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Old 26-08-2016, 21:53   #1
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T-105RE Purchase...?

I believe I've settled on purchasing the T-105RE batteries for my house bank. Truth be told, I'm not 100% sure I'm making the right choice because I'm so overwhelmed on the choices out there. But nonetheless, this is where I'm at right now. Ultimately, I'd like to purchase 6 of them, but for now I'm going to purchase 4 and add 2 more later.

My question is, what is the best place to purchase the cables to connect them? I've read that the auto parts stores sell not so great quality cables. I don't have the crimping tools and such to make my own.

Lastly, any other suggestions reference the batteries? I've owned the sailboat for about 2 weeks so I'm very green with all of this.

Thanks.
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Old 26-08-2016, 22:08   #2
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Not sure about DB Fl but in S Fl the Big battery distributors make and sell cables. Also Napa sells and makes cables with the tinned wire and ends and good heat shrink. They are pretty pricey I needed 2 , 2' cables w 4 ends and it was about $60.+/-,, may be cheaper to buy bulk cable and a simple hammer type crimper and ends and do it yourself

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Old 26-08-2016, 23:06   #3
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

make your own with welding cable and copper pipe. shockingly easy, &, if done correctly, better than most off the shelf variety.
I switched from l16hc's (4) to t105's (6) a couple of years ago and have found them basically ok with one caveat.. DO NOT leave unattended without backup charge cap for more than 10 days. I made this mistake at the height of summer (780w solar) but bad weather while away meant the battery wasn't charged like I'd expected it to. when I returned,a partly sunny day, battery was @11.2v. Never really recovered the like new performance after that.. ( they were about 7 months old at that point).

over all tho trojan battery's are very good.
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Old 26-08-2016, 23:31   #4
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zephyrcat229 View Post
DO NOT leave unattended without backup charge cap for more than 10 days.
Can you please elaborate on this? What cap? Watering cap? What do you mean by this? You were away 10 days and your 780w solar was not able to keep batteries charged (even if cloudy) something here don't make sense.
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Old 27-08-2016, 03:58   #5
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Quote:
Originally Posted by molo0928 View Post
... My question is, what is the best place to purchase the cables to connect them? ...
https://www.genuinedealz.com/
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Old 27-08-2016, 04:11   #6
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Welding cable is the way to go. The finer and more wire strands gives less resistance to the electron flow so the wire is not causing a big voltage drop. The electrons like to move along the outer edge of wire so the more outer edges you have the easier it is for them to flow.
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Old 27-08-2016, 04:32   #7
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Quote:
Originally Posted by molo0928 View Post
Ultimately, I'd like to purchase 6 of them, but for now I'm going to purchase 4 and add 2 more later.
I can understand the incentive to do this, but it is not recommended from what I have read. Mixing battery ages appears to be a way to degrade new batteries faster. Also, while you have only four batteries your depth of discharge will be higher than had you fitted six batteries.

But, FWIW, I have also settled on T105s for our boat after lots and lots and lots of reading.

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Old 27-08-2016, 04:49   #8
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

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That's my goto wire/shrink/terminal source.
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Old 27-08-2016, 04:49   #9
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JPCorrigan View Post
... The electrons like to move along the outer edge of wire so the more outer edges you have the easier it is for them to flow.
NO !!!
Skin Effect is strictly an AC phenomenon (increasing with frequency). Since the frequency of DC is zero, DC current flows across the entire cross section of the conductor.
The standard welding cable from an auto parts store or electrical supply house has rubber insulation. The use of rubber for insulation is one of the features that make welding cable so flexible and easy to work. Marine battery cable will be insulated with PVC or cross-linked polyethylene. Despite making the cable stiff and heavy, this is an important difference. The reason this matters is that rubber insulation will not survive the constant attack from warm salt water, diesel or gasoline fuel, bilge cleaner, cleaning solvents and heat that are typical in the engine room and bilge of a yacht. Over time the insulation on welding cable will soften and expand. Eventually it will become a gooey, moisture-laden mess allowing water to leak in and current to leak out.
Welding cable is not tinned and its construction will allow water to wick up inside the insulation where it will corrode the thin copper strands, creating unwanted resistance and weakening the cable.
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Old 27-08-2016, 05:22   #10
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

In addition to using proper marine grade tinned copper wire for the cables and a proper box crimper for the terminals, please consider buying all the batteries at the same time from the same batch. If you install and use 4 now and try to add 2 more at a later date they will have aged differently. The older cells will pull the newer ones down. Same reason you never replace just one battery in a bank when it fails.
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Old 27-08-2016, 09:22   #11
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Sorry to be so long in getting back, overnight here...
Anyway I was gone for two weeks from the inland NW in summer usually long clear days all summer long, almost no clouds, ( for the last 18 years) cat had to stay here, off grid cabin, so I left a small radio and a couple led lights on for her sanity.... In my defense these things drew very little & if the weather had been like the previous 18 summers I should have been fine.
However it was very unusually cloudy the whole time I was gone..
The cap meant capacity in my case I could have had someone check on it with instructions for dealing with this unforseen circumstance.

Battery cable is great for a lot of reasons, solders on nicely, very flexible, holds up better than store bought ect. Don't want to get into the electron argument tho I've heard it often, its really irrelevant as it works great whatever the case.

But I wouldn't use it if it was rubber encased for a salt water vessel. Up here it's polyethylene based stuff ( I think) anyway be sure to check if you go that route,.
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Old 27-08-2016, 09:54   #12
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Just read the rest of Gord's post. He makes solid arguements. However if you really soak the strands ( in my case they are tinned, mil surplus stuff) with solder when connecting the terminals and then use good thick heatshrink tubing, don't you think that would seal it off well enough to eliminate the possibility of moisture getting in the cables?

I'm not trying to be difficult here. It's a practical question as I've always thought these cables I've been making are pretty durable. Next Sept.ish I'm going to be moving aboard a sailboat for the foreseeable future and had planned on using the same stuff for its battery bank, assuming I'd have replace it anyway.
My point is I agree that if you used untinned, crimped not soldered, rubber sheathed welding cable with weak/thin poorly applied heatshrink tubing then what you describe seems almost a certainty.
That said, as I described above all those issue's apparently resolved, you still think they'd cause trouble?
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Old 27-08-2016, 10:01   #13
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Where I said battery in#11 I meant welding..

This is why I shouldn't post before 2 strong cups of coffee.
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Old 27-08-2016, 10:09   #14
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

What Gord said:

Marine Battery Cable, Tinned Marine Grade Battery Cables : AWG Gauge Size Genuinedealz.com

This is the place. They will make up your cables for a 'dollar-a-terminal' labor cost, after you purchase the cable and terminals from them. Very competitive prices.

Pretty quick service, too.

This is not the situation to try to re-invent the wheel!
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Old 27-08-2016, 10:23   #15
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Re: T-105RE Purchase...?

Soldered terminals creates hard points in the wire which are susceptible to vibration failure and is therefore generally discouraged in the marine environment.
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