Battery

[kenandjudy]

Thinking of replacing original coach battery with 2 12volt deep cycles in prep. for trip to Alaska. Have seen owners going to 2 6 volt batteries. Which is better?
Ken

[DQDick]

I have the two 12's and it works fine for us. Others have 4 6's and swear by that setup. We don't boondock all that much so the 2 12's work fine for us.

[Flymutt]

Where do you put the other battery since the plastic box only has room for one? (This may be one of those stupid questions)

[HOOK]

I just added a second box.

[Bob Perry]

Not to steal the forum but since it is on batteries can you hook 2) 6 volts with a 12 volt?
Thanks

[Irlpguy]

Ken you can use two boxes for the 2 batteries or there are boxes made that will fit two batteries. Make sure they are both vented to the outside of the compartment, as your original battery should now be. Some folks swear by the two or more 6V and others get along fine with two 12V, seems to be more of a personal preference. I would love to be going to Alaska again but don't think I want to pull the Monty over some parts of the Alaska highway unless it has been significantly improved over the past 5 years.

Although I am not sure I would recommend it Bob, you can hook up two 6 volt batteries with a single 12. First you have to connect the 6V batteries in series, this means you connect one of the +(pos) terminals to the -(neg) terminal of the second battery. Now if you check the voltage from the unconnected terminals you will show 12V or between 12V and 13V.
You now have to connect the two 6V batteries to the 12, you do this by connecting the unconnected 6V +(pos) to the +(pos) terminal of the 12V and the same with the -(neg) terminals. You now have your series connected 6V batteries connected in Parallel with the 12V and you will still have only 12V.

Hope that explains it and does not just confuse the process. Here also is a website that shows some diagrams of series and parallel connections.

http://rvbasics.com/techtips/RV-batt...-parallel.html

[Ozz]

I would not mix different voltages and different aged batteries.
Can I ask if you have an Inverter, also are you going to be staying where there are no hook-ups? I am a person who has not been there, but I would think you would want to have as much battery capacity as possible, or as much as the old budget will allow. 2 12's are barely enough to run a few 12 volt loads and the furnace for 12 hrs.
I would suggest at least 4 new 6 volt Golf cart batteries (Sam's wholesale) I have 6 and a big Inverter.
Also a small Honda or.. generator.

[kdeiss]

Different Age and type batteries are going to charge at not the same rate not a good Idea

6 Volt Golf Cart batteries gets my vote Trojan (brand) are the best in my opinion.but pricy

[H. John Kohl]

quote:Originally posted by Bob Perry

Not to steal the forum but since it is on batteries can you hook 2) 6 volts with a 12 volt?
Thanks

As OZZ stated Not recommended. I would only do it in an EMERGENCY and for a short time.
It is recommended to use simular batteries so each carry equal load, mixing to 6 volt in series with a 12 volt in parallel with not have equal load or current supply from each 12 volt battery bank.
Good luck.

[PSFORD99]

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

I would not mix different voltages and different aged batteries.
Can I ask if you have an Inverter, also are you going to be staying where there are no hook-ups? I am a person who has not been there, but I would think you would want to have as much battery capacity as possible, or as much as the old budget will allow. 2 12's are barely enough to run a few 12 volt loads and the furnace for 12 hrs.
I would suggest at least 4 new 6 volt Golf cart batteries (Sam's wholesale) I have 6 and a big Inverter.
Also a small Honda or.. generator.

Have always been curious about the inverter, and a bank of batteries, what is gained by going that way?

I have boondocked for a few days at a time with just two 12 volts. I charge the batteries every morning along with the laptop, MiFi , etc. During the day if needed it affords us to use any 12 volt that is necessary . Never needed the air conditioner or anything like that, but if we did I could use the generator.

[DQDick]

What I did to vent mine was get a L pipe joint and cut the original vent hose and installed the L then I got some vacuum cleaner hose from a repair place that was throwing it out and attached a piece I cut to fit to the L and the top of the new battery box. Instant vent, cost was a buck or two.

[snfexpress]

Golf cart batteries typically give you more voltage for a longer time than deep cycle 12 volt batteries. That's why they put them in golf carts. If you put two typical golf cart batteries in series that have 210 ampere hours, you get 210 ampere hours, not 420, because they are in series to give you 12 volts.

As others have said, it isn't recommended to mix and match. BTW, we boon dock often and we only use 2 golf cart batteries and have 2 Honda 2000 generators on a custom made rear carrier.

[Ozz]

quote:Originally posted by PSFORD99

Have always been curious about the inverter, and a bank of batteries, what is gained by going that way?

I have boondocked for a few days at a time with just two 12 volts. I charge the batteries every morning along with the laptop, MiFi , etc. During the day if needed it affords us to use any 12 volt that is necessary . Never needed the air conditioner or anything like that, but if we did I could use the generator.

