2 12 volt batterys or 2 6 volt

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
If things are of no interest to me I skip the thread. But I do not comment that stuff that does not interest me "it's a waste of time" and should be camping, that monitoring a website, and commenting (with scalpel wit) is a waste, to realize that they themselves are "wasting" even more time, sitting in front of computer screen meticulously analyzing threads, post-by-post...

I gave up, Mex...

Big Battery, AGM, low dough, big bang for the buck. YMMV, it won't run a big inverter, make electric coffee or run a hair dryer, but if recharged immediately, daily, and treated properly, not neglected, it will last a long, long, long time. Perfect for dry camping, forget it if you are a pedestal queen. This is a battery that likes long, slow distance discharges, forget the surges or blasts of instant high amperage energy discharge that NiMH and Li Ion batteries are so pricey and good at.

Teleccom AGM 12V 145 AH.

Should you care to learn how to properly dishcharge and recharge /maintain your RV batteries properly, here's a good read on the subject.

Care, use and recharging your RV battery by the book.

Vermilye, Thanks. That gives me a little more insight into inverting since I'm new to it. Ive had some cheap ones but didn't use them to snowbird. I was pretty much stuck on it having to be a Magnum or it wouldn't last.

vermilye wrote:

...
While I agree that a pair of 12V batteries with the same amp hour ratings as the 6V batteries would make the inverter happier, the 6V system works, and is less expensive.

I just compared 3 US Battery 12V GC12s (12V XC2) with 4 of their 6V GC2s (2200 XC2). Both are deep cycle Golf Cart batteries.

The 3 GC12s have almost the same total Ah and weight as the 4 GC2s, but locally the price of the GC12s is substantially less.

You could do the same with Duracell's GC2 versus GC12s at SAMS or the Trojan equivalents wherever. But I don't think that the GC2s are necessarily cheaper than the GC12s.

3 of those 12V GC12s are looking like a pretty good upgrade, for us anyway.

If things are of no interest to me I skip the thread. But I do not comment that stuff that does not interest me "it's a waste of time" and should be camping, that monitoring a website, and commenting (with scalpel wit) is a waste, to realize that they themselves are "wasting" even more time, sitting in front of computer screen meticulously analyzing threads, post-by-post...

brulaz wrote:

rjxj wrote:
What will a 1000 watt inverter run? Not a hair dryer, toaster, micro.
...

Wondering about that. Our new hair dryer has a low power setting that uses ~670W. Haven't tried it yet with our 1000W PSW inverter, but hopefully it works without blowing that expensive 75A DC fuse.

It would definitely be preferable to turning on the furnace and kneeling on the floor next to a vent, or turning on propane range and roasting my head over it (covering the flame with a cooky sheet).

I imagine the batteries will have to be well charged though, as I still only have 220AH in 2x6V GCs. The voltage drop could be substantial.

Once we get our tongue weight limitations fixed, I aim to replace those batts with a set of 4, doubling the AHs. Haven't decided on 6V or 12Vs yet, but will avoid AGMs as we're hard on batts. What with no generator, but 700W solar, they can be undercharged for days at a time when the weather/season is off. Like/need to equalize them asap afterwards. (Sadly, LiFePO4 is still too expensive for us).

Good, true deep cycle, flooded 12Vs might be the best replacements as our inverter usage seems to be increasing. Might even get a 2000W inverter some day!

I have a Xantrex PROwatt SW 1000 sine wave inverter wired with 6' of #0 wire (through a 150 amp fuse) to a pair of Interstate GC2-XHD 6V, 232 amp hour batteries charged by 355 watts of solar panels (usually skip the portable panel & only 195 watts during the high angle sun during the summer).

For breakfast, I can make 5 cups of coffee with a 600 watt drip coffee maker & toast an english muffin after drawing down the batteries by 25 amp hours overnight. I may get a couple of alarm beeps from the inverter towards the end of the coffee brewing (a 65 amp draw & about the same for the toaster) & about 10 amp hours draw for both, but the batteries will be back to 12.5 - 12.6V after the coffee is done.

During the summer the batteries are back to full by early afternoon, by evening in winter.

While I agree that a pair of 12V batteries with the same amp hour ratings as the 6V batteries would make the inverter happier, the 6V system works, and is less expensive.

Two of these sit in my battery compartment - because I need a 13.6 volt float voltage and because I'm cheap so they're from Ch*^a: ;) and :B :

http://www.fullriverbattery.com/product/batteries/DC115-12

My future batteries

This photo is hanging on my living room wall.

There's an old Chinese Proverb (that I made up some time ago): "You never regret buying quality ... you just have to figure out how to pay for it."

However, cheap almost always wins ... that's the American way. ;)

(That's also why many of our proverbs come from China.)

There is no real winner!
It depends on the individuals camping styles!