pianotuna wrote:
Hi Matt,
Six volt batteries in series would not come close to meeting my needs. One size does NOT fit all.
For example:
If an RV'er usually is on shore power, a single maintenance free battery may be the best choice for them.
If an RV'er is off the grid and deep cycles then a Lithium Ion battery bank is "as good as it gets" and is state of the art.
My 12 volt marine batteries are in two banks. One bank is 10 years old and the other is 5. They continue to more than meet my needs. I push them hard with large loads on the inverter. My ultimate battery bank would not be LI as I RV in -30 temperatures. I'd love to have six large two volt cells totaling 800 amp-hours, but can not afford the remodeling that would be required. Nor can I afford the cost of the cells.
Three different needs for three different RV styles.
Piano,
I really do hate being mis-quoted - intentionally.
The response was to Mountain's specific question with experience based on 60 years a waterman, 40 years as a licensed ship's engineer and several engineering degrees. I did run a very successful business while the owners in this area still had money for discretionary spending. That is over and I retired.
There never was or will be one size does not fit every application, but a recommendation that an owner cannot afford will get very little appreciation.
For what Mountain is doing (from the little we know) a pair of good golf cart batteries is the bag for the buck and unlike paralleled 12Vs, there is much less chance of a battery explosion.
And, if you have the money for LiPos, do not go for high AH. Do what the Hybrid Cars are doing (for a reason). If you have the money to go that way, I will design you high voltage bank with a high efficiency direct inverter and you can abandon your old copper heavy 12V stuff.
Yes, I have done the above, but the first was so long ago that we had to use 10ea grp 27s as a main bank.
Matt - going back to what I was doing.
