re 12v vs 6v Batteries

Jawsinparadise wrote:
Extremely strange to read all the opinions re this subject. Most written by author "OLDMAN"
I purchased my new Wildwood last month. The contact person that did the paperwork was a "OLDMAN".
In my contract I was to have 2 batteries. What was installed were 2 6v in series. I wanted 2 12v in parallel. Twice the ccp as 2 6v. If one 12v fails you have another. If one six fails you have nothing.
How one assumes 2 6v are equal or better than 2 12v has little knowledge how batteries are rated in series or parallel.

Welcome to the Forum. I am sorry to tell you but what you just stated is generically just flat out wrong, factually incorrect.

- Unless you are in the habit of checking your batteries several times a day a failed 12v in parrell with another 12v will bring the good battery down as well resulting in loss of battery power. So in a practical sense a failed battery in a 2 battery bank results in a dead battery bank regardless if they are 2 6vs in series or 2 12v in parellel

- A typical 12v battery install by the manufacturer is an 80AH battery and putting 2 of these in parellel results in 160AH battery bank at 12v. A typical 6v golf cart battery is 225AH at 6v, wiring 2 in series gives you 225AH battery bank at 12volts. This is approximately 50% more power available at about the same price as 2 12volts

- A 6v golf cart battery is a true deep cycle and withstand the rigors of RV use much better than the typical 12v marine batteries unless you are talking about a very expensive (>$200 each) 12v deep cycle battery

- Battery failures are actually very rare with just barely reasonable battery care. Over 20 years experience with trailers and I haven't had a castophric battery failure yet. Worrying about battery failures with reasonable care is a waste of time

BTW, I'm an engineer in the power industry with over 27 years experience in power systems including battery banks and power backups.