6 volt battery question?

[231jasonS]

my new 5th wheel has a single 12 volt and will not last long with out charging.



I want to add a second battery for more run time. Ive been told that 2 6 volts (trojan T-105 or similar) would be much better.



If i go for the 6volt do i need to chance the stock charger/converter to recharge these correctly. Or can I just change the battery boxes and go for it?

also to charge the battery i have always just plugged my trailer into a honda 2000 gen, would i be better off to wire the gen directly to the battery?





My trailer is a 2007 ceder creek with the 50 amp service.

 

[JApol]

get a second 12 volt and wire it in parallel. Both positives together and both negatives together. This will give you 12 volts but the capacity of 2 batteries.



DO NOT WIRE THEM POSITIVE TO NEGATIVE. THIS WILL GIVE YOU 24 VOLTS. Everything works REAL fast till you let out the precious smoke.

 

[Slow Six]

If you have room, four 6 volt golf cart batteries give a lot of capacity.

 

[231jasonS]

I know the 6 volt sytem will be better, but am not sure if the trailers charger will correctly charge the 6 volts. I have the room for 4 6volts, but dont know if i can spend that much right now.



I had two 12volt deeps in my last 5th and it would only last about 2-3 days with thte heater at night.

 

[JanMitchell]

I have a 34ft. Cedar Creek and I put 2-6 volt batteries that I bought from Walmart and have been happy with the results although I don't do any dry camping so what do I know? Don't worry about changing the battery boxes as the 6 volt will fit in the 12 volt box. Just buy one more box with a nylon tie down and you'll be set. Oh, don't forget the extra battery cables. Not rocket science since I could do it. I want to get two 2000 watt Hondas with the cable so I can start the A/C. Let's go camping!!
Stan Mitchell (not a chick)
'05 3500 CTD QC Chrome Exhaust Tip
6speed 4X4

 

[LandShark]

I know the 6 volt sytem will be better, but am not sure if the trailers charger will correctly charge the 6 volts. I have the room for 4 6volts, but dont know if i can spend that much right now.



I had two 12volt deeps in my last 5th and it would only last about 2-3 days with thte heater at night.

Your trailer charger won't know the difference between 12 volt batteries or pairs of 6 volt batteries wired in series (also 12 volts). It will charge just fine.

 

[jelag]

This is also a numbers game... . you can have 4 6V batteries with 2 in parallel and 2 in series... . to make the 12V total... . I personally use 2 large 12 batteries that are the same group size used in our larger trucks... .

I buy 2 of them together and run them for 4 or 5 years and replace both at the same time... . These large truck batteries are designed to be installed in parallel and function well... . they have posts that accept the cables and are cost effective... they are not true deep cycle batteries but have such a huge ability to handle power we've never had them down below 50%. These large batteries let me run the trailer all week at elk camp in the winter with one brake in the middle to recharge them... . running lights, water pump, heater. . etc...

When my trailer is in storage I plug it in so that the batteries are always topped off... . and ready... .

 

[ACerf]

Batteries

I thought about going to 6 volts but decided that the for the extra cost it wasn't worth it. Something to keep in mind. Unless you are doing "alot" of dry camping the 12 volts will do fine. I replaced the Group 24 batteries with Group 27. This has increased my usage without having to pay the price for the 6 volts. Also, 6 volt batteries are heavier, and all in all won't last any longer than the 12's. If you get 3 to 4 years out of any trailer battery you are doing good. So why spend the extra money and having to change of the wriing! Another example; we were traveling this past summer and I need to replace the batteries, they were dead! We were in a small town and I didn't have much choice of places to buy a battery, and I was having a hard time finding a good 6 volt battery, because I was thinking of changing over. I ended up at Wal-Mart, not my first choice, but if you have a problem they are good about replacing the batteries. The cost of the group 27 battery was $56, a good price for a battery that size, much cheaper than a good 6 volt. By the way, Wal-Mart does use Johnson Controls for there battery vendor, the same people that built the Interstate batteries. So far the batteries have been good. Just make sure you get fresh ones! Hope this helps.

