OT - Great Deal on Batteries

[Chad Heiser]

This isn't specifically HDT related, but I thought I would share with the group.

 

Let me start by saying I am in no way affiliated with this sale and I get nothing from bringing it to your attention.

 

I was hunting around on the internet doing research on various battery configurations in preparation for another project I am working on and I came across this deal on e-bay. I thought it was a typo or a low bid on an auction with a higher reserve at first glance. Then I realized there was a buy now button at that price (plus $10.00 shipping). I still thought it was too good to be true. I contacted the seller directly and asked why the price was so low. This was the response I got back:

 

"Good morning and thank you for your interest in these batteries. I understand your concerns, we are listing these batteries at a very low price. In order to alleviate your concerns, please Google Graybar Electric; we are a fortune 500 company that has been in existence for over 100 years and we have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. We are clearancing these batteries because the customer that we brought them into stock for went out of business. We sell electrical & comm-data materials so this is a product that we normally do not offer. We are just trying to get them out of our inventory at this point and we are willing to take a loss on them to do so. They are new, un-sold and un-used. We recently had them inspected and re-charged to make sure that they are in good shape so they should be good to go.
How many are you interested in?"

 

The seller had 55 of them (now 50 after my purchase) listed for $249.00 per battery. Anywhere else I looked, they are listed between $650.00 and $700.00 per battery. These are Fullriver DC260-12 batteries. They are basically the same battery as a Lifeline 8DL battery with slightly better specs.

 

I just couldn't pass up the deal, even though I am a few months away from actually needing the batteries, so I ordered them and will hold on to them until I am ready.

 

I have Fullriver batteries in my HDT as a house bank and I have been very happy with them. There are several others on the forum that have put them in their 5ers as well with no issues. Fullriver is a Chinese manufacturer, but they manufacture to all the same standards as American battery companies.

 

Hopefully this will help someone out there save some money. I just wanted to pass the information on to the group.

[spindrift]

How can he ship at $10? An 8D battery weighs a ton...almost.

[Chad Heiser]

I am not sure how he is shipping for $10.00, but he is doing it on my order. I assume being a fortune 500 company, they ship A LOT of stuff so they are getting good rates, but also he is just trying to dump these batteries because they are not something they normally sell or stock.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

That is an amazing deal.

[CrazyCooter]

That is a killer deal! I just paid $485ea for East Penn Agm's earlier this year.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Too bad my GC batteries are new and on a trick slide out tray.

[rickeieio]

Okay. let me play dumb here. Alright, I'm not acting, I really am dumb in this matter..........

 

Would those batteries be the same as what's in the tray in the nose of my Newmar? I have space for 4 batteries, but only two are in there now. Both are dated 2008, one only holds 10v after taking off the tender.

 

I see a possible upgrade coming.

[CrazyCooter]

Okay. let me play dumb here. Alright, I'm not acting, I really am dumb in this matter..........

 

Would those batteries be the same as what's in the tray in the nose of my Newmar? I have space for 4 batteries, but only two are in there now. Both are dated 2008, one only holds 10v after taking off the tender.

 

I see a possible upgrade coming.

These are 8D sized with dimensions of 20.75" 11" 11" LxWxH. Should be right at 160lb ea

[Chad Heiser]

Okay. let me play dumb here. Alright, I'm not acting, I really am dumb in this matter..........

 

Would those batteries be the same as what's in the tray in the nose of my Newmar? I have space for 4 batteries, but only two are in there now. Both are dated 2008, one only holds 10v after taking off the tender.

 

I see a possible upgrade coming.

I'm not exactly sure what you have in your Newmar, but these are a direct replacement for Lifeline 8DL batteries. I have links to the manufacturer spec sheets for the Fullrivers and the Lifelines in my original post so you can compare them.

 

This is one of those one off deals that you stumble on every so often. It still sounds too good to be true, but I did my research and am going for it. The seller is just trying to get rid of them. Mince they are gone, they are gone.

[Nuke-E]

That is a great price if they're as-described. If you run the numbers, it's about $6/Wh of usable capacity--which is all the way down where I'm getting used Volt battery packs.

[rdickinson]

Got the info needed.

[Exile]

Ordered one, apperently not smart enough to pay for one.

 

I assume they will contact me?

[NoDirectionHome]

 

 

it's about $6/Wh of usable capacity

Not seeing how you're figuring that.

[Dutch_12078]

Ordered one, apperently not smart enough to pay for one.

 

I assume they will contact me?

 

From the eBay listing:

 

"ORDER PROCESS: After notification of a successful bid, email graybarstore with a phone number so we may contact you. DO NOT SEND ANY ADVANCE PAYMENTS. Materials will not ship until after we have contacted you for a shipping address and credit card information."

[Chad Heiser]

You send then a message after you place your order with your preferred contact number and they call you to get payment info and preferred shipping location. Mine are on the way as of this morning. Through my contacts with them, they do not monitor the eBay listing on the weekends, so if you message them after business hours on Friday the will contact you on Monday.

[Nuke-E]

Not seeing how you're figuring that.

I used the 20-hour rating listed for the battery (260Ah), then calculated the available energy:

260Ahx12V=3120Wh. Figure 50% depth of discharge for a reasonable life, and it's 1560Wh usable. Divide by cost ($259.99) and you get 6Wh/$.

 

Using a 20-hr rate favors the lead acidd batteries a little, but it gets you in the ballpark.

