Sorry for the long post....Hi everyone. I am new here. I am an RV greenhorn... don't even own one yet. But, we're in the market & the biggest thing I want out of it is to be as self-sufficient as possible. The very first thing I will be doing (besides checking over the engine, trans, rearend, and general health of the coach) is updating the charging system with a solar system. I do not want to run the generator unless absolutely necessary. I HATE when other campers run their generators for 12 hours out of the day, & I refuse to be one of them.I'm looking at a 12v/24v solar system w/ a 60A MPPT controller. I know I could use 1 or 2 12v AGM batteries. BUT... I'm really interested in seeing if it's possible to run the RV's 12v system off of 1 or 2 24v batteries. If so, I could use 1 or 2 smaller batteries & due to you only needing to pull 1/2 the amps @ 24v's. I assume you would need a step-down converter between the 24v batteries & the 12v converter in the coach... right?Somebody school me!

Yes, you would need a step down converter. Going to 24V won't allow you to use a physically smaller battery bank.

Most serious solar boondockers go the other way - multiple 6 volt CG batteries in series/parallel. True deep cycle batteries have thicker cells and can withstand more cycles than "rv/marine deep cycle". I have 4 CG-2s and 200 watts of solar for some light camping with no hookups.However, if you're already passing judgment of how other people pursue their recreation, maybe this isn't the lifestyle for you.

Trying to "design your own" 24 V battery system to run 12 V appliances is NOT worth the time, trouble and expense.AND....you won't know how many 6/12 volt batteries will be optimum for your RV.....until you actually GET one and see how much room you have for batteries.There are only two things that you really NEED to run a generator for:1) Air Conditioning. Just not possible/practical from batteries.2) Charging the batteries. Good solar will reduce this but maybe not eliminate it totally.I find that I need to run the gen only about 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the late afternoon. And finally.....if you have a really QUIET generator, it won't be a problem anyway. Spend your power system money on solar and a quiet gen.

Hi furyous68,Welcome to the forums.What you wish to do is possible. Perhaps this series of articles may help.https://freecampsites.net/adding-solar/furyous68 wrote: Hi everyone. I am new here. I am an RV greenhorn... don't even own one yet. is updating the charging system with a solar system. I do not want to run the generator unless absolutely necessary.

jplante4 wrote:However, if you're already passing judgment of how other people pursue their recreation, maybe this isn't the lifestyle for you.Easy there, I didn't judge anyone. I don't go around giving people dirty looks & yelling at everyone to turn off their generators. I didn't call them horrible people. The sound of generators irritate me. I know that it irritates a lot (probably most) people that go camping to get away from the city & find some peace & quiet. I'm glad it doesn't bother you. I just plan on not contributing to it as much as humanly possible.Look, I'm used to tent camping & backpacking. I'm an Architect, a hunter, and I enjoy motorsports (I own a 68 Plymouth Fury III pushing 680hp on Nitrous). We're looking for an RV so we can be a little more comfortable while camping as a family. I have a wife & 2 daughters, one is autistic with Type I diabetes. I want her to be able to enjoy nature. But tent camping just isn't posdible with all of her needs.I also have 2 100lb+ german shepherds I'd like to take with us.So, when I say I'm new to RV's, I'm about as new as you get. I'm also not used to camping around them, since I typically go where very few people will be. I just want to continue my small footprint/ low impact style of camping as much as I can. I will still be looking for places where RVers don't typically go, and I don't want to dampen anyone else's experience in the boonies. I'm not into the big RV parks where generator noise isn't udually a big issue.

Use 24v Batteries to run 12v System... Possible?

Almot
Explorer III
Apr 16, 2018
I use an instant variety of hot chocolate, no gadgets required. Keeping it simple. Few teaspoons of powder with whatever beverage you prefer. It's just one of ingredients.

Of course, a few teaspoons of hot chocolate in a glass of schnapps would be, er... not the same as a cup of hot chocolate with a little schnapps. Need to try this some day :)
MrWizard
Moderator
Apr 16, 2018
Almot

that is the fancy way for camp fire coffee,
put cold water and coffee in a pan, heat, when it foams up, poor a little cold water on top to settle the grounds, carefully poor the coffee out
Almot
Explorer III
Apr 16, 2018
Yes, Mr Wiz, this is exactly what I used to do with that little pot in the photo. With sugar mixed in before filling it with water, to give it time to dissolve. Only don't add cold water after, prefer with a few grounds but hotter. Those few that get into the cup, settle to the bottom. Arabs say that coffee should be hot as a woman's kiss and sweet as a honey.
furyous68
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
So, we have an electrical engineer down the hall from our office & he was wondering why multiple 6v setups instead of multiple 12v setups. He couldn't think of any real advantages to the 6v batteries over 12v (other than maybe congiguring for a certain space requirement. In fact... the wiring would be simpler to run 12v batteries in parallel. If AH are equal, is there any advantage to one system over the other?
pianotuna
Nomad III
Apr 17, 2018
There are attributes to both 6 and 12 volt.

6 volt wins on thicker plates and on cell count.

12 volt wins on ability to power a LARGE inverter, and on resistance.

Six volt Golf cart jars are cheaper per amp-hour than deep cycle 12 volt units.

The ultimate battery bank would be six two volt cells with an amp-hour capacity of 800.

Any reasonable voltage battery can be made to work well in an RV.
MrWizard
Moderator
Apr 17, 2018
its NOT voltage, its battery construction
6v are stronger construction, that will withstand the abuse of RV use
better than the avg 12v wet cell

there are some really good 12v AGM batteries out there, but they cost more than the 6v GC batteries
furyous68
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
That makes sense. I didn't think it was a voltage thing, but didn't realize that the 6v batteries were built stronger. Thanks!

I also notice that 6v batteries typically have significantly more AH than 12v.
jplante4
Explorer II
Apr 17, 2018
furyous68 wrote:
That makes sense. I didn't think it was a voltage thing, but didn't realize that the 6v batteries were built stronger. Thanks!

I also notice that 6v batteries typically have significantly more AH than 12v.

Yes, and it's difficult to find a quality true deep cycle 12 v jar. Most of what you see in RVs is the "marine/rv" deep cycle which is rated in cold cranking amps rather than amp hours. These 12v batteries run around 105 aH each so 2 would get you 210. 2-6 volt GC2s run 225 aH.
MrWizard
Moderator
Apr 17, 2018
One 6v versus one 12v
6v at 212 amphrs = 1272 watt hrs

12v at 105 Amphrs = 1260 watt hrs

But you can't use Only one 6v, you must have two in series, because you need 12v

What you get with 6v is heavy thicker plates and stronger construction
Almot
Explorer III
Apr 17, 2018
furyous68 wrote:

I also notice that 6v batteries typically have significantly more AH than 12v.

I see some fireworks coming.

Written several pages ago - 2 bottles, one with wide neck and one with narrow. Same amount of water.

Watts = Amps*Volts.

215 AH * 6V = 1.3 KWH
110 AH * 12V = 1.3 KWH

Basics of electricity, not engineering level.

Forum Discussion

Use 24v Batteries to run 12v System... Possible?

About DIY Maintenance

Related Content

12v battery system

Possible Affordable Lithium Ion Battery Option

AGM Battery alternator charging/ possible alternator issue

Possible frame rail, hitch receiver issue..

Is this even possible?