 

[JFaughn]

Its all about numbers & names , the vast majority of deep cycles [ marine starting/deepcycle ] that are easy to find are not true deep cycles , these are a combination of manufacture of start & deep , so not best at either ,
Then it sounds like most here know that car/truck batteries are not DC at all .
True DC batt. have a higher capacity and most often come in 6v , [ I bought 2 Trojan 12v DC , because my airstream had 2 boxs and thats all that would fit ] then when it come to capacity it the amount of lead/weight, if they weight more they have more capacity , but being 6v & wiring in seres to get 12v you have the capacity of 1 batt. [ you can only change 1 number at a time with how you wire the batt. bank , series give more volts - amps stay the same , parallel give more amps but voltage stays the same ,] then charging , you need to put in what you took out + , most generators that have a 12v charging system are low amps about 10amp , so if you run a 10 amp draw for 6 hours you need more than that to charge .
So when it comes to spending money on batteries , this is where you get what you pay for , but to get the most out of a battery bank you need to know quite a bit about batteries to get the most out of them .
I use solar panels with a couple electronic controls to maintain the batteries , [ 4 Trojan 235s , these weight 135 lbs ea. before adding acid ], with a 2500 watt inverter for ac volts , I am a full time RVer and these are still going strong after 11 yrs. , they cost $600 , the only problem is having the ability to carry that much weight [ this system is in a bus that is my mobile shop ] .
Being into alt. energy for about 20+ yrs , it would seem that most do not know or understand there energy usage , then expect too much out of a system that has not been designed for there use , its all about the math , numbers being used , in & out .
The best way to learn is get a solar panel , you can always add more & mix & match , unlike batteries ,
After a while it will become 2nd nature to understand your consumption [ also meters to learn numbers ] then when your ready for a larger investment , you can design a system that will meet your needs / expectations .

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I know the 6 volt sytem will be better, but am not sure if the trailers charger will correctly charge the 6 volts. I have the room for 4 6volts, but dont know if i can spend that much right now.



I had two 12volt deeps in my last 5th and it would only last about 2-3 days with thte heater at night.

With 2 6-volt batteries in SERIES, it won't be a "6 volt system", it will still be a *12 volt system*, because the 2 6's add to a 12 volt total - and your built-in charging system will work just fine!



I had a pair of series connected Trojan T-105's on our 5er when we bought it new - they lasted for 8 years, when I replaced them purely as a maintenance item - my dad then installed and used them for 3 more years until he sold the 5er he was using at the time - still going strong!



But yes, the relatively heavy amp draw from a heater blower WILL run down the best of batteries pretty quickly.

 

[jelag]

The main cause of battery failure is sulfides that flake off the plates in each cell... these sulfides drift to the bottom of the battery and render a portion of the plate unusable..... as this continues the capacity of the battery falls off and later the battery fails... There have been several things that have been done in battery manufacturing to slow this down... and we see those features in high end pallet jacks, and fork lifts powered by batteries... Most batteries sold for automotive use, trailer use, etc don't have these features because of their price point... .

If your looking for a battery remember to replace all of them at once... . lets say you have 2 6V batteries at 1000 cca (cold cranking amps) tied together in series... . your total 12 volt capacity is 1000 cca... . or about 500 amp hours... (CCA is usually 2x's AH rate) if memory serves me right... . In series you add the voltage... in Parallel you add the current rating... .

2 12 volt batteries in parallel with a capacity of 350 CCA have a total of 700 CCA or 350 AH... . in this example the 2 6 v batteries would be the choice... .

However if you had 2 12 Volt batteries with say 750 CCA, 2 of them would be 1500 cca and a higher capacity than the 2 6 volt batteries... .

Ohm's law governs this... its a math formula that is a statement of fact... .

Now lets add a little more information... you have something that draws 10 amps and it runs for 6 hours... . you've drawn down the battery by 60 amp hours..... you can recharge that battery at 20 amps for 3 hours, or 10 amps at 6 hours, or 60 amps at 1 hour and you've fully recharged it... . using the ohms law formula... The key here is to never recharge a battery so it gets so hot you can't hold your hand on the side... . overheating a battery during charging or DIS-charging will damage the cell structure and warp the cell thus shorting it out.....

Thou solar panels work... their return on investment is a very long time... most solar panels charge in wattage not amps... . 120 watts is 12 volts X 10 amps... . another measure of energy... . lets say your solar panel is a 60 watt panel... . thats about 5 amps..... 60 watts / 12 volts... your solar panel would take 12 hours to charge back the 60 amp hour use I started with up above...

