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edsperfect · 03-04-2015, 03:50 PM

I have two 12 volt bats getting old so i have been looking for two new ones. Since i don't know much about these types of batteries i have looked at probably 20 websites and even had a post here.

Today i found a site for a place in California that had all typed of bats with all the info on each, vlots, ah, hours etc so i decided to buy two from them and i called them.

What the guy in sales told me is that they have terrific batteries but unless i am going to dry camp a lot i would ruin thier best ones since they need use. He would sell me them if i really wanted them but i would be better off going to Sam's or costco and buying their 6 volt golf cart bats.

I looked them up on sams and they are 82-115 bucks each with plenty of power and good rating.

Always nice to find an honest man

homecan1 · 03-04-2015, 04:23 PM

Don't disagree on the Costco or Sam's Club golf cart batteries. Good value.

Make sure you wire them correctly if you are replacing 2-12 volt batteries with 2-6 volt batteries.

12 volts are run parallel and 6 volts are run in series.

wb7auk · 03-04-2015, 06:20 PM

What the guy in sales told me is that they have terrific batteries but unless i am going to dry camp a lot i would ruin thier best ones since they need use. He would sell me them if i really wanted them but i would be better off going to Sam's or costco and buying their 6 volt golf cart bats.

I looked them up on sams and they are 82-115 bucks each with plenty of power and good rating.

Always nice to find an honest man[/QUOTE]

It would be interesting how he came to that conclusion.
If one is never or seldom going to need lots of battery power then why spend several extra dollars for some thing you will not use.
The 6 volt golf cart batteries are a good choice for the average user.

ken02holiday · 03-05-2015, 05:19 AM

I had to replace both of mine also, I work on cars for a living and looked for days before I made up my mind, I did buy 2 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries from Orielly auto parts. 800 amps ea. with a reserve of 240 ea. giving me a total of 1600 amps and 480 reserve, 95.00 ea. that should last a long time when using them. I do start my gen every couple of weeks when i'm not using the rv to let everything run and cycle for a little while, and i keep it power running to my rv all the time. I have never had a dead battery.

Scottybdivin · 03-05-2015, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken02holiday

I had to replace both of mine also, I work on cars for a living and looked for days before I made up my mind, I did buy 2 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries from Orielly auto parts. 800 amps ea. with a reserve of 240 ea. giving me a total of 1600 amps and 480 reserve, 95.00 ea. that should last a long time when using them. I do start my gen every couple of weeks when i'm not using the rv to let everything run and cycle for a little while, and i keep it power running to my rv all the time. I have never had a dead battery.

Nearly all Marine batteries are hybrid deep cycle/cranking batteries. The Amps you mentioned are CCA's (cold cranking amps). Deep cycle batteries are rated in Ah, but the more meaninful rating is "minutes @ 25A". Group 27 marine batts are usually 90-105 Ah, so 180-210 for a pair. With a pair of GC-2's, you get 225 Ah and true deep cycle batteries that are rated for many more charge cycles.

edsperfect, you would need one less cable than you already have with your current setup to go with 2 x 6V. I switched my 12V to 2 x 6V Sam's (Energizer) GC-2 batteries in my previous rig. I eventually went to 4 x 6V and added an inverter. They were 3 years old when I sold it. They are not Lifeline AGM quality, but I believe they give a lot of bang for the buck and are superior to hybrid marine batteries for RV applications.

Gary RVRoamer · 03-05-2015, 09:15 AM

Those 800 amps are useless unless the battery is actually being used to crank an engine. The 240 minute RC is the deep cycle use measurement (it's an alternate measure to AH) and 240 is pretty decent capacity.

**JohnRR** · 03-06-2015, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken02holiday

I had to replace both of mine also, I work on cars for a living and looked for days before I made up my mind, I did buy 2 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries from Orielly auto parts. 800 amps ea. with a reserve of 240 ea. giving me a total of 1600 amps and 480 reserve, 95.00 ea. that should last a long time when using them. I do start my gen every couple of weeks when i'm not using the rv to let everything run and cycle for a little while, and i keep it power running to my rv all the time. I have never had a dead battery.

Good luck with it.

jtermini30 · 03-07-2015, 03:10 PM

I purchased 4 EGC2 6 volt batteries from Sam's Club this afternoon. 230 rating $112 each which included the credit for the core charge. The originals are almost 6 yeas and although working do not last very long even with a minimal load, therefore, I'm doing preventative maintenance.

2009 Fleetwood Expedition 38F
2013 Scion XB toad

Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

wb7auk · 03-07-2015, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtermini30

I purchased 4 EGC2 6 volt batteries from Sam's Club this afternoon. 230 rating $112 each which included the credit for the core charge. The originals are almost 6 yeas and although working do not last very long even with a minimal load, therefore, I'm doing preventative maintenance.

2009 Fleetwood Expedition 38F
2013 Scion XB toad

Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

For info it takes several recharge cycles before the batteries will have their
max capacity.

wa8yxm · 03-07-2015, 04:43 PM

The man gave you good advice.. Now the six volt are a tad taller than the group 24/27/29/31 batteries but they fit a Group 24 tray fairly well. A pair of 'em provides between 215 and 230 amp hours and you can use up to half of that before you recharge.

MARINE/deep cycle are not so capable A group 31 pair does give more amp hours, but you can use as much of it so that would be teh closest match, and more expensive.

Wiring

You connect in series like this: -6V+-6V+12 volt DC

Hook them up like that, think of the pair as a SINGLE 12 volt battery, and it is that simple

Want to put in a 2nd pair

Well hook the two together as above, then wire them in parallel as your twin 12's are now Treat EACH pair as a single battery.