6 volt questions

[wakamicamper]

I just switched over from 1 x 12 volt battery to 2 x 6 volt batteries on the advice of a long time camping friend. I understand the benefits involved, but have discovered something that has me wondering.
My 12 volt battery charger and the 12 volt Battery Tender Plus equipment is now useless for charging 6 volt batteries. I have already ordered a 6 volt version of the Battery Tender Plus, but I also have a 2000 watt Honda generator and a 4 ft by 2 ft solar panel that I use for trickle charging on sunny days.
When using the generator, which battery do I hook up the power leads to?
On the solar panel, again the same question. I am taking a hard look at the solar panel, as I now believe that the generator is more useful. Is it even safe to use the generator on the 6 volt configuration?
Which is better, parallel or serial hookups on the 6 volts, and why. I am presently waiting for the dealer to get back to me on which setup they did.
I should have thought about this before the switchover, but I didn't know that the 12 volt charger wouldn't work on a 6 volt battery.

[Midniteoyl]

You hook the 6v's in Serial. When you do this, it turns it into a single, large, 12v. Everything you did to/from your 12v stays the same.


(edit: removed confusing pic)


http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower...ry_wiring.html

[wakamicamper]

Thank you for the quick response.

If I am hearing you properly, I have the serial hookup and when charging with either the generator or solar panel, I hook up the one battery with the "+" and the other battery with the "-" power hookups while the batteries are inside the trailer.

When the batteries are removed from the trailer I must use the 6 volt battery tender on each battery separately

If I run wires in the serial hookup pattern can I use the 12 volt battery charger while it is out of the trailer in my garage?

[GaryKD]

Hi wakamicamper,
You have the right idea. As a double check, before you connect anything, take a meter reading using the two terminals mentioned in your last post. The meter should read something over 12 VDC if batteries are fully charged.

[BryanL]

re: "I understand the benefits involved" -- curious as to what these are. The only 'benefit' I can see is that you went from about 60# of battery to maybe 150# and that has nothing to do with voltage. You get about 10 to 15 usable watt hours per pound of battery no matter how the bank is composed. Life expectancy depends upon how you use and maintain them more than anything else.

As Jim says, they should be wired in series and treated just as if they were a big 12v battery.

[Midniteoyl]

Quote:

If I am hearing you properly, I have the serial hookup and when charging with either the generator or solar panel, I hook up the one battery with the "+" and the other battery with the "-" power hookups while the batteries are inside the trailer. When the batteries are removed from the trailer I must use the 6 volt battery tender on each battery separately If I run wires in the serial hookup pattern can I use the 12 volt battery charger while it is out of the trailer in my garage? __________________

Correct.. if they are wired in Series, you can use the 12v charger with the POS hooked to POS of BATT One, and NEG hooked to the NEG of BATT Two. The power hookups while in the coach are the same.

You can separate the Batts and charge them with a 6v charger over the winter if you so wish.

[Midniteoyl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BryanL re: "I understand the benefits involved" -- curious as to what these are. The only 'benefit' I can see is that you went from about 60# of battery to maybe 150# and that has nothing to do with voltage. You get about 10 to 15 usable watt hours per pound of battery no matter how the bank is composed. Life expectancy depends upon how you use and maintain them more than anything else. As Jim says, they should be wired in series and treated just as if they were a big 12v battery.

I use to think the same, but after looking around, I found I can actually get more Ah's from 2x6v vs 2x12 for about the same price and weight. For some reason, the Marine Deep Cycles dont really have the capacity.

[wakamicamper]

Thanks to all who answered my questions. In answer to why the switch, the 6 volt batteries I have are the US 2200XC, these batteries are double the weight of my old 12 volt battery. From doing further research, the size of the lead plate in the 6 volt battery is thicker and heavier than the one in the 12 volt battery. This is the main reason why two 6 volt batteries will give more reserve power than 1 12 volt battery.

The US 2200XC battery is rated: 232 amp hour on 20 hour rate,
122 minutes @ 75 amps
474 minutes @ 25 amps

I do a lot of dry camping and all the other campers in the park use 6 volt batteries, some have systems of 4 or more batteries. They run their generators daily for maybe 2 - 3 hours to recharge, I was running my generator for 4 - 5 hours to recharge my 12 battery. I also use my solar panel to trickle charge my battery when I don't want the noise of the generator.

