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Old 06-18-2020, 04:26 PM   #1
whitesub93
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6 Volt or 12 Volt batteries?

I need to replace the batteries that were in my Montana when I purchased it from the original owner. It is a 4 X 6volt setup. Would it be better to go 6 or 12 volt. I want to go dry cell if possible. Any help will be appreciated.
 
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Old 06-18-2020, 05:23 PM   #2
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how much boondocking do you do?
How much power and for how long do you need it when you do boondock?
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Old 06-18-2020, 07:20 PM   #3
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If it already has four 6 volt batteries, that's what I would go back with.

More bang for your buck and its already pre-wired for them. Simple plug and play.
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Old 06-18-2020, 07:39 PM   #4
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I do very little boondocking, but I really would like to go dry cell. (maintenance free)
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Old 06-18-2020, 08:22 PM   #5
MARK A
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Originally Posted by whitesub93 View Post
I need to replace the batteries that were in my Montana when I purchased it from the original owner. It is a 4 X 6volt setup. Would it be better to go 6 or 12 volt. I want to go dry cell if possible. Any help will be appreciated.

Stay with your 6 volt system 👍
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Old 06-18-2020, 09:06 PM   #6
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In my toy hauler i had 4 6 volt Trojans and was out in the dunes for a week and they worked awesome. Since i have moved away from toy haulers i used 2 12 volt agms and did overnights for boon docking to run my residential fridge with no issue. Since you say very little boon docking then lose the weight and go 2 12volt agms or upgrade like i did to to Lithium 12 volts and have the best of both.
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Old 06-19-2020, 04:58 AM   #7
RMcNeal
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If you would like to stay maintenance free, look for AGM batteries, rather than flooded cell. They are more expensive. If you are like me and do not boondock, and do not have the residential refrigerator (I do), you probably will be fine with 1 or 2 12 v batteries instead of 6v. The AGM batteries are much more expensive than flooded cell, but do not require any maintenance. It really just depends on your needs. I just recently decided to go with 2 12v AGM batteries since my coach has the residential fridge running on an inverter during travel. The single battery CW put in is not keeping up on hotter travel days.
If not for the residential fridge, I'd have gone with a single 12v battery. No need for anything more since we never boondock.
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Old 06-19-2020, 08:59 AM   #8
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In my toy hauler i had 4 6 volt Trojans and was out in the dunes for a week and they worked awesome. Since i have moved away from toy haulers i used 2 12 volt agms and did overnights for boon docking to run my residential fridge with no issue. Since you say very little boon docking then lose the weight and go 2 12volt agms or upgrade like i did to to Lithium 12 volts and have the best of both.
Where did you get the Lithium batteries and what brand?
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Old 06-19-2020, 09:03 AM   #9
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If you would like to stay maintenance free, look for AGM batteries, rather than flooded cell. They are more expensive. If you are like me and do not boondock, and do not have the residential refrigerator (I do), you probably will be fine with 1 or 2 12 v batteries instead of 6v. The AGM batteries are much more expensive than flooded cell, but do not require any maintenance. It really just depends on your needs. I just recently decided to go with 2 12v AGM batteries since my coach has the residential fridge running on an inverter during travel. The single battery CW put in is not keeping up on hotter travel days.
If not for the residential fridge, I'd have gone with a single 12v battery. No need for anything more since we never boon dock.
I do not have residential fridge and I do have 5.5 KW factory Onan generator.
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Old 06-19-2020, 10:31 AM   #10
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I would stay with 2 6volt batteries as they will give you more amps. You can buy 2 trojan 6volt wet cell batteries for slightly more than 1 agm battery. Unless you have a hard time getting to the batteries to maintain them you don't need to check them but once every 3 or 4 months at best. There probably is not a wrong decision on which way to go but more convenience cost more money.
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Old 06-19-2020, 12:30 PM   #11
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The battery compartment is in the front so getting to them is no issue. There is even a quick fill system installed.
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Old 06-19-2020, 02:58 PM   #12
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The battery compartment is in the front so getting to them is no issue. There is even a quick fill system installed.
Then i definitely know what i would do.
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Old 06-19-2020, 06:01 PM   #13
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...Since you say very little boon docking then lose the weight and go 2 12volt agms...
We have friends that did that, worked fine and they have residential refer.
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Old 06-19-2020, 10:58 PM   #14
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If you are like me and like to save money where you can, I would get 2-6 volt flooded batteries. Like stated you only need to check and add water every couple of months and the OP has the fancy gismo to add water. I would love to have Lithium, but way too much money for me. While boondocking if I need extra power I just fire up the HF 3500 watt genny and it purrs like a kitten.
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Old 06-19-2020, 11:17 PM   #15
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Where did you get the Lithium batteries and what brand?
If your looking for Lithium batteries I would look into Battle Born. They seem to be a good battery and work with most if not all solar equipment. I would stay away from Lion Energy batteries as I have those and they don’t like to play nice with my Victron equipment. They all are pretty pricy as well but to me worth it.
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Old 06-21-2020, 10:34 AM   #16
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I checked on the Lithium batteries and they are $900 each....WOW !
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Old 06-21-2020, 10:36 AM   #17
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Then i definitely know what i would do.
Then you would go 4-6 Volt then? Just stay with the set up I have now? I am leaning a lot that way. Much easier and only about $700 for all 4 Interstate HD batteries.
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Old 06-21-2020, 10:39 AM   #18
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If your looking for Lithium batteries I would look into Battle Born. They seem to be a good battery and work with most if not all solar equipment. I would stay away from Lion Energy batteries as I have those and they don’t like to play nice with my Victron equipment. They all are pretty pricy as well but to me worth it.
Where are you getting that information from? The battery does not care about the manufactured brand ancillary equipment. LiOn has the same cylindrical cell composition that Battleborn uses. They have different BMS types but they both use the same passthrough BMS technology.
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Old 06-21-2020, 02:10 PM   #19
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Save money...2 6 volts from Sam's or Costco will be fine.
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Old 06-21-2020, 04:02 PM   #20
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Then you would go 4-6 Volt then? Just stay with the set up I have now? I am leaning a lot that way. Much easier and only about $700 for all 4 Interstate HD batteries.
Golf Cart Zone in Austin at 512-258-9663 has the Trojan T-105 6-volt batteries for 138.00 exchange. The Trojan t-105 batteries are the number 1 brand for golf carts and are excellent for rv's. You might check around Waco and may find them cheaper but this is a pretty good price. As for as 2 or 4 batteries, i would let your frequency of boondocking decide that but 6 volts are better than 12 volts no matter how many batteries you get. Good luck.
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