Thread: Battery issue
View Single Post
Old 12-21-2008, 02:41 PM   #10
rdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 386
Default

Bob, MFA.

I've seen fellow RV'rs debate to almost swearing, about whether to use 6 volt in series, or 12 volt in parallel, batteries to power their coach or inverter.

I changed all my batteries to the sealed, deep cycle blue top Optimas. This solved several problems for me.
First, I no longer have "boil over", which happens with any battery. When you constantly charge and discharge the coach batteries, you have to watch their water levels. The boiling over of the battery's water causes deposited battery acid, that you have to neutralize. With my TM, weekly I had to use a battery neutralizer spray in the coach battery compartment to clean out the deposited acids.

In my wanderings to control this issue, I stumbled across some of the sites you mentioned. While I have no issues with Trojan, I'd offer that there are different opinions out there.

Basically, a battery is a box, in which energy is stored. No matter how you connect or otherwise use the battery, the total amount of stored energy cannot change.

That energy is measured by volts x amps = watts. You take a 12 volt battery, that is rated at 1000 amps, you have 12,000 watts of power.

In series, two 6 volt batteries, rated at 1000 amps each, would have 6 x 1000 or 6,000 watts each. Combined in series or parallel, they equal 12,000 watts of power. If you combine in series, where the voltage is now 12 volts, you have 1000 amps. If you combine in parallel, at 6 volts, you have 2,000 amps.

Now comes the hard part. The battery's ability to "give up" its power vary highly from one battery maker to another, and from one battery type to another. It would take a lot of time to go over each nuance.

But, having done a lot of leg work, and research, and having some knowledge of this area, I am convinced that hooking maintenance free 12 volt deep cycle batteries in parallel is the best way to go. After all, your space only allows 2 coach batteries. The math on what two 12 volt, vs two 6 volt, batteries will supply shows that the deep cycle 12 volt are superior.

Long winded, sorry.



__________________
Safe Travels
Rick
07 TM 40D;ISL 450 Cummins(upgraded). Very happy w/coach
Gnarly toad to scoot around.
Geocaching, hiking, fishing, National Parks, Civil War sites.
rdlamb is offline   Reply With Quote