[Monacoach]

Quote:

Which is better, parallel or serial hookups on the 6 volts, and why. I am presently waiting for the dealer to get back to me on which setup they did. I should have thought about this before the switchover, but I didn't know that the 12 volt charger wouldn't work on a 6 volt battery.

You have no choice with two 6 volt batteries. You must have them in series otherwise you will only have 6 volts. Also 12 volt charger is all you need to charge em. Like mentioned earlier pos of one battery to neg of other battery. Not the posts that connect the two. If you remove them from the coach you can still charge with 12 volt charger if you keep the connecting battery cable on.

[Sammie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakamicamper I just switched over from 1 x 12 volt battery to 2 x 6 volt batteries on the advice of a long time camping friend. I understand the benefits involved, but have discovered something that has me wondering. My 12 volt battery charger and the 12 volt Battery Tender Plus equipment is now useless for charging 6 volt batteries. I have already ordered a 6 volt version of the Battery Tender Plus, but I also have a 2000 watt Honda generator and a 4 ft by 2 ft solar panel that I use for trickle charging on sunny days. When using the generator, which battery do I hook up the power leads to? On the solar panel, again the same question. I am taking a hard look at the solar panel, as I now believe that the generator is more useful. Is it even safe to use the generator on the 6 volt configuration? Which is better, parallel or serial hookups on the 6 volts, and why. I am presently waiting for the dealer to get back to me on which setup they did. I should have thought about this before the switchover, but I didn't know that the 12 volt charger wouldn't work on a 6 volt battery.

wakamicamper, here is some great information to help you understand your batteries and charging systems.

The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

Sammie

[wa8yxm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakamicamper I just switched over from 1 x 12 volt battery to 2 x 6 volt batteries on the advice of a long time camping friend. I understand the benefits involved, but have discovered something that has me wondering. My 12 volt battery charger and the 12 volt Battery Tender Plus equipment is now useless for charging 6 volt batteries.

I will say it again THERE ARE NO SIX VOLT BATTERIES IN RV's

There are, however 12 volt batteries that come in two pieces

A 12 volt battery looks something like this

-{Battery}+

A 2-piece looks something like this

-{Bat}{ery}+

Both halves, when removed, are six volt

But when you slap on that jumper hooking the positive of one (Bat in the drawing) to the negative of the other (ery) and then look at the - and + terminals in my line ascii drawing

You have a 12 volt battery, and your 12 volt battery tender is exactly what tends it.

IN fact. there are dozens of six volt battery questions I have read.. I will now answer them all

Would you want a 12 volt battery that was... Whatever you asked about?

[hdossett]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm I will say it again THERE ARE NO SIX VOLT BATTERIES IN RV's There are, however 12 volt batteries that come in two pieces

Had to laugh at that one! I told my (even more hard headed than me) brother the exact same thing, almost the exact same quote last year.

He was using his automotive charger set on six volts and across one of the "halves" of his battery system because he thought it would be better to charge them separately! (Now he should have known better.)

I told him the "uncharged" half would draw from the "charged" half. He didn't really believe me until he put his meter across the "uncharged" half and saw that it was the save voltage as the other half! Then I told him to dump the automotive charger and let the on board charger do the job it was designed for! This was the first time he listened to me in years!

[Dave Rickey]

Strictly speaking, your "battery" is a series of six 2V cells, and it doesn't matter if those come in one casing, two, or six (something you'll see in some fixed solar installations), as long as they're matched equally (manufactured the same way, preferably as part of the same batch, and used together). So yes, you can use a 12V tender on two 6V batteries hooked in series.

--Dave

[wa8yxm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdossett Had to laugh at that one! !

Well, Glad I could amuse you and (On a more serious note) Thanks for the support.

Also what Dave said..

I have been saying "There are no six volt batteries in RV's" for several years now... To me, it's obvious that when you hook them in series they become, effectively, and electrically, a single 12 volt battery... But alas, I really do have some wallpaper somewhere that says I'm a certified electronics technician, and I have a document in my pocket that says I know a bit about electronics (And radio) and things like that, along with a copy (larger) in my motor home. (license Ham radio operator, 40+ years)

So what's obvious to me... Might not be to many others.

Glad you could see it too.