Re: (ET) Napa Batteries?

["David Roden" <etpost drmm net>]

A bog-standard golf car battery used to be 220 amp hours (C20) or 105 
minutes of reserve capacity at 75 amps.  In recent years some 
manufacturers 
have cheapened their "standard" batteries, removing active material,  
while 
others (US Battery, Trojan) have increased it.  Usually the price you pay 
will reflect the amount of active material.

CCA is essentially irrelevant for cyclic use.  In fact in 12v batteries 
it's 
usually the mark of a battery that isn't a true deep cycle battery.  In a 
6v 
battery, it's more likely just a spec writer who doesn't know what he's 
doing.

Here's a somewhat dated battery comparison chart.  The batteries are most 
likely about the same today, but the model numbers may have changed.  The 
range shown here is 186ah to 251ah, RC from 100 to 154 minutes.  At the 
time 
I formatted the chart, Napa batteries were made by Exide.

http://www.evdl.org/pages/gc_comparison.html

For most ET users, any golf car battery within the above capacity range 
will 
work fine.  If you have a huge lot to mow or a very long driveway and very 
deep snow, you might go for one of the higher capacity (more expensive) 
batteries.

Though I haven't shopped there, I hear that often the cheapest place to 
get 
golf car batteries is Sam's Club.  They sell various brands, relabeled, 
depending on what supplier is closest and who bid lowest in that round.  
Over the years their batteries have been reported to be products of 
Johnson 
Controls, Exide, US Battery, and once in a while even Trojan.

You might also call a local golf course and talk to the golf car 
maintenance 
staff (assuming they don't use gas cars) to find out where they get their 
batteries.  


David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA

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