Quote:
Originally Posted by patbbb
Re: "Why did I buy T890s? The “standard” Trojan 8 volt battery used in TV is the T875. The cost including installation and taxes of the T875 is $625.40. The cost for the same job using T890s is $740.94. That is a substantial uptick in cost, $115.54 or 18%. I honestly cannot tell you the added cost will be worth it and I will not have any way to prove it is worth it in the future. I have no test bed to compare T875 versus T890, so any information would just be my opinion and subjective."
Hopefully enough time has elapsed for an opinion on the T890's you installed (20 months ago?). How many miles do you get vs how many with the old (T875?) ones? Does it look like they will also give longer life. Would you buy them again?
I'm not happy replacing batteries on my Club Cars, DS models, every 3 years but accept that as a fact of life- at least until they prove the two new Trojan models perform as claimed. However, I cannot live with the limited range of 30 miles when new and decreasing to 20 or less over time. If I can't get 30 miles consistently, I'll have to switch to gas but really prefer electric. After reading numerous posts you made, any comments from you on this subject will be greatly appreciated.
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In summary, I will state that even without data it is about $38/year over the life of the pack for the T890 batteries (3 years) to improve the AH rating from 170 to 190. 10% has to be worth something and if I am wrong this amount will not change my lifestyle. I pay that to play a round of golf.
I look at this thread and realize I never followed up. Shame on me. I start a thread and promise boring data and never come back.
I tried to say in my earlier posts on this thread that I will never be able to ‘
know’ if the extra money for the 890s was worth it. Anything I tell you would be subjective as I have not owned a cart with 6-8v batteries where I maintained them. To continue to let you down with my response….. the fact is I am not in the area at the moment and cannot seem to find any data on my test runs with this T890 pack. Right now my carts are blinking away on their respective Battery Minders.
I know I have notepads/napkins somewhere which track my current pack status after playing Lopez, etc. As an update to my OP, I can tell you that Spano did replace that one battery without question as it never came up to 100% SOC.
I do have a couple of general thoughts, which I hope help or can be debated by folks to enlighten us.
The first thing I will say is that I personally have no issue with buying batteries every three years. My napkin calculations say it is about break even with the cost of gas over three years. I think in fact I will get four years out of my 8-6v pack <knocking on wood>.
**** As a seasonal resident my carts only get used 8 1/2 months per year.
You have set the requirement at 30 miles, which I think is very realistic. When I state a requirement like that I mean that I can take my cart for 30 miles and when done the voltage will be greater than 48 volts and they will perform like that for 3 years. IMO this is a very fair requirement and should be attainable with a 6-8v configuration. I am surprised you are seeing 20 miles prior to 3 years? That said… if you will drive a cart 30 miles EVERY day you may be pushing the limits and need to look at 8-6vs. **** Solar may also be an option, if you read this site, you must be aware it is being worked on, time will tell.
<soapbox>
Some percentage of people that buy electric have no idea of their range requirements and have no idea how deeply they discharge the pack daily which is an important part of maintenance. They buy a Club Car Precedent with 4-12v pack and drive it until dead 4 days a week. After the batteries fail in 24 months they say “electric s*cks”. They simply bought the wrong electric cart for their requirements. 
</soapbox>
I looked around for things I have posted before hoping to find anything to help. In this thread
My story of three year old batteries and Lifesaver I see I was getting 26 miles out of a 3year old pack and based on the voltage I reported could have easily gotten to 30+. This was NOT my pack, so I cannot talk to how it was maintained.
I also have a document where I was comparing a set of T890s to a set of T105s in a cart after I converted it to carry 8-6v batteries. The T890s (Dad’s) were at least 2 1/2 years old and went 36 miles.
I apologize I have no better data. I know I did a test run last year on the T890s to evaluate the pack before warranty would run out and went 40 miles without issue. I will do a run in the fall if that helps you.
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Important: When I talk about range in my tests, I am talking about how far I can go without discharging pack more that 50%
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