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Old 06-25-2015, 12:50 PM   #1
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House batteries

I need to replace the house batteries in my mh. Is it possible to use 2 12 volt batteries instead of 4 6 volt batteries. I never boondock. Would they be hooked up in parallel or series? I am looking at cost over longevity.
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Old 06-25-2015, 01:00 PM   #2
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I need to replace the house batteries in my mh. Is it possible to use 2 12 volt batteries instead of 4 6 volt batteries. I never boondock. Would they be hooked up in parallel or series? I am looking at cost over longevity.
My coach has had 4 12V deepcycle marine house batteries for all of it's 19 years... we overnight with no shore power and dry camp, (boondock), a lot.
I don't know how only 2 would work.
Sorry
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Old 06-25-2015, 01:04 PM   #3
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Roland, two 12V batteries should be hooked up in parallel. If you series wired them it would double to voltage to 24V! Wiring them in parallel doubles the current (amperage).
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Old 06-25-2015, 01:09 PM   #4
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The 12V batteries connect in parallel. The amp-hour ratings add, but the voltages do not. The 6V batteries connect in series for two of them. The voltage adds, but the amp-hours do not. If you have more than two 6V batteries, they connect in series-parallel.

You will probably find that two 6V batteries will have about the same amp-hour rating as do two 12Vs. The 6Vs may even have a little more.

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Old 06-25-2015, 01:14 PM   #5
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Your coach needs 12 volt; therefore, the answer is parallel for the result to be 12 volts with twice the current capacity. Don't hook up 12 volt batteries in series. If hooked up in series, the result would be 24 volts. The current capacity would be the same as one battery, but most important the 24 volts would destroy many of your 12 volt items in the coach.


If you never boondock, you may get by with one 12 volt battery, just be sure it is deep cycle. A starting battery will not hold up for very long. If plugged in or while on the road, your inverter/charger or engine alternator should the battery charged. 12 volts is needed for the refrigerator and water heater and possibly more items.
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Old 06-25-2015, 02:21 PM   #6
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It's all about how many amp hours you can buy for the same price.
First you should be using only deep cycle batteries for the house batteries. Most so called Marine deep cycle are not true deep cycle but a hybrid between a starting battery and a deep cycle.
Second I think you will find that two 6 volt deep cycle in series,sometime refered to as golf cart batteries, will give you more amp-hrs per dollar than two 12 volt in parallel.
Deep cycle batteries are always measured in amp-hours. Starting batteries are always measured in CCA or cold cranking amps. There may be an exception somewhere but I haven't seen one.
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Old 06-25-2015, 02:43 PM   #7
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It's all about how many amp hours you can buy for the same price.
First you should be using only deep cycle batteries for the house batteries. Most so called Marine deep cycle are not true deep cycle but a hybrid between a starting battery and a deep cycle.
Second I think you will find that two 6 volt deep cycle in series,sometime refered to as golf cart batteries, will give you more amp-hrs per dollar than two 12 volt in parallel.
Deep cycle batteries are always measured in amp-hours. Starting batteries are always measured in CCA or cold cranking amps. There may be an exception somewhere but I haven't seen one.
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How are "so called Marine deep cycle batteries" measured?
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Old 06-25-2015, 03:00 PM   #8
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Selah
How are "so called Marine deep cycle batteries" measured?
Some are rated in AH, most are MCA ( Marine Cranking Amps ) and some, Reserve amps, another way of measuring capacity.
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Old 06-25-2015, 03:28 PM   #9
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As Twinboat said, most are in MCA. BTW, they do make 12 volt true deep cycle batteries but most of the one I have heard about are fairly expensive so most of us poor folk use the 6 volt batteries.
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Old 06-25-2015, 03:38 PM   #10
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BTW, they do make 12 volt true deep cycle batteries but most of the one I have heard about are fairly expensive so most of us poor folk use the 6 volt batteries.

Besides, look at all of the electric golf cars, running around all day, with them. They can't be too bad.
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Old 06-25-2015, 04:33 PM   #11
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As Twinboat said, most are in MCA. BTW, they do make 12 volt true deep cycle batteries but most of the one I have heard about are fairly expensive so most of us poor folk use the 6 volt batteries.
Selah
For house batteries this "poor folk" successfully uses 4 12V deep cycle Marine batteries... (as did the previous owner of my now 19 year old coach).
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Old 06-25-2015, 05:38 PM   #12
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Selah
For house batteries this "poor folk" successfully uses 4 12V deep cycle Marine batteries... (as did the previous owner of my now 19 year old coach).
Mel
'96 Safari, 141k miles, (mine since '01)
The fact that marine/deep cycle batteries were "successfully" used in one RV for 19 years isn't evidence of anything. What does "successfully" used mean in this context? On average, how long did the batteries last? Was that RV frequently used for boondocking, or was it usually connected to shore power?

As others have already stated, the "Marine/Deep Cycle" batteries are not really a true deep cycle battery. The difference is in the thickness of the lead plates. A starting battery has relatively thin plates. A true deep cycle battery has much thicker plates.

The plates in a marine/deep cycle battery are thicker than those in a starting battery, but not at all as thick as those in a true deep cycle battery. As a consequence, it will not last as long as as a true deep cycle battery unless it is rarely allowed to discharge very much.

If the RV will always be connected to shore power, then even a small starting battery will work just fine. If a battery will never be cycled, then a deep cycle batter is overkill. However, I don't thinr than most of us always use them that way.

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Old 06-25-2015, 06:03 PM   #13
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The other unknown, is, what size Marine / Deep cycle battery, was used for 19 years.

An "8 D" battery is the size of 3 regular batteries and weighs near 200 lbs.
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Old 06-25-2015, 07:27 PM   #14
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The other unknown, is, what size Marine / Deep cycle battery, was used for 19 years.

An "8 D" battery is the size of 3 regular batteries and weighs near 200 lbs.
The install of an 8D is not a bad idea but it certainly is not the less expensive route. I have seen 120AH 6V flooded batteries in the range of $120 each (or less). So, two (giving you 240 AH) would cost you about 240 plus bucks.

The simple install without any cable mods would be the 8D. There, are you confused now?

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