Costco?

[Lookng4us]

Why should I when I get this kind of use out of them. Some people like to spend money because they have it. Me I just want it to work. I don't need name brand

[TaWiMa]

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip

The most important aspect of buying a battery, be it for your truck, car, lawnmower, motorcycle or RV and no matter what kind it is is.....

Always buy any battery from a retailer with high turnover on batteries.

Reason being is because all wet charged batteries, no matter what type they are, have started their lives when they electrolyte was added so any battery sitting on a shelf unsold, is still headed toward it's ultimate death.

Never buy a battery with dust on it..been sitting on a shelf for a long time sulfating away, waiting for someone to 'adopt ''it. Not good.

Never buy a battery from a local repair shop or mom and pop auto store, they have been sitting and wasting away...

It don't mean squat what the punch out dots say.. What is important is when the electrolyte was added and how long the battery sat waiting for you...

The exception would be Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Iron batteries but I don't think many on here will be buying them anytime soon in as much as a Group 24 equivalent L-Iron or L-Ion battery will set you back close to a grand in today's market.

Little FYI for everyone...

Unless they've changed their policy (I've been away from the automotive life for 5 years so it's possible), the Interstate driver is (was) responsible for stock rotation.

[Schvarak]

Maybe they were dc24. One or the other. 😊

[Trawlerphil]

If you've got the space and can handle 110 lbs, a pair of golf cart batteries would give you a 220AH capacity and they don't mind being deep cycled--ask any golf cart!

[mnoland30]

I went to Costco yesterday, and the 6v Golf Cart Batteries are only $84. That is a lot of battery for that price. I didn't realize until I started reading this forum that it is hard to find true deep cycle batteries in 12v. Trojan has them, but they are pricey. When my current Marine batteries fail, I'll be going to 6v.

[pmsherman]

My 2011 Georgetown toasted the batteries after one year of use. The dealer and FR replaced them under warranty with the "standard" dual purpose batteries. The replacements lasted a little over four years and were just replaced with two 6V golf cart batteries from Costco.

Before replacement, I couldn't use the furnace at night when boondocking because the battery voltage would drop low enough wnen the furnace fan started to cause the proipane detector to sound the "low voltage" alarm. With the new batteries, I had over 12.4V on the batteries after a night of using the furnace.

I did run into two problems installing the golf cart batteries. The posts on them are shorter than the ones on a hybrid deep cycle battery and the + one was too short to accept all of the wires that needed to be attached to it. I solved this problem by purchasing a quick disconnect that holds all of the + cables and has a single attach point to the battery.

The second problem was that the post locations on the golf cart batteries did not match the configuration of the original ones. This wasn't an issue for the - side but the + cables were a tight reach to the post.

One advantage of using two 6V batteries in series is that there's no issues with different charge/drain rates that can occur with batteries in parallel. Using two parallel batteries with identical capacities, the same manufacture date, and correct wiring does a lot to alleviate this issue but there's no way to get around a difference in internal capacity between the batteries.

Phil

[hankpac]

How many amps is the 6 volt golf cart battery (6 volt)?
Interestingly it doesn't say on the battery, it doesn't say in Costco's book, the idiots who work there have NO idea what an amp is, and Interstate's web site doesn't state anything like that either.
Nothing I could find anywhere on Costco's web site either.
I realize 89 bucks is pretty cheap, but if they are only rated at 100 amps, that isn't enough by half. A trojan t105 is 250 amps.
Thanks in advance.

[ncebeemer]

local Costco lists that battery at 208 ah. pretty good price but only a year warranty.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by hankpac

How many amps is the 6 volt golf cart battery (6 volt)?
Interestingly it doesn't say on the battery, it doesn't say in Costco's book, the idiots who work there have NO idea what an amp is, and Interstate's web site doesn't state anything like that either.
Nothing I could find anywhere on Costco's web site either.
I realize 89 bucks is pretty cheap, but if they are only rated at 100 amps, that isn't enough by half. A trojan t105 is 250 amps.
Thanks in advance.

The Trojan T105's are 225a/h @ 20 hours.
The Costco's are 208 @ 20 hours.

That said...there is NO standardization of how batteries are tested from one mfr. to the other ...so it is never useful to try to compare differences in capacity ratings between brands unless you are reading independent testing reports. They weigh within a pound of each so I would imagine their capacity is close...though LIFE CYCLES may not be.

[SidecarFlip]

Myself, I don't get overly concerned about battery capacity. Not like the old days with all incandescent lights and power hungry appliances. I run 2 Trojans in series and they work just fine and have for 2 years now.

My personal opinion is people worry too much about battery capacity. Especially campers that camp in campgrounds with shore power. Myself, I always primitive camp and I've never had an issue with not enough power.

[pgandw]

I bought the GC2s from Costco in 2015. I like them a lot. I was told they were 232AH. I looked the Costco item code (850284) up and came up with the following:

The Kirkland brand name was removed (all lead acid batteries), and they started selling with the Interstate name as early as 2014. The GC-2 is listed as 107 minutes reserve capacity, no CCA, no Cranking Amps. According to web research, reserve capacity is the number of minutes of useful voltage with a designated amp load. The Interstate specs show their current GC-2 batteries with a 210AH (20 hr spec) rating, 105 minutes @ 75 amps, and 383 minutes @ 25 amps.

The golf cart battery duty cycle is a good match for typical RV battery usage. And the 6V golf cart batteries are cheaper than equivalent capacity in a 12V batteries. I paid $150 for the pair (including tax but with a core turn-in) in 2015. Two RV/marine deep cycle Group 24 12V (what would fit) were priced higher.

I did have to change out my WFCO converter, installing a PD 4135 drop-in replacement panel. The WFCO would never go into trickle mode, and very seldom (if ever) into bulk mode. The PD typically starts out at 14.4V for an hour or two (depending on how deeply discharged), drops to 13.7V for 2 days, and then shifts to trickle mode (13.2V).

just my thoughts and experiences, yours may differ
Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time
just returned from Lake Waco

[carl2591]

was at local costco and got pic of golf cart battery.
label shows :Ah @ 20 hr 210
cost $83.99 plus 15 core. Apex NC store

[AJay]

Does anyone know which Costco on long Island carries golf cart batteries. The one on old country road only has dual purpose marine battery and the one in Queens doesn't carry any deep cycle batteries at all.