6v vs 12v

[Skipg]

I am looking for 2 new house batteries. I now have 2 6v batteries am thinking of going to 2 12v . I very seldom dry camp so amp hrs aren't important. Cost for 2 6v is a lot more than 2 12v. I also know that you have to wire them differently. Am I thinking correctly or will I run into a problem making the switch.thanks for your feed back.
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[pianotuna]

Any 12 volt will do. I'd probably pick a sealed unit of large capacity. I would not get two.

[Yellowboat_]

I seldom dry camp.

My experience with 12 volts is that they did not last long in my RV. I tried chargers that prevented sulfation, but even so I went through three sets of 12 v batteries in 5 years.

The first set was bad when I bought the coach new. The second set lasted a little more than 2 years with a Battery Minder charger and a water fill kit that made keeping my batteries hydrated easy. My third set made it another 2 years more or less.

Six volt golf cart batteries have thicker plates and can tolerate more stress over time.

For me it was buying more of the less expensive 12v batteries or buying less of the more expensive 6v batteries. If my experience with 12v batteries had continued I would have spent more on 12v batteries in the long run.

We just purchased a new coach and part of the deal was for the dealership to transfer my old 6v batteries to our new coach.

Some suggest buying 6v batteries at Costco to get a good low cost battery. I opted for Trojan 6 volt batteries.

Safe travels. JD

[RoyB]

Keep in mind your trailer requires a 12VDC Battery system. This is made up of 12V Batteries operating in parallel to gain more AHs as needed.



When you refer to 6VDC batteires you are talking about two 6VDC batteries wired in series to give you the 12VDC required by your trailer requirements. You may want to consider two 6VDC batteries connected in series is really a 12VDC battery but broken up into two units. Your RV Unit get alot of AHs doing this when you use the golf cart 6VDC batteries with larger cores required for golf cart use.

When you add two 6VDC batteies in series you only double the operating Dc Volatge. The AHs remain the same as one 6VDC battery in the series connection. Too gain more AHs with 6VDC batteries you have to parallel two groups of 6VDC batteries wired in series...


Turns out that batteries produce AHs based on the weight of the batteries. Two 62LB 6VDC golf cart Batteries wired in series will produce 12VDC at around 220AHs. A single 12VDC batteries is around 50-60 lbs and they will only produce 12VDC at around 90-100AHs...

We like to have around 250AHs of 12VDC battey capacity that allows us to make it though one day/night off of our batteries with the items we like to run and then be able to re-charge our battery bank bank the next morning during breakfast using our smart mode converter/charger unit direct connected to a 2KW Honda generator. This will take around three hours of generator run time.

All depends on your lifestyle of actual camping or just being a RV Traveler going from town to town on round robin trips.

[azrving]

If you dont dry camp why buy two 12 volts. You may get by with one group 29 for $90.00

[Flapper]

I didn't look at the threads, which probably contain great, and detailed, information...but I would add:

In general, you trade capacity for weight. Sure, this is highly variable depending on what you have, and what you are going to. While 2 6v can give greatest capacity, they are pretty heavy. By downsizing capacity to 12v, you may be able shave off 50 lbs or so, which makes a difference when it comes to loading/unloading the batteries, plus of course in overall trailer weight.

And, in going with 12 vs 6 (and lower capacity), your charging system doesn't have to work as hard, which prolongs its life.

[Skipg]

Thanks 2old for the info very helpful.

[2oldman]

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