6v or 12v?
All else being equal, which is preferable and why? 2 220 AH 6v batteries or 2 110 AH 12v batteries
Forum Discussion
I have spent considerable time looking at batteries over the last year. We currently have a pair of t-105 6v batteries run in series to produce 12v. as well as a second bank with 2 12v trojan 100 amp hour batteries. These 4 batteries produce about 425 nom. amps but in reality they produce about 200 amps if you are willing to drain them down to 50% which we don't. We try and stay above 12.3 volts all the time which gives us about 120 Amp Hours of service. This has been ok since we don't use much now and have a 500 watt solar array to help keep them in the top 70%. Our new camper we are looking to run and use more stuff.
We are going to bite the bullet with Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePo bank. The batteries can be almost fully discharged so a 200 Amp (2 28 pound batteries) hour bank would give us more power and battery wight would be 1/4 of the weight of what we have now. Weight is an important consideration in a TC.
The high battery cost, about 900 bucks for a 12v 100 battery is offset somewhat at time of purchase in that you need half the number of batteries and further off set in that they can typically go 3x the recharge cycles. In the long run the can definitely pay for themselves if you take care of them. LiFePo batteries also can accept higher charge rates which means you can charge them more quickly.
"Drop in" versions have a BMS (battery monitor system) so for the most part you just buy the battery and drop it in as a replacement and it will work fine. The BMS controls the charging limits to the battery to protect it although with a quality solar and shore charge controller you can refine the charging settings to maximize the battery. You also need a decent battery monitor. LiFePo batteries have a pretty flat discharge rate in volts so a voltmeter is a poor way to gauge. Victron or Bogart meter is a wise investment and are fully configurable to these batteries.
Anyway, my 2 cents. We have been happy with our 2 6v golf cart batteries and looking at your usage they should work just fine. Take them out every 3 months or so to check water lever and test with a hydrometer. That has served us very well for almost a year full timing.
We are going to bite the bullet with Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePo bank. The batteries can be almost fully discharged so a 200 Amp (2 28 pound batteries) hour bank would give us more power and battery wight would be 1/4 of the weight of what we have now. Weight is an important consideration in a TC.
The high battery cost, about 900 bucks for a 12v 100 battery is offset somewhat at time of purchase in that you need half the number of batteries and further off set in that they can typically go 3x the recharge cycles. In the long run the can definitely pay for themselves if you take care of them. LiFePo batteries also can accept higher charge rates which means you can charge them more quickly.
"Drop in" versions have a BMS (battery monitor system) so for the most part you just buy the battery and drop it in as a replacement and it will work fine. The BMS controls the charging limits to the battery to protect it although with a quality solar and shore charge controller you can refine the charging settings to maximize the battery. You also need a decent battery monitor. LiFePo batteries have a pretty flat discharge rate in volts so a voltmeter is a poor way to gauge. Victron or Bogart meter is a wise investment and are fully configurable to these batteries.
Anyway, my 2 cents. We have been happy with our 2 6v golf cart batteries and looking at your usage they should work just fine. Take them out every 3 months or so to check water lever and test with a hydrometer. That has served us very well for almost a year full timing.
