1173 said:
My question is; Wouldn't 2 12volt batteries wire in parallel give more amp hours ?
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)