Beware of Battery Sales

[wdyasq]

Back a few weeks someone posted a for sale item of 1600AH 2V cells.  I finally got a price back.  The man wants $400 a cell - but that would include packing and shipping.

New T105 Trojans are rated at 225AH at 6V - they are ~$70 each.  To get volts and capacity to the same terms I we can divide the 1600 by 3 and get the comparison number of 533AH @ 6V for $400 or the closest I can get 2-1/2 T105's for $175 over 560AH capacity.

Since we would be speaking of a 48V bank one could buy those 32 year old batteries for just under $10,000.  Or, buy over 2 times the capacity in new batteries with a warranty.  This would be a difficult decision ....sure.

Ron

[BT Humble]

Since we would be speaking of a 48V bank one could buy those 32 year old batteries for just under $10,000.  Or, buy over 2 times the capacity in new batteries with a warranty.  This would be a difficult decision ....sure.

You always find people trying to sell stuff for many times its actual value.  Sometimes they get lucky and find a sucker, most times they keep trying for months to sell it, with the asking price gradually declining. ;-)

For what it's worth, I paid $60 per cell for twelve 1991-manufactured 2V 550Ah cells, and $30 per cell for another dozen 1984-manufactured cells of the same type.

On the weekend, I bought these six 1999-manufactured 6V 125Ah cells for a friend at $10 each.  

I think we both got a bargain. ;-)

BTH

[wooferhound]

You have some very small wires

on your very large batteries there

any fuses ?

[whatsnext]

Current scrap price for old batteries is a bit less than .10/pound for guys who scrap truck loads at a time. Anything over that is gravy for the seller.

John.........

[BT Humble]

You have some very small wires

on your very large batteries there

any fuses ?

They're just temporarily hooked up to a small solar panel to keep their charge up - they aren't actually powering anything at the moment.

BTH

[Dennis the bus dweller]

I just picked up 6 Rolls 6 volt / 820 amp hour batteries dated 2004 for $1200.00 and they tested great. What a buy.

[BT Humble]

I just picked up 6 Rolls 6 volt / 820 amp hour batteries dated 2004 for $1200.00 and they tested great. What a buy.

Bare out there all the time.  You just have to be ready with the money in your pocket to snap them up.

On a related note, I thought I'd share some wisdom that was handed down to me by an old chap quite a few years ago:

"If someone offers you something for nothing, and you think there's even the slightest chance that it'll be useful to you one day, drop whatever you're doing straight away and go and get it before he changes his mind."

BTH