Duracell branded 6v info

boomadge

Just bought 4 Duracell 6v batteries from sams club, wanting to setup the kid voltages correctly I contacted Duracell and asked for voltage set points for there battery. Oddly enough no one could give me a direct answer.
After much research I found they are manufactured by east penn and are Deka clones. So I contacted east penn and talked to [FONT=&quot]Mary Sell (msell@dekabatteries.com). She referred me to [/FONT]Lou Vondenbosch [louv@dekabatteries.com] I gave him this information.

(me) I purchased 4 Duracell 6v Golf Car batteries , my searches bring me to believe they are manufactured by East Penn, The
Only information I could get provided from Duracell is there Group # GC2 , Part # DGC , 20 AH Rate 215 , Duracell has no
charging voltage information they could give me. Could you be of any assistance ? I would really like to setup my charge controller
to maximize the life and power of the batteries. This would be in a 24 volt system.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Jeff

Lou Vondenbosch replied,
You are correct they are manufactured by east penn , Deka GC15 is basically what they are
without getting into to much detail.

[FONT=&quot]These charging specs will work perfectly![/FONT]
1. BULK STAGE = 10% of Ah (C10) or 21.5 amps
26 amps (max.current) per series string.

2. ABSORPTION STAGE = 2.44 vpc (x 3 cells) = 7.32 v x the # of batteries in your strings(4)=29.28V

3. FLOAT STAGE = 2.34 vpc (x 3 cells) = 7.02 v x the # of batteries in your strings(4)=28.08V

4. EQUALIZE STAGE = 2.53 vpc (x 3 cells) = 7.59 v the # of batteries in your strings(4)=30.36V



Hope this information helps some one.

Snowyverdure

Thank you. It is hard to find info on their 6v batteries. Sams 6v batteries offer a lot of bank for the buck. Under $100 a battery. Many of these cheap ones last me at least a few years.

Snowyverdure

The only thing is that float # seems about .5 volt higher than I use On a 12v set up

Vic

Hi Jeff,

YES, thank you very much for posting this charge setpoint data, and even a Contact person at Deka.

Questions about setpoints for generic GC-2 batteries, particularly for off-grid PV charging.
Thanks! Vic

wellbuilt

I’ve been using 59 absorb in the summer Time and bump up to 59.5 in October thru March 
 my battery’s float at 54 But the system floats for a week or 2 at a time . 

 Equalize and 61  61.5 in the winter . 

  The battery’s seam to like more charging in the winter . 

 At lower voltages they can go 6/8 months with out using water . 

 I’m using about 1/3 of the water in the top of the cell in 4 months soooo not to bad really . 

 I have a 12v system that is in its 6th year and I can pump water with it still. 

 I’m using 2 strings of 8 for 48 volts . 

 I’m going into my 3 year now running  3/4 days a week . 

 I have one cell on one battery that seams to lag behind the others but in the summer it is looking good . 

RCinFLA

The reason no one at Duracell knew anything about them is the batteries are just their branding label put on battery sourced from other vendor.

Only a limited list of lead acid battery manufacturers in U.S./Canada/Mexico.  Top three probably do 80-90% of batteries.

Clarios (Johnson Controls)
Exide
Interstate
Deka
Concorde
Optima

Just look up regular golf cart lead-antimony alloy battery of similar AH rating.  Most six volt golf cart batteries are 210 to 230 AH size.

Lead-antimony can take more overcharging abuse then auto/marine lead-calcium alloy batteires.  They need to have electrolyte water level checked regularly. Be aware of hydrogen and oxygen gases given off during charging.

Lead-antimony batteries have a higher self discharge rate then auto/marine lead-calcium alloy batteires.

Typically golf cart batteries do not take well to continuous float charging.  The positive plates oxidize due to constant float charging increasing their effective internal resistance.  Best if you give them at least 5-10% discharge every few months to burn off excessive lead-oxide buildup on positive plates.

Do not expect more then 5 years of service out of them.