Options.
Less energy planning, more freedom to do what we do, instead of baby-sit the rig.
Depends on the generator you have also, the big ones are nice, but consume a lot of energy: Propane, Gas.
We are new to the Inverter/generator usage, in the past we just stayed at C.G.'s, but this year when we traveled, we stopped for the evening somewhere, Inverted all night: TV, Dish, lights, Microwave, ceiling fan in L.R. and in bedroom, Ice machine and so on.
Had plenty to pull the slides in and hit the road.
Then kicked on the Honda as we drove down the road, Bulk, absorb, float charge.
Seemed to work great.
Ozz

[Irlpguy]

Ken you will have many things to consider when planning a trip to Alaska, the decision on batteries is dependent on how much time you expect to spend in places that have no power or other facilities, if that time may include extended periods between hookups then batteries are only part of the equation. You will definitely need a generator, even if you do not expect to boon dock I would take one along.

There are some great campgrounds along your way to Alaska, British Columbia and the Yukon have some fine ones that are reasonably priced and offer most of what anyone could want. Much depends on your planned route and time frame.

Something to keep in mind with the batteries is that a single Golf Cart battery has around 225 amps available, while a group 27 – 12V has only around 105 amps and a group 31 – 12V has about 125 amps. When batteries are connected in series (as in 2 – 6V) the voltage doubles but the current stays the same, so you still only have 225 amps of current. When you connect batteries in parallel the voltage stays the same and the current doubles, so on 2 – 12V group 31 batteries you would have 250 amps, so a little more than the 2 – 6V. On the other hand the most commonly used 12V deep cycle battery is the group 27 at 105 amps doubled you would have less amps available than with the two 6V.

It is commonly believed that 2 – 6V Golf cart batteries will last longer because of the size of the plates in those large batteries. I don’t know if actual load tests have been done to confirm this but it certainly seems reasonable.

After having made 2 trips to Alaska, one of which included a trip to Inuvik in the NWT there are many things equally as important as the decisions you make regarding the batteries, do your homework, be as prepared as you possibly can, and above all take your time your Monty will appreciate it, and enjoy the entire trip.

My profile picture was taken on the Top of the World Highway between Chicken, Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon, but I would never pull a Monty over there.

Here is a picture of how our camper looked part way up the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, now imagine how much fun you would have cleaning your TV and Monty after a few miles on that highway. Not recommended by me.



I am ever so envious although I do hope to make one more trip up there. Have a great trip.

[PSFORD99]

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

Options.
Less energy planning, more freedom to do what we do, instead of baby-sit the rig.
Depends on the generator you have also, the big ones are nice, but consume a lot of energy: Propane, Gas.
We are new to the Inverter/generator usage, in the past we just stayed at C.G.'s, but this year when we traveled, we stopped for the evening somewhere, Inverted all night: TV, Dish, lights, Microwave, ceiling fan in L.R. and in bedroom, Ice machine and so on.
Had plenty to pull the slides in and hit the road.
Then kicked on the Honda as we drove down the road, Bulk, absorb, float charge.
Seemed to work great.
Ozz

Thanks for the reply. There is a downside to the onboard generator , as it does burn a fair amount of propane. Last year at the Quartszite Rally, I wanted to watch the NFL playoff's , and so I set up the dish ,and ran the generator for several hours, and burned up a bunch of propane. Not too big of problem, filling the tanks was not far away. I need to invest in a small 2000 watt generator for extended runs.

[Ozz]

Yep, the small Gen would fit right in your set-up.
See you at the Montana show on the 18th.
Ozz

[twindman]

One way to use a 12V and 2 sixes together (sort of): I bought a box to hold the new 6 V batteries (kind of expensive in my opinion). I left the older 12V battery in place. Then (I read about it here somewhere, I think) I bought a marine switch (I think that is what it is called) and installed it. This allows to run from 2 different sets of batteries individually or in parallel. i.e. position one on the switch is for the 12V battery by itself. Position 2 is for the 2 six volt batteries. Then another position connects them all in parellel, though as others mentioned, this is not recommended.
Oh, by the way, my older Monty doesn't have the 'fancy' new disconnect that the newer models have. So I can also just rotate the switch to OFF and the batteries are turned off for storage. (I believe I had to also wire in the line to the landing gear, since they were not run thru any fuse box, etc and would have remained connected)
Oh, this method, of course, only lets you switch over to the other battery manually, so when it runs out at 4 A.M it isn't the nicest!!!

[Bob Perry]

Thanks everyone for the information...I guess I will buy another 2 six volt Trojans and hook up to my existing ones ...

[Flymutt]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

What I did to vent mine was get a L pipe joint and cut the original vent hose and installed the L then I got some vacuum cleaner hose from a repair place that was throwing it out and attached a piece I cut to fit to the L and the top of the new battery box. Instant vent, cost was a buck or two.

In addition to the hose at the top of the new box, did you have to cut a hole in the bottom of the new battery box, like what is in the bottom of the original box?
I really apologize for asking a divergent question in the midst of someone else's thread

[Red939]

To answer the OP's question, two six volts are better than two 12 volts.