House batteries

[CaptR]

Hi all, my 2000 30' Fourwinds currently has 1 regular 12v battery- I see the pan is designed for a 2 battery setup. I happen to have two 6v deep cell Crown golf cart type batteries that will parallel to 12v. This would provide some serious power... would there be a concern of too much amperage for stock wiring/systems of this old rental rig?

Thanks in advance for the feedback. R

[BFL13]

ron.dittmer wrote:
Our rig originally came with two 12V lead acid wet batteries. After the second set failed, I switched to a pair of 6V AGM batteries. Doing so required a setting change in our on-board battery charger.

WOW, what an improvement in battery reserves and years of longevity. Year number 4 and they are still performing exceptionally. Both sets of 12V lead acid batteries provided only 2 good years, year 3 was marginal, year 4 was one year too late.

Both sets of 12V batteries discharged and recharged at different rates causing an imbalance, acid boil-overs, an undercharged battery, and an over-charged battery. The two 6V AGMs discharge and recharge in unison, hence a perfect marriage for power. I bought them at Sam's club for $180 each, brand is Duracell.

If you still have the details, please provide the brand/model of the battery charger, and what the previous setting was for the 12s, and what the new setting was for the 6v AGMs.

Also for interest, were the two 12s for either set wired "balanced" or did you have one with the loads/charging on it, and the other "downstream"?

(With two 6s you have to have them balanced for load/charging, so that does not count as such, but with 12s it can make a difference.)

[CaptR]

Great info- thanks

[ron_dittmer]

Our rig originally came with two 12V lead acid wet batteries. After the second set failed, I switched to a pair of 6V AGM batteries. Doing so required a setting change in our on-board battery charger.

WOW, what an improvement in battery reserves and years of longevity. Year number 4 and they are still performing exceptionally. Both sets of 12V lead acid batteries provided only 2 good years, year 3 was marginal, year 4 was one year too late.

Both sets of 12V batteries discharged and recharged at different rates causing an imbalance, acid boil-overs, an undercharged battery, and an over-charged battery. The two 6V AGMs discharge and recharge in unison, hence a perfect marriage for power. I bought them at Sam's club for $180 each, brand is Duracell.

[77rollalong]

we now have 3 deep cycle 12v batterys in ours, the original under the hood , and I welded up a battery tray to hold 2 more thats bolted to the frame rail of the truck in between the steps and the frame..

[CaptR]

Thank you all for your input and corrections. Coach is in another state... probably will be a month before I get out there and see if the 6v series fits and compatibility of existing charger...

[bobndot]

Make sure you have a 3 stage converter with some kind of charge wizard to monitor the charge rate. Look into a PD-4000 or PD-9000 series, they each worked flawlessly for me.

[IAMICHABOD]

Those Majestics,Former Rentals,all came with a single 12 Volt battery and a tray to match.

If yours has a larger tray it was modified if so that is a good thing.:B

A lot of Majestic owners on the Rental Thread would be interested in how you did it,many have asked on a way to put 2 6 volt golf cart batteries in that spot.

When you get it done please post pictures on how it was done and how it all worked out.

[Chum_lee]

CaptR wrote:
Hi all, my 2000 30' Fourwinds currently has 1 regular 12v battery- I see the pan is designed for a 2 battery setup. I happen to have two 6v deep cell Crown golf cart type batteries that will parallel to 12v. This would provide some serious power... would there be a concern of too much amperage for stock wiring/systems of this old rental rig?

Thanks in advance for the feedback. R

Considering the age of your RV, since it already has a larger battery box/pan, it probably initially came with 2 six volt batteries from the factory and someone later changed it to a single 12 volt to save money. So, it would be to your advantage to put the RV "BACK" to the way it came from the factory. (2-6 volt deep cycle batteries) I wouldn't call it "serious power" but, chances are, it will be better than what you currently have.

Chum lee

[BFL13]

A 2000 RV likely has a single voltage converter at about 13.8v. That will not recharge your 6s properly (or that single 12v, but replacing that is cheaper than two 6s.) but they will last a while.

Budget issue whether to replace them whenever, or make them last longer with a better converter/charger that will meet the battery charging specs.

https://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/TrojanBattery_UsersGuide.pdf

[Sam_Spade]

2oldman wrote:
No, amps are pulled, not pushed.

Not quite.
If devices could "pull" whatever they needed, you wouldn't need any voltage at all.

[paynejr]

As long as there is physical room to do the two 6v batteries (in series not parallel ) you should be ok. Have extra current capacity is always a good thing. Each circuit will only draw what it needs, the extra capacity will not force extra current into your unit. What it will do is allow you to go longer before you need to recharge

[Lwiddis]

Follow a diagram to hookup the two sixes.

[2oldman]

CaptR wrote:
.. two 6v deep cell Crown golf cart type batteries that will parallel to 12v. would there be a concern of too much amperage for stock wiring/systems of this old rental rig?

Series, not parallel. No, amps are pulled, not pushed.