Hi, I just picked up four 6 volt batteries that I'm going to connect in series/parallel. I need to pick up some cables to connect them with and I'm curious about what type to get. I also will need to replace the cables that go from the current single battery to the terminals on the RV, since the current cables aren't long enough. Would I use the same type of cable for both applications?Sorry if this is a newbie question. I've done a fair amount of research on using 6 volt batteries, but I haven't found any information on the type of cables to use.

Check The 12 Volt Side of Life, part 2, near the bottom there is a list of wire for amps/length.Hope this helps.

Basically, the interconnecting cable in the series pairs should be at least as large as the outgoing power leads. There is nothing wrong with having larger cable connecting the pairs but you should never have it smaller than the power leads. The same is true for the parallel connection cable.If you are using a larger inverter, you should have larger cable that is rated for the amperage load of the inverter draw. Be sure to use a fuse or circuit breaker for circuit protection of the power leads. I like to use a large amperage catastrophic fuse attached to the positive battery terminal for that protection. I am basically protecting the cable in the event of a short.Genuine deals.com is used by some Forum members for constructing and supplying cables. There have been favorable reviews of that company.

Westend X 2...Terminals should be Post Type if you plan on running a inverter. Genuinedealz cable is extremely flexible and they will fit the ends. Try to avoid running series or parallel cables in such a manner as to block one or more filler caps. Now is the time you should buy and install a buss bar and 150-amps continuous cutoff switch.

gbopp wrote:Check The 12 Volt Side of Life, part 2, near the bottom there is a list of wire for amps/length.Hope this helps.Thanks! That's excellent information.westend wrote:Basically, the interconnecting cable in the series pairs should be at least as large as the outgoing power leads. There is nothing wrong with having larger cable connecting the pairs but you should never have it smaller than the power leads. The same is true for the parallel connection cable.If you are using a larger inverter, you should have larger cable that is rated for the amperage load of the inverter draw. Be sure to use a fuse or circuit breaker for circuit protection of the power leads. I like to use a large amperage catastrophic fuse attached to the positive battery terminal for that protection. I am basically protecting the cable in the event of a short.Genuine deals.com is used by some Forum members for constructing and supplying cables. There have been favorable reviews of that company.So I checked the cables that are currently attached to my battery and they are 6 gauge. So I'm thinking that 4 gauge would be fine for connecting both the series and parallel batteries? Perhaps something like this? (Not those exactly, I'll try to find something similar from a local auto parts store.)Regarding the inverter, I did buy a Go Power! GP-SW1500-12 1500-Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter to charge our computers and other miscellaneous appliances. I'll fire up the generator if we need to run our convection oven. However, I don't know enough about the electrical systems to trust myself to wire the inverter, so I paid what I'm sure is a very overpriced amount to get the Go Power! GP-DC-KIT3 DC Installation Kit for 1100-1800-Watt / 2000-3000-Watt. That comes with 2.0 gauge cables and a 200 amp fuse. It looks straight forward enough to hook up.Right now I don't have the money, time, or energy to install anything fancy like an inline inverter that automatically switches between shore and battery power, or anything like that. With the 1500 watt go power you just plug your shore power directly into the inverter, and I'm fine with that. We're heading to Alaska and plan to do a lot of boondocking, but we'll be staying in each place for 1-2 weeks at a time so having a more manual system is fine.

I get my provisions here:http://www.genuinedealz.com/custom-cables

Type of cables to use for connecting 6v batteries?

westend
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
marquette wrote:
Do you mean that to keep all the cables the same length you have to pick the longest cable run and then buy all cables at that length? So for a short run you will have cable rolled up inside the battery box because it is too long. Or did I miss something?
Nope. The interconnection cables between batteries should be as short as possible.

The cable sizes will depend on the distance between the inverter and the batteries. Don Rowe has a pretty good FAQ section about inverters.
marquette
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
Do you mean that to keep all the cables the same length you have to pick the longest cable run and then buy all cables at that length? So for a short run you will have cable rolled up inside the battery box because it is too long. Or did I miss something?
DrewE
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2016
jayspi wrote:
dcg9381 wrote:
Thanks for that link.

OP: You're running 6v batteries in series. Your battery connections need to at least match your output, so 6ga is right. 4ga is fine.

If you use that inverter, you'll have to go to 2ga, so something to consider for now.

I, like others, use a real battery disconnect unless you've got the holy-grail of RVs with no parasitic draw.

We'll, I already got the inverter. Are you saying that I'll need to 2 gauge for the series/parallel cables (4 cables)? Or for the cables back to the RV as well (6 cables)? If so that's not a problem, I guess I'll have to order them though. I can't find anyone local who has 2 gauge.

The series/parallel cables should be 2 gauge, as should the wires to the inverter. If there are separate wires going to other things in the RV, they only need to be sized (and fused or protected with circuit breakers) for the current that they would be carrying; 4 or 6 gauge to the DC distribution panel and converter might be acceptable, depending on their length and the size of the house loads and so forth.
DFord
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
Yeah, I grabbed the wrong drawing. I couldn't find the material he handed out at the seminal online. The idea is the same - keep all the cable lengths exactly the same to get full use out of your batteries - otherwise, you're wasting money on batteries.

This image does not stress equal wire length (resistance) but it shows how a 6 volt battery bank should be wired.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Apr 07, 2016
Hi,

There are two ways to do it for 12 volt jars--but your wiring does not relate to 6 volt jars. Instead think of the six volt jars as two large 12 volt units. Then method #2 is correct and can not be improved on.

See method #2 for six volt jars in series. The web site is a great read!

DFord wrote:
In a seminar at the Perry, GA FMCA Rally last month, they made a point of saying all the cables should be the same size and length and same length to the input/output connector so that all the batteries are "in balance" Even if there's a slight variance (like a 0.1 of an ohm), one of the batteries could be overworked while the others loaf.
jayspi
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
dcg9381 wrote:
Thanks for that link.

OP: You're running 6v batteries in series. Your battery connections need to at least match your output, so 6ga is right. 4ga is fine.

If you use that inverter, you'll have to go to 2ga, so something to consider for now.

I, like others, use a real battery disconnect unless you've got the holy-grail of RVs with no parasitic draw.

We'll, I already got the inverter. Are you saying that I'll need to 2 gauge for the series/parallel cables (4 cables)? Or for the cables back to the RV as well (6 cables)? If so that's not a problem, I guess I'll have to order them though. I can't find anyone local who has 2 gauge.
WILDEBILL308
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2016
Hear is a good place to get your cables. They will custom make to your speck.
http://www.bestboatwire.com/custom-cables
Bill
DFord
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
In a seminar at the Perry, GA FMCA Rally last month, they made a point of saying all the cables should be the same size and length and same length to the input/output connector so that all the batteries are "in balance" Even if there's a slight variance (like a 0.1 of an ohm), one of the batteries could be overworked while the others loaf.
dcg9381
Explorer
Apr 07, 2016
Thanks for that link.

OP: You're running 6v batteries in series. Your battery connections need to at least match your output, so 6ga is right. 4ga is fine.

If you use that inverter, you'll have to go to 2ga, so something to consider for now.

I, like others, use a real battery disconnect unless you've got the holy-grail of RVs with no parasitic draw.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 07, 2016
I get my provisions here:
http://www.genuinedealz.com/custom-cables