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1173

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Nov 11, 2014
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I have a 2000 fleetwood vision 36B.

It has 2 Golf Cart GC-2 6volt batteries.

The 2 are wired in series for 12volts.

My question is;  Wouldn't 2 12volt batteries wire in parallel give more amp hours  ?   

I'm looking to replce the btteries and question whic way to go.

Thanks for your help,  Dave 1173
 
Dave, you'll find good answers to you battery questions in our forum Library (button in the menu above).
 
Depends on which batteries and how long you want them to last. Everything is a tradeoff. There is a reason that almost everyone who uses house batteries uses 6v deep cycle batteries. Boats, motorhomes, 5r's, and bumper pulls all find that the best combination is 6v deep cycle. Less expensive units will come from the factory with 12v. More expensive units come from the factory with 6v.

The articles Tom refers to will give you the why's and wherefores, but the bottom line is the same.

ken
 
I don't know Ken - ours came from the factory with six Group 31 12 volt AGM house-batteries (105 AH) and they are some pricey suckers! ($325.00 each) I recently installed two more to help with our power requirements while boondocking. Our battery compartment hangs down low between the frame rails and the physically larger 6 volt golf cart batteries simply won't fit there. I will say this though, if I were starting from scratch and had the room, I'd install the high AH golf cart batteries. The maintenance-free AGMs are nice, but replacing all eight of them in a few years is gonna cost a small fortune - even when compared to the T-105s.

Kev
 
I guess there are exceptions to everything Kevin. Good luck on replacing those batteries. I'd suggest making sure you don't have to buy batteries and tires the same year.

Ken
 
1173 said:
My question is;  Wouldn't 2 12volt batteries wire in parallel give more amp hours  ?   
Click to expand...

And my answer is ... It depends.

There are two factors to consider, one is the size of the batteries, and the other is the type,, Starting, MARINE/deep cycle (also known as multi-purpose or dual purpose) or DEEP CYCLE.

With six volt batteries we are normally speaking of GC-2, which are 215 to 250 amp hour depending on the sub model (and height) and the most common are 220-230 amp horus.. When you wire them in series you add amp hours.

You can safely use half that on a DEEP CYCLE battery

MARINE/deep cycle should not be discharged that far,  With 12 volt you add amp hours

So

Group 24  about 75 amp hours each 150/pair
Group 27  90-95
Group 29 100-105
And as you can see at 220-230 the six volt is still bigger

Group 31 around 130 (finally we got the sixes beat, but, ONLY if you can find a DEEP CYCLE)

Now if you go to some truly big 12 volt say 4D or 8D now you are in teh 230-260 range, (That is each) and you can get 'em in DEEP CYCLE, but...

Well a GC-2 is half the weight of a 4D.. So my joke is you put in a pair of GC-2 you get 12 volts at 230 amp hours.

Try to put in a 4-D you just might get..... A hernia (I actually can carry that much)
 
John From Detroit said:
An When you wire them in series you add amp hours.
Click to expand...


You might want to edit this. I'm sure it's a typo, but when people read it they may get confused.

Assuming 2 identical batteries.......

In series you double voltage, same amp hours

In parallel you keep same voltage, double amp hours.


Ken
 
You may find my article on Choosing an RV Battery helpful.
http://www.rvforum.net/miscfiles/Choosing_right_battery.pdf

The accurate answer is that it depends on the size & rating of the 12v battery, but as a practical matter the answer is No. The two 12v may equal the two 6v's, but probably won't exceed them. It takes at least a Group 31 size 12v deep cycle to equal the amp-hours of a 6v GC2 (golf cart) battery, and that size is usually much more expensive.
 
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