[NoDirectionHome]

Gotcha... thanks Nuke

[brunsje]

I have 4 house batteries. I have gotten the following info off the top of the batteries:


6VDC. Mullet Battery Inc., Goshen, IN 46528. (574) 534-4665). Made by Crown Battery. 140 minutes at 75A, 245 A for 1 Hour.

They were installed in May 2014 by Showhauler.

​They are slightly larger than a Car Battery.

What size are they? Would I be able to use these Fullriver 260-12 as replacements?

Thanks, JohnnyB

 

 

[CrazyCooter]

I have 4 house batteries. I have gotten the following info off the top of the batteries:

 

6VDC. Mullet Battery Inc., Goshen, IN 46528. (574) 534-4665). Made by Crown Battery. 140 minutes at 75A, 245 A for 1 Hour.

They were installed in May 2014 by Showhauler.

​They are slightly larger than a Car Battery.

 

What size are they? Would I be able to use these Fullriver 260-12 as replacements?

 

Thanks, JohnnyB

 

 

Looks like you have the room in there to make two fit. You need approx 21x22" to get a pair in there. You would not gain much capacity, but the price is right if you need replacements.

[Chad Heiser]

If the compartment is big enough to get two on the floor, (depending on how tall that compartment is) you might be able to stack two more on a shelf above the first pair as well. These are AGM batteries so once the are connected, you really don't need access to them again other than to check that the connections are tight once a year.

 

Just remember these are heavy batteries (about 170 pounds each), so make sure the compartment can support the weight.

[Yarome]

I'm late to this post, but yeah... providing the date of MFG isn't too far out (ideally not more than 12-18 months), you really won't find a better deal than that... EVER!

 

JohnnyB, remember that these are AGM's when measuring. It's not necessary for them to sit in the upright position. Just from the looks of your compartment you might be able to fit 4... laying on their sides.. 2 high each on the left and right side of the compartment facing each other.

 

I agree with Chad. Your compartment would likely need to be reinforced if you put in more than 2. Right now.. each of your 6v cells is likely around 70lbs each so 2 of the 12v's really wouldn't be adding a significantly heavier load than what you are currently packing. In a compartment like that I would hesitate to even push a 400lb load let alone 680lbs w/4 - 12v'rs though.

 

The other consideration to keep in the back of your mind with 4 would be weight distribution left to right on your axles.

[VallAndMo]

Hello Chad,

 

I was hunting around on the internet doing research on various battery configurations in preparation for another project I am working on and I came across this deal on e-bay. I thought it was a typo or a low bid on an auction with a higher reserve at first glance. Then I realized there was a buy now button at that price (plus $10.00 shipping). I still thought it was too good to be true. I contacted the seller directly and asked why the price was so low. This was the response I got back:

 

"Good morning and thank you for your interest in these batteries. I understand your concerns, we are listing these batteries at a very low price. In order to alleviate your concerns, please Google Graybar Electric; we are a fortune 500 company that has been in existence for over 100 years and we have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. We are clearancing these batteries because the customer that we brought them into stock for went out of business. We sell electrical & comm-data materials so this is a product that we normally do not offer. We are just trying to get them out of our inventory at this point and we are willing to take a loss on them to do so. They are new, un-sold and un-used. We recently had them inspected and re-charged to make sure that they are in good shape so they should be good to go. How many are you interested in?"

 

The seller had 55 of them (now 50 after my purchase) listed for $249.00 per battery. Anywhere else I looked, they are listed between $650.00 and $700.00 per battery. These are Fullriver DC260-12 batteries. They are basically the same battery as a Lifeline 8DL battery with slightly better specs.

Thanks for doing all the research and then letting us know. We're still about 1.5 years from buying our RV and we have no place to store those batteries in the meantime, otherwise we would be purchasing at least 2 of them right now... This is indeed an amazing deal.

 

If you can, please post a follow-up in this topic about your experiences when you receive your set, and later when you install and use it. It will be much useful to us (and I suspect, others) as we will certainly be on the lookout for similar deals when the time comes for us to purchase ours...

 

Cheers,

--

Vall & Mo.

[Lou Schneider]

I ordered two last Friday and was contacted by email over the weekend asking for a phone number to complete the order. Talked to them on Monday and yes, the $10 per battery shipping is for real. The only other charge is for sales tax.

 

They should be waiting at my sister's house when I get back to California next week,

[RandyA]

Figure 50% depth of discharge for a reasonable life, and it's 1560Wh usable.

David, you lost me on this one.

[Chad Heiser]

Mine are scheduled to be delivered on Monday. They are being freight shipped, so the unloading is my responsibility. In other words, the five I ordered (four for me and one for a buddy) are on a pallet and I need a forklift or similar to unload them. No big deal because I have a skid steer with pallet forks, but the pallet weighs a little over 800 lbs per the shipping company.

[Nuke-E]

David, you lost me on this one.

 

Randy,

 

I'm just trying to account for the amount of the batteries' capacity that can be used while expecting a reasonable number of charge/discharge cycles, with 50% being a generally accepted number for lead acid batteries. You can obviously get the 3kWh out of the batteries, but life expectancy will suffer. It's far from a perfect comparison--if one were to truly compare costs between battery chemistries, number of cycles would need to be included, along with a metric for space and weight.

 

For the Chevy Volt batteries, I'm using GM's numbers--12kWh out of 16kWh being usable.