House battery questions

[Steeler34]

I have a Tiffin Allegro 35QBA. The house batteries are 2 6 volt in series. Why wouldn't they put 2 12 Volt in parallel?
Can I or Should I when they need replaced??

Milton

[89sandman]

I have had both dual 6 and 12 volt and found either one will work just fine. If you have 2 12 volts and your chassis battery goes bad you have 2 for backup I'm running 2 golf cart 6 volts in the current coach, next one maybe 2 12's...

[BFlinn181]

If you do the math, two 6 volt batteries will have more stored amps than two 12 volt batteries. That's why golf carts and many other electric devices use 6 volt batteries instead of 12 volt batteries.

[CountryFit]

for deep cycle batteries, 6v is being massively used on golf carts. it's lighter, easier to carry and cheaper due to the competition, comparing with 12v. capacity-wise, some 12v's can be just as doubling than 6v's, but it will cost much more than 2 6v's.

[Darrel]

One possible advantage of 6 volt batteries is that only 6 cells are contained in a 6 volt series combination. In the 12 volt in parallel arrangement there are 12 cells. Since many batteries fail because of one bad cell, the 6 volt in series arrangement should be slightly more reliable.

Have a nice day - Darrel

[wa8yxm]

Two six volt in series is 215-230 amp hours at 12 volt

Two 12's.. Depending on the size

Group Amp hours each
24 75
27 95-100
29 100-110
31 130
4D 230

The six volt GC-2 is the most popular lead acid rechargeable... Thus the cost per unit is lower than any of the other sizes

Also, the assorted groups (Save for the 4D) are hard to find in DEEP CYCLE,, the GC-2 is Deep Cycle

(Most Group 24,27,29,31 Batteries used in RV are MARINE/deep cycle,,, Not really deep cycle at all, Primary starting batteries).

So, why a pair of GC-2.... Most bang for the buck.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by Darrel

One possible advantage of 6 volt batteries is that only 6 cells are contained in a 6 volt series combination. In the 12 volt in parallel arrangement there are 12 cells. Since many batteries fail because of one bad cell, the 6 volt in series arrangement should be slightly more reliable.

Have a nice day - Darrel

Not trying to put anyone down but we need to keep the story straight. With lead acid batteries each cell is a little over 2 VDC. A 6 V battery has 3 cells. A 12 V battery has 6. Count the filler caps. ;-)

The short answer is to check what you have in there now. If they are GC-2 Golf car batteries they are the lowest cost way to get a lot of storage capacity. (Benefit of mass production.) As I recall they weigh around 65 lbs each. The 12 V equivalent would weigh around 130 lbs. that makes the two 6's a lot easier to handle. ;-)

[wrapperman]

There is not much difference in using 2 - 6 volts or 1 - 12 volt or if your setup is 4 - 6 volt or 2 - 12 volt.
They both put out close to the same amount of energy per weight. That is amps per pound of weight.
Size configuration and the size of the battery compartment are big limiting factors.
The main thing to remember is to purchase true deep cell batteries.
Remember that when ever a battery goes bad it is always better to replace all batteries at one time.


2013 Georgetown XL 378

Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

[Mr_D]

Our Magna has 4 8D 12 V AGM batteries, each one is close to $600. I can replace them with 8 GC2 wet cells for about 1/3rd the cost.
6 V deep cycle put are usually cheaper, put out more amps and last longer, that's why they're used do often.
Some manufacturers cheap out and just use one 12 V battery for the house then it's up to the buyer to upgrade at their cost.

[wa8yxm]

The watts per pound ratio is a near constant even across types (Flooded wet/Maintenance Free/AGM.

The USABLE watts varies between Starting (least) MARINE/deep cycle and finally your True Deep Cycle (MOST)
Note the distance between MARINE/deep cycle and TRUE in that sentence.

But... THose who say "More amp hours than two 12s" forget that 12's come in a bunch of different sizes.. From the small ones that go in Jump Start Packs and kiddie cars...To very large ones that power things like Fork Lifts.

GC-2's come in basically one or two sizes (115-130 and occasionally 150 amp hours)

[Redapple]

The biggest advantage of 2 6v batts is thicker plates. Because there are only 3 cells vs 6, the plates are thicjer. This allows deeper discharge and more recharge cycles. Amp hours are directly in proportion to the size of the battery as others have stated.

[Davidej M]

6 volt golf cart batteries are more economic and give you considerably more storage capacity than 8 Ds or conventional 12 volt batteries. We have 6 golf carts in our boat and they are more than enough to run all the electrical consumers on the boat.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Davidej M

6 volt golf cart batteries are more economic and give you considerably more storage capacity than 8 Ds or conventional 12 volt batteries. We have 6 golf carts in our boat and they are more than enough to run all the electrical consumers on the boat.

I think CC went with the 8D AGMS purely to cut down on maintenance since they were targeting the "glamor camping" crowd which didn't want to mess with checking/filling the cells. I don't mind checking and filling the cells especially after adding mineral oil to them. Very little maintenance/distilled water needed after doing that.

[Davidej M]

Another point to consider is the internal construction of the battery. Most 12 volt batteries have thin plates and when put under stress these plates tend to warp. Golf carts are made with thicker plates and do not tend to warp under load.