adding a 12 volt battery to a bank of 4 =6volt battery

I would be sorely tempted to wire in a smart solenoid and use the car battery for outside lighting. Like an awning rope light. This keeps the Hatfield Boy from Getting frisky with the McCoy lass. It isn't at the dinner table or out squirrel hunting that the feud would ignite; it's when they were together with "nothing going on" that starts WW III

The old Trojan car jar RV battery had a higher antimony level and would survive longest with the 5% crowd. I don't know about now.

Thanks for the response. I am going to keep that battery, the 12 volt with jumper cable, and make use of it when needed.

wa8yxm wrote:
You need to re-think and then ask the question of yourself again.

You said "I have 4 six volt batteries"

No, you do not

You have two two piece 12 volt batteries.

Now, The quesiton becomes

I have 2 12 volt batteries in parallel, Can I add a 3rd, and the answer is: YES

That is really sad when you have only 1 correct answer (above) out of all these !!

RJsfishin wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
You need to re-think and then ask the question of yourself again.

You said "I have 4 six volt batteries"

No, you do not

You have two two piece 12 volt batteries.

Now, The quesiton becomes

I have 2 12 volt batteries in parallel, Can I add a 3rd, and the answer is: YES

That is really sad when you have only 1 correct answer (above) out of all these !!

Yes, in the REAL sense, you CAN add a 12 volt to a 6 volt bank. BUT, as I pointed out, it will NOT function correctly and at its optimum performance. Doug

dougrainer wrote:
"I have 4 new 6 volt batteries and a 12 volt battery that is like brand new"

NO. You can NEVER add any older battery to a new battery bank and expect the system to function at its optimal level. You cannot add a 12 volt to a 6 volt(producing 12 volts) type system and expect it to function correctly in the long run. 12 volt and 6 volt batteries have different charging design parameters. Doug

X-2

Rich,
Thanks for your observations but I think everybody that posted is trying to be helpful.

I guess (maybe correctly) that the answer is yes, you can but is it going to work in your favor to do so.

RJsfishin wrote:
That is really sad when you have only 1 correct answer (above) out of all these !!

Getting answers on here is no different from hanging out with your buddies at the local coffee shop.

Mixing different battery construction types, golf cart batteries, with a car battery, with different chemistries and amp hours per battery, is a lot like pairing a Honda Eu2000i to a Honda Eu1000i, to run something with a heavy amp load, like a 13.5k AC.

It can be done, but no one recommends it, and you probably shouldn't do it.

They are all lead acid batts, the chemistry is the same.
And did you and several others even read his post where he said it was an almost new "marine" battery ? READ HIS QUESTION !!

NinerBikes wrote:
Mixing different battery construction types, golf cart batteries, with a car battery, with different chemistries and amp hours per battery, is a lot like pairing a Honda Eu2000i to a Honda Eu1000i, to run something with a heavy amp load, like a 13.5k AC.

It can be done, but no one recommends it, and you probably shouldn't do it.