6 volt batteries

[bryanoverbee]

2004 Damon Challenger F53, why are 2 6 volt batteries being used for the coach instead of a deep cycle 12 volt battery? I just found out that my 6 volt batteries are frozen, can I replace them with 1 12 volt?

[Scottybdivin]

More amp hours. You get 180 - 240 Ah from two 6V batteries and only 85-105 Ah out of one 12V Gropu 27. Also, 12V marine batteries are hybrids and not true deep cycle batteries. The 6V T-105 batteries are built for deep cycle.

[Dr4Film]

Scotty is spot on with his advice.

Read these two documents, better yet BOOKMARK them for future reference. They have a ton of useful information regarding RV 12 VDC systems.

The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

The 12volt Side of Life Part 2

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Scottybdivin

More amp hours. You get 180 - 240 Ah from two 6V batteries and only 85-105 Ah out of one 12V Gropu 27. Also, 12V marine batteries are hybrids and not true deep cycle batteries. The 6V T-105 batteries are built for deep cycle.

The 6 volt deep cycle are also the best "bang for the buck". Our OEM Interstate U-2200's lasted one month short of 10 years and, due to adding mineral oil to the cells they looked almost new.

[GaryKD]

Hi bryanoverbee,
You can use 6 or 12 VDC deep cycle batteries to power your coach. Consider what has been previously posted. There is no right or wrong. My only advice is to buy the largest batteries that will fit into the space available. When it comes to batteries, size matters.

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by bryanoverbee

2004 Damon Challenger F53, why are 2 6 volt batteries being used for the coach instead of a deep cycle 12 volt battery? I just found out that my 6 volt batteries are frozen, can I replace them with 1 12 volt?

Yes you can use 1 12v battery. Trojan makes j185h-ac which is exactly a double up of t105 producing 225ah at 12v. I am using three of it in my rig, love it. The reasons most people are using 2 6v are mainly for the prices and for the handling easiness. If your battery bay has an adequate height, 12v is not a bad idea.

[Dunner]

You can also buy 6 volt golf cart batteries from Costco, Sam's and Walmart for a lot less than Trojan's

[wa8yxm]

I see a lot of myths like "More amp hours" For the folks who preach that check out the ratings on an 8-D.

Facts: Cost and ease of hangling.

The six volt GC-2 is a true deep cycle battery.. YES, you can get true DEEP CYCLE 12 volt but they cost more, Often much more. By the way the 8-D is the equal to a pair of GC-2 for power storeage.

Also a 230 amp hour 12 volt battery is way way heavier, and thus harder to install.

Add to that the thousands of golf courses that buy GC-2 by the pallet load every year for their golf cars (GC) and the unit cost goes down.. WAY DOWN as the line that makes these batteries runs a long long time between re-tools. Other 12 volt styles they have to re-tool often so they cost more per unit.

Most of the reasonable sized 12 volt batteries are NOT Deep cycle, they may be "Marine/Deep cycle" but that is not even close to the same thing.

In the end though (And this answers most of the "What do we do different?" type questions) There are no six volt batteries in RVs... Just 12 volt that come in 2 pieces.. Treat those sixes exactly like you would one big 12 volt.

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

I see a lot of myths like "More amp hours" For the folks who preach that check out the ratings on an 8-D.

Yes, they may be the same but it will take two men and a boy to schlep them around or lift and position them into place versus the GC-2 batteries.

Hell, the GC2's are BAD enough!

Comparing same size batteries and group batteries, if one weighs more than the other, the heavier one will give you more AH's. It's all a matter of the amount of lead inside AND the quality of construction.

Why do you think that the CG2 batteries are SO popular for using as House batteries in the RV?

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[t55watson]

I would be more concerned about why the batteries froze. They had to be discharged to do that. Fully charged batteries don't freeze. When you get your new ones keep the fluid levels up and keep them charged.
Check your charging system,you may have a prob there.

[Topflite51]

If you never boondock than one 12V will do fine. In my rig I switched to two 12V's instead of two 6V's. I had a 6V go bad prior to doing so(only a couple of months old) and when that happens you lose your interior lights, water pump, refrigerator etc. This is also why I carry two 12V's. It sure can ruin a weekend. I am looking to enlarge my battery box's and switch to Group 29 12V DC's for a little extra power in reserve.

[Old Bounder]

Originally Posted by Topflite51

If you never boondock than one 12V will do fine. In my rig I switched to two 12V's instead of two 6V's. I had a 6V go bad prior to doing so(only a couple of months old) and when that happens you lose your interior lights, water pump, refrigerator etc. This is also why I carry two 12V's. It sure can ruin a weekend. I am looking to enlarge my battery box's and switch to Group 29 12V DC's for a little extra power in reserve.

Unless you catch it very quickly, you will lose all power when one of your 12V batteries goes bad too, because it will quickly drain (or ruin) the other. There isn't as much reliability gained by switching to 12s as one might think.

[Topflite51]

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Why do you think that the CG2 batteries are SO popular for using as House batteries in the RV?

Dr4Film ----- Richard

BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAPER THAN TRUE 12V DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES.

[Topflite51]

Originally Posted by loulong

Unless you catch it very quickly, you will lose all power when one of your 12V batteries goes bad too, because it will quickly drain (or ruin) the other. There isn't as much reliability gained by switching to 12s as one might think.

More reliability with a pair of 12V's than with a pair of 6V's when one goes bad. I personally will take my chances.