Your thoughts on fewer batteries.

[Logthumper]

No problem now, just looking ahead.

The battery bank for the coach house 12volts is:
4, 6volt batteries hooked up in Series/Parallel for the output of 12volts.

We never Boon dock. When not on the road the coach is always hooked to Shore Power. The coach is always hooked to Shore Power when the slides are extended or retracted.

When one or all the batteries need replacing, it would appear that 2, 6volt batteries hooked in Series or 2, 12volt batteries hooked in Parallel would serve the 12volt needs of the coach, eliminating some weight and reducing cost.

Does anyone see a problem with this? Which would be the better replacement package?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[az bound]

I do not see any problem with which ever you choose. You may look at it from a maintenance standpoint, fewer batteries to to maintain water levels.

[wildtoad]

If you don't usually need any battery power then you should be able to eliminate all four 6v batteries and replace it with ONE 12v.

[Arch Hoagland]

Sounds like a plan to me.

[ottffss]

A parallel configuration is parasitic - stronger battery drawing from weaker.
A series configuration is not.
So.... Go with 2 * 6v in series.... Or 1 larger 12v (like a group 31/4d/8d)...

[donandmax]

Thats what we do (2-12volt batteries) and we always use rv parks.. Have really never needed the batteries yet. I say go for it. You dont need all those maint. headaches...

[roscoesdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logthumper No problem now, just looking ahead. The battery bank for the coach house 12volts is: 4, 6volt batteries hooked up in Series/Parallel for the output of 12volts. We never Boon dock. When not on the road the coach is always hooked to Shore Power. The coach is always hooked to Shore Power when the slides are extended or retracted. When one or all the batteries need replacing, it would appear that 2, 6volt batteries hooked in Series or 2, 12volt batteries hooked in Parallel would serve the 12volt needs of the coach, eliminating some weight and reducing cost. Does anyone see a problem with this? Which would be the better replacement package? Thanks for your thoughts.

I am in this situation. I have never boondocked, always hooked up to power or running gen. if traveling down the road. I agree, cost of 1 12 volt is cheaper than 4 6volt and lot less weight. If MH is put up for sale, then replace with 4 6volt.

[Batman_777]

Don't forget to sync the battery charge cycle to different battery types.

Here's one monkey wrinch... A lot of 12v power is pulled from your batteries and is then charged back. So the RV is continously drawing 12v power from your batteries even though you are shore power connected. You're not pulling current directly from the converter or inverter. If you did, you'd have to have a 15k watt inverter. Instead, the converter/inverter replaces the used power as fast as it can back to the coach batteries.

If you pull a load that drains a single 12v battery faster than the RV can replace it, you'll have a dead battery real quick. There are many factors involved which could not be known here. (4) 6v deep cycle batteries permit a longer light load carry time (boat motors, golf carts, etc). A single 12v car battery is meant for maximum amps, but only for short bursts.

So it's not a matter of dry-docking or not. It's a matter of current/power load, duration and recharge time. 110v usage comes directly from shore power if connected and available. If no shore power or genset, the inverter will up the 12v to 110v for 110v users. Keep in mind, when that happens, you'll have a much smaller power usage load window. Meaning, you're gonna use up whatever storage power potential there is in the battery(s) much faster than pulling 12v from 12v batteries.

Converters: 110vac to 12vdc

Inverters: An inverter is an electrical device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC)[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverter_(electrical)

Stepping up or stepping down voltage only requires a step up or down transformer. Converters or Inverters are used to convert or invert AC to DC or DC to AC.

The reason for this is power consumption requirements.

A 50 amp shore power service can provide up to ~12,000 watts (two hot leads).
RV Electric

A 30 amp shore power service can only provide ~3,500 watts
RV Electric

You can see why 50 amp service is so much more capable of meeting power demands.

[RUNDLC]

Funny you should ask this question now!! With the help of Autofish I will be doing just that. All six of my batteries are history and since I never boondock I plan on using just the one 12v deep cycle and 2 12v start batteries. Should be a saving of close to 300.00!

YEAH

[sc3283]

do you have an inverter? Do you use the inverter when traveling down the road?

if so, 1 smaller 12v(group 24) won't have the needed capacity to say...run the microwave and or coffee maker etc etc. You will need to use the genny when needing AC during travel

similar situation here...1 8D battery is bad...other will prob be bad by spring, due to age. No boondocking here either...so 1 8D or 2 6volt in series will most likely be my choice

[Diplomat Don]

No offense intended, but the heart of your chassis is the engine. The heart of the coach are the batteries. Don't cheap out on the batteries. You wouldn't replace your diesel with a 4 cylinder gasser if it broke.

"Batman 777" is making a VERY important point. Your batteries are a big cushion between what is running in the coach and your charger.Even though you may run your generator or are plugged into shore power while operating your slides, you're pulling a lot of juice out of the batteries, that may not be available if the batteries aren't there. I've never heard of a coach manufacturer that added more batteries than needed. Your coach was designed to use the batteries it came with.

Just my 2 cents.

[Logthumper]

Great info, thoughts and comments. Just what I was hopeing for. Thanks and keep it comming.

[sharkie51]

I replaced the four 6v batteries in my 2002 monaco with two 12v gel batteries about a year ago and have no problems at all. I sure like not having th add water all the time.

[Bee950]

In my coach, the generator starts off the house batteries. If the house batt is dead, then no generator until the coach engine is started. Ask me how I figured this out......