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6 volt battery

Emptydata
Explorer
Explorer
Hey there,

Just a quick question about 6 volt battery life.

I have a 2015 open range TT and would like to know if 2 6 volt batteries in parallel will last a week with the fridge running on propane and other parasitic draw occurring?

Thanks in advance,

Don
11 REPLIES 11

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Explorer
what is the age/condition of your current 12 volt battery? perhaps you could just add a second 12 volter until they both die?
bumpy

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
Emptydata wrote:
Sound Guy,

I agree with what you said, but I should have been more clear with my question. My camper will be parked unused for a week at a race track while we are away. My current 12 volt battery will not hold up for that time period when the refrigerator is running on propane. Just want to know if 6 volt batteries have a longer draw life the 12 volt.


bobndot wrote:
If you are not in it, then why have the detectors on, the radio in standby mode...I would pull those fuses. Then the fridge will make it one week.


Now we understand your actual goal here I'd agree with the above - shut everything off except the fridge, in fact if you're going to be doing this on a regular basis add a kill switch to devices such as the radio so you can conveniently restore power when you return. Make sure the television antenna wall plate is turned off and absolutely make sure the fridge's climate control system is turned off. I personally have little need for solar but your situation cries out for it, being away from the camper for a week at a time while the batteries are constantly being drawn down by the fridge. As for battery reserve, sure dual 6 volt GC-2s rated @ ~ 220 AH will offer much greater reserve than say a single 12 volt G27 but not necessarily much more than say a pair of 12 volt G31s ... just depends on your preference but most would probably opt for a pair of GC-2s for what you're trying to achieve.
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pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
Hi,

What counts is the number of amp-hours in the bank, not the voltage of the bank.

@ 35 amp-hours per day and 232 amp-hours for a pair of golf carts jars, you may be hard pressed to get a week.

I'd add some solar myself.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

bobndot
Explorer II
Explorer II
Emptydata wrote:
Sound Guy,

I agree with what you said, but I should have been more clear with my question.
My camper will be parked unused for a week at a race track while we are away.
My current 12 volt battery will not hold up for that time period when the refrigerator is running on propane.
Just want to know if 6 volt batteries have a longer draw life the 12 volt.

Thanks again for your reply.

Don


If you are not in it, then why have the detectors on, the radio in standby mode...I would pull those fuses. Then the fridge will make it one week.

Fire_Instructor
Explorer
Explorer
Yes. a pair of good, fully-charged 6v GC batteries shoal be able to run the electronics of a propane-fired fridge for a week.
Fire Instructor

2022 Coachmen Leprechaun 319MB

Emptydata
Explorer
Explorer
Sound Guy,

I agree with what you said, but I should have been more clear with my question.
My camper will be parked unused for a week at a race track while we are away.
My current 12 volt battery will not hold up for that time period when the refrigerator is running on propane.
Just want to know if 6 volt batteries have a longer draw life the 12 volt.

Thanks again for your reply.

Don

gbopp
Explorer
Explorer
Maybe this will help.
The 12 Volt Side of Life

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
Emptydata wrote:
Just a quick question about 6 volt battery life.

I have a 2015 open range TT and would like to know if 2 6 volt batteries in parallel will last a week with the fridge running on propane and other parasitic draw occurring?


The nature of your question suggests to me you've not yet done an energy audit so you have some idea as to what your overall draw would be over a week and therefore no idea as to whether a pair of 6 volt batteries would offer sufficient reserve to meet these needs. The answer you seek always comes down to the numbers so until you do complete an audit and while doing so consider ways of conserving precious battery reserve there really is no way to say just "how long" you could camp using a pair of 6 volt batteries as your source of power. We're all different so for some perhaps a week is possible but for others not even remotely close to that. Issues you especially want to consider since they will have such a dramatic impact of battery draw down are frequency of furnace use, whether you're running power sucking incandescent lighting, whether your fridge has a climate control circuit and if so whether you know how to turn it off or if not so equipped have modified it so it can be turned off ... just to name a few. Ignoring any one of these issues will have a significant impact on battery draw and simply throwing a couple of 6 volts at the problem and calling it good won't change that. You gotta know what your average draw will be, then decide how much battery reserve will be required to cover that demand for the period of time you wish. Anything else is just a WAG. :R
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Emptydata
Explorer
Explorer
That's great news..

I was waiting for an answer before I pulled the trigger on buying them.
And I will have them in series.

Thanks again,

Don

Sandia_Man
Explorer II
Explorer II
My pair of 6 volt GC2 batteries just did 8 days under the same circumstances, just make sure they are in good condition and fully charged to begin with. Double-check that there are no unknown parasitic draws other than what is considered normal. Can't guarantee similar results since I don't know what parasitic draws your rig actually has but it is doable at least from my experiences.

TucsonJim
Explorer II
Explorer II
First of all, you must run them in series to obtain 12V. On mine, they will run the fridge for one week, but you'll need to manage other draws.
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