Goldenmate Battery Quality? (1 Viewer)

[OregonLC]

Anyone with experience? I'm currently running a Battleborn in another truck and have had zero issues. Looking to upgrade the 200 and found Goldenmate on the splash page of 'MUD. It's 1/3 the price. I'm definitely a 'buy once, cry once' but this is a big amount to overcome.

My specific question is do you have direct experience or direct knowledge of someone running a Goldenmate?

The one downside is that Goldenmate doesn't offer a heated battery. Since this one will be inside the vehicle, it's much less of an issue than inside an unheated topper.

 

[LandLocked93]

Experienced with and w/o quality electric storage.
There is no 'silver' bullet between the two.
Just the name, "Goldenmate", is a concern.
Especially at 1/3 the cost.
Venture into it if you like.
But recommend avoid.

 

[OregonLC]

Experienced with and w/o quality electric storage.
There is no 'silver' bullet between the two.
Just the name, "Goldenmate", is a concern.
Especially at 1/3 the cost.
Venture into it if you like.
But recommend avoid.

I take this as you don't have any experience with the Goldenmate brand in question, just don't like the idea of not buying a premium brand?

 

[woody]

I obviously run the Goldenmate in our Sprinter, since I did the writeup. The 12v fridge has been running nearly non-stop since they were installed. (gotta keep the beer cold!) No issues with a trip to MN/WI over Christmas, including running a 110v 500w ceramic heater for a few hours a day for our pups. Has run Starlink 24/7 for a few long weekends.

Prices on LifePO4 have tanked in the past year, which is awesome for consumers. We have four 100AH LiTime batteries in our motorhome, another "cheaper" brand, and they have also performed flawlessly (and dropped in price significantly since I bought them)

I have a couple solar generator's for use with the FZJ80 and camping trips. An older Goal Zero 1250 converted to LifePO4, a 2000w Grecell and a 400w Grecell. The 400w Grecell is my go-to for weekend camping, just enough power and a small footprint. The 2000w Grecell has worked as a backup power for household appliances a few times.

 

[OregonLC]

Thanks Woody. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[LandLocked93]

I take this as you don't have any experience with the Goldenmate brand in question, just don't like the idea of not buying a premium brand?

My experience has been that drastically lower cost directly translates to 'reasons for such'.
There have been no exceptions.
It's called 'a flag'.
Naturally it's up to you if it's a risk you're willing to take.

 

[OregonLC]

My experience has been that drastically lower cost directly translates to 'reasons for such'.
There have been no exceptions.
It's called 'a flag'.
Naturally it's up to you if it's a risk you're willing to take.

'You get what you pay for' is an old adage. This was true when there was a level playing of businesses where lower cost necessitated lower quality. With advancing technologies, however, this is often a rapid decline in production costs with a more shallow decline in consumer pricing.

 

[OregonLC]

In an interesting twist, Goldenmate reached out to me directly and offered to provide a battery gratis in exchange for a review. While this was a tempting consideration, I opted out. The decision wasn't based upon a quality concern; I trust Woody as an experience user. Rather, I'm going to choose to spend money on a domestic brand (Battleborn). The communication from Goldenmate was coming from overseas (presumably China) which caused me to realize there was nothing in the US other than distribution. That's a hard thing for me to get behind, even though it would be very beneficial financially.

To be fair, Battleborn (a dba of Dragonfly Energy) imports their cells due to a lack of mineral resources domestically. Their manufacturing, sales, marketing, and management, however, is all domestic. Dragonfly is also investing in solid-state litium battery technology which has the benefit of reduced manufacturing chemicals (solvents) and lower manufacturing energy requirements.

Perhaps the decision to invest domestically is a fools errand in the current era, but it's important to me. This is not an insignificant cost.

 

[LandLocked93]

'You get what you pay for' is an old adage. This was true when there was a level playing of businesses where lower cost necessitated lower quality. With advancing technologies, however, this is often a rapid decline in production costs with a more shallow decline in consumer pricing.

Lol, "Don't play with fire", and , "There's no free lunch" are also old adages.
I accept your point, but would argue that all 3 sayings are no less true today than they were then.

Best wishes and stay safe.

 

[woody]

Thanks Woody. Appreciate the feedback.

I was just sent an updated link and discount code. ~$210/battery is hard to beat.