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Old 04-11-2010, 12:22 AM   #1
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One 12 volt & two 6 volt house batteries.

Hi I have a 1996 Pace Arrow Vision J 37' motor home on a 1995 Chevy P chassis.
The gentlemen that I bought the RV from had a inverter and 12volt deep cycle battery added to the house batteries which are 2 T105 Trojans I went in to get a good starting battery at Batteries Plus and the gentlemen told me not to use that battery as it will lower the 2 6volt batteries? I bought a AGM starting battery so that end of the system should be okay
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Old 04-11-2010, 08:57 AM   #2
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what a mess.

While it is a good idea to keep all batteries in a bank as similar as possible, a 12v battery in parallel with a couple of 6v batteries in series (to make 12v) is not going to "lower" anything. Just make sure 12v is paralleled with 12v and the battery types (wet cell lead acid) are the same.

AGM's are nice batteries but it is very difficult to justify them in cost and performance terms.

Your inverter needs to be as close to the battery bank as feasible and needs extra special care in wiring if it is capable of anything more than a couple of hundred watts.
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Old 04-11-2010, 01:21 PM   #3
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The Battery Plus guy gave the wrong reason for otherwise sound advice. It is generally inadvisable to mix different types and ages of batteries, but if the pair of 6V's and the 12v are both flooded cell batteries in decent condition, neither one will "lower" the other or harm it in any way. It may be that you don't have room to add another pair of 6's, so a 12 was the only expansion path open. Maybe when the time comes you could replace all three with three 12v in parallel, but until then I wouldn't worry about it. Those three batteries are now a matched set, regardless of how they started life.
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Old 04-11-2010, 01:50 PM   #4
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I would not have chosen an AGM for a starting battery simply because you have no control over the charging algorithm from the alternator.

It may serve you well, but it could be a great waste of money in the end.
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Old 04-11-2010, 02:20 PM   #5
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That thing about one good condition battery somehow "lowering" another good condition battery is... Well... Let me put it this way.. I grew up on a dairy farm.. I used to shovel that stuff most every day.. Some times several times a day.. And it still smells the same no matter if it's what the bull left behind or what the salesman is putting forth (or the politician for that matter)

Oh, and you do not have two six volt batteries in your rv

You have one, Two Piece, 12 volt battery (Yes, I know, each piece is six volts)

but if you think of it as one, two piece, 12 volt battery,, Ur, Them not it, well, then a whole lot of questions are answered.. I will list some of them

How do I charge them
Can I replace just one of them
Do they both have to be the same size, make, type, age, capacity, and so on? (note this last applies only to the six volt in each pair, if you have a 12 volt battery in parallel, or multiple pairs. each pair is considered as one battery)

The answer is would you charge 1/2 of a 12 volt battery and not the other half? NO, you charge them both together as one 12 volt battery

Would you buy a 12 volt battery that was say Half interstate, Half, Excide.. or half G-31 half G-24,, Or half AGM half Flooded wet cell or.. Well you get the idea

And that answers your questions.

As for hooking multiple sizes of 12 volt batteries in parallel

I have one six volt GC-2 pair in parallel with 2 G-27, 4 Garden tractor batteries (Very small) and 1 jump start AGM just now... All are very happy with the hook up.
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Old 04-11-2010, 10:47 PM   #6
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Well I gather from all the replies I went overboard on the getting the AGM for a starting battery. I have 2 Trojan 6 volts that were hooked up to a Interstate 12 volt deep cycle the Trojans checked out ok but the 12 volt deep cycle did not and that's when I was told not to use the 12 volt. Now I will get a 12 volt deep cycle and put it back in the RV. I want to thank everybody for your help.
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Old 04-12-2010, 06:38 AM   #7
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If the 12 volt interstate did not pass muster.. Then it should be replaced.

Personally.. If there is room I'd have replaced it with another pair of 6 volt GC-2 but that is a cost benefit thing (You get more bang for your buck that way) not a "one will take down the other" myth thing

IN any configuration however a bad battery can damage the rest of the. Don't matter if they are all identical at install or not.. If one goes bad, Depending on the type of failure. it can damage the rest.

But so long as they are all good. you can mix and match in parallel

IDENTICAL applies only when in series.
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Old 04-12-2010, 03:48 PM   #8
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Not enough room for two 6 volts, unless I could find a different place to put my starting battery which might be an option.

Thanks
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Old 04-12-2010, 08:59 PM   #9
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Interesting. My Simba gasser has a small coach battery area....and the batts are the original 05 Interstates that are about done. I really want to run 4 - 6v's but there just isn't the space (I measured). So if I get 2 NEW Interstate 2200 6vs, and parallel in a NEW lead-acid 12v deep cycle (105Ah seems common)....would this be an issue? (should wind up with 340Ah or so...?)

Apologies. I just noticed I was not in the correct forum for my rig....
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Old 04-13-2010, 11:12 AM   #10
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If I relocate the starting battery, eliminate the 12volt deep cycle that would give me room for two more 6 volt batteries how would I hook up the four 6 volt batteries? Is there anything I should be looking for when moving the starting battery? Right now it is right in front of the door and if I moved it it would be to the rear of the door
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Old 04-14-2010, 10:06 AM   #11
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Just remember HMX.. Where as the GC-2 is usually 220 -230 amp horurs (Both singularry and in paired in series pairs) 12 volt batteries come in many many many different sizes.. From just a few amp hours (I have one thats 27 up to a thousand or more (I don't have one of those.... but I did for a weekend once)

So,, I think a pair of G-29 is the closest to a pair of CG-2 capacity wise

But more than that... The GC-2 is a deep cycle.. and in RV-house use this has a few advantages.. Most 12 volt are eitehr starting, (Straight up) or "Marine/Deep cycle" (Which is another way to say Starting) Though they are now making 12 volt Deep Cycle in reasonable size packages (Reasonable means about as heavy as a GC-2 or smaller)
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Old 04-14-2010, 11:38 AM   #12
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Battery capacity is about 22-25 watt hours per pound for lead acid batteries without regard to voltage, brand, or other distractions. This is at the (approximate) 60 watt draw level that is used for the 20 hour rate to determine energy capacity for common RV batteries in the 60 to 100 pound range typical for the group 24 to 31 or T105 sizes.

No lead acid battery should be deep cycled if you want longer life. This is why you should plan on only 10 to 15 watt hours per pound from your battery bank as limiting to a 50% discharge is about where you get best cost effectiveness between cost and lifespan (if the battery is properly used and maintained).

Marketing terms such as 'deep cycle' or 'marine/rv' only tell you that the battery is intended (the warranty applies) for non starting battery use. These days there is really very little actual difference between SLI and deep cycle batteries of the sort commonly available for RV use.
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Old 04-14-2010, 07:23 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BryanL View Post
Marketing terms such as 'deep cycle' or 'marine/rv' only tell you that the battery is intended (the warranty applies) for non starting battery use. These days there is really very little actual difference between SLI and deep cycle batteries of the sort commonly available for RV use.
I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but you might want to check it again. This is totally erroneous and false information.

Deep cycle batteries not only have much more lead in the plates, but usually a different alloy composition (i.e. Antimony content, etc..) than your cheap SLI battery.
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Old 04-14-2010, 07:32 PM   #14
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Trouble is, many of the 12v batteries labeled 'deep cycle" don't have much, if any, extra lead in the plates or any of the other qualities of a "true deep cycle battery". Trojan and a few others make some 12v's actually designed from the ground up as deep cycles, but most brands just use re-labled or slightly modified starting batteries and thus are just what BryanL described..
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