L16 Universal Terminals [RE-wrenches]

[John Raynes]

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Wrenches,

Have any of you had issues with the L16 batteries, with universal terminal 
style?  We were surprised to find out recently that our only distributor in 
Utah for Trojan Batteries was no longer stocking L16G's with the "L" 
terminal (LT).  They now only stock the "Universal" (UT) terminal.  If 
you're not familiar with this, the UT is a tapered round stub with a 
through hole, designed for either automotive style lugs, or through-bolt 
connections.

I have some problems with the UT style terminal.  First, the recommended 
torque rating isn't clear.  These are the current published torque ratings, 
for all terminal style types, from Trojan's literature:

Automotive: 50-70 in-lbs
Side: 70-90 in-lbs
Wingnut: 95-105 in-lbs
LPT: 95-105 in-lbs
LT: 100-120 in-lbs

There is no direct torque spec for the UT.  The "Side" spec would appear to 
correspond most closely to the UT in the configuration that we all use it 
for RE systems, but I'm not 100% sure.  I've tried repeatedly to get a 
confirmation on this from Trojan with no success.  We like to torque our 
connections as securely as allowable for the obvious reasons, but the UT 
terminal will start to squish as you torque it using a side bolt, and can 
crack under relatively light torque.  I'm not really that comfortable even 
tightening them to the 70-90 range at this point.  The LT is far more 
robust and tolerant.

Our distrib will get L16's with the L Terminals at the same price, as long 
as I order a pallet of 18.  Sometimes that will work for us, but that's an 
odd number of batteries for a typical job.  So unless I have a group of 
jobs where I can move all of the L16's on a pallet or two, I will have some 
sitting on the shelf.   I could order outside the state, but we're very 
remote and our Utah distributor does deliver for free, once every two 
weeks.  I really don't want to touch these UT terminals again if I can 
avoid it.  Any suggestions or insights?

Thanks,
John Raynes
RE Solar
Torrey UT
435-425-2110

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