So when looking for batteries I buy those which have the highest amp hour rate, or CCP rate... I buy 2 of them at a time and pitch them when they go bad... usually 4-5 years... . I buy them at walmart or costco because I get good value there. . and I'm going to take reasonable care of the... . Keep them dry, and charged... It used to be with the old style battery case that sitting a battery on a cement floor would cause it to drain down because of moisture that would allow the battery to discharge... . basically a path to short its self out with very high resistance... . todays batteries with their plastic cases take 10 or 15 times longer to do this so leaving them on a concrete floor is not much of a problem... .

BTW a charged battery can't freeze because whats in the cells is a saturated solution... once that battery is dead or close to it... whats in the cells is water and will freeze and break the case when frozen... Last item and I'm done here... . when a battery charges or discharges it gases off... this gas will explode when it comes on contact with ignition..... (spark, match, fire) so venting a battery is a MUST.....

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

^^^^ All very well said! ^^^



Only thing I'd add, is that all "deep cycle" batteries are NOT created equal - and if long battery life and best performance is really your goal, get your batteries from a reputable RV store or similar - Trojan brand is very hard to beat - and they will continue to take heavy charge/discharge cycles LONG after that cheapie "deep cycle wannabe" you got from Walmart has curled up it's toes and left you stranded! :-laf

 

[sdstriper]

my new 5th wheel has a single 12 volt and will not last long with out charging.



I want to add a second battery for more run time. Ive been told that 2 6 volts (trojan T-105 or similar) would be much better.



If i go for the 6volt do i need to chance the stock charger/converter to recharge these correctly. Or can I just change the battery boxes and go for it?

also to charge the battery i have always just plugged my trailer into a honda 2000 gen, would i be better off to wire the gen directly to the battery?





My trailer is a 2007 ceder creek with the 50 amp service.

For anyone with questions about battery replacement, capacities, consumption and charging etc. , this book is an absolute must.



Managing 12 Volts, How to Upgrade, Operate and Troubleshoot 12 Volt Electrical Systems, Authored by Harold Barre

 

[JanMitchell]

Do any of you have the schematic for making your own parallel cable for connecting two Honda generators? I have decided to buy two but the price of the parallel cable is rather high. Any help?
Stan

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Do any of you have the schematic for making your own parallel cable for connecting two Honda generators? I have decided to buy two but the price of the parallel cable is rather high. Any help?

Stan

Try a search for "parallel cable" or similar - been discussed here several times, with diagrams...

 

[WVanHemert]

How do you get the two generators to Sync the AC Cycle ?, cause if the cycle is off even slightly you are defeating the purpose.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

How do you get the two generators to Sync the AC Cycle ?, cause if the cycle is off even slightly you are defeating the purpose.

It's all done electronically - no "operator intervention" required... :-laf:-laf

 

[Bart]

my new 5th wheel has a single 12 volt and will not last long with out charging.



I want to add a second battery for more run time. Ive been told that 2 6 volts (trojan T-105 or similar) would be much better.



If i go for the 6volt do i need to chance the stock charger/converter to recharge these correctly. Or can I just change the battery boxes and go for it?

also to charge the battery i have always just plugged my trailer into a honda 2000 gen, would i be better off to wire the gen directly to the battery?





My trailer is a 2007 ceder creek with the 50 amp service.

I just did mine. One 6 volt battery will out weigh a 12 volt battery any day of the week by about 50%. Two 6 v. will do the duty of 3 or 4 12 v batteries. The process is simple.

1. Working only with the two 6 volt batteries at this point. Put the two 6 volt batteries side by side. There are two posts on each battery. One neg and Pos.

2. Get one good automotive 6 awg wire ring terminal ends that about the right length to connect the two 6 volt batteries together.

3. NOW here is were it gets a little technical. Land one of the ends of that afore mentioned 6 awg wire on one of the 6 volt negative battery posts.

4. Now find the the Positive post on the other 6 volt battery and connect the oposite end of that same wire to it. Yes, you just connected a negative post to a positive post. If you doubt me just hit it with a glancing touch. See, no sparks. Color of the wire in unimportant on this connection. I normally use Black.

5. Now you have two posts left on those two 6 volt batteries. One negative post on one battery and one Positive post on the other battery. You just made one BIG 12 volt battery out of those two 6 volt batteries. They are now connected in "Series"

6. Now work only with two (unused) posts that were left after you connected the "jumper" between the 6 v. batteries Run a Red 6 awg automotive wire with ring terminal ends from the open positive post on the 6 volt battery to the positive post on the 12 volt battery.

7. Run a black 6 awg automotive wire with ring terminal ends from the last remaining negative post on the 6 volt battery to the negative post on the 12 volt battery.

You have now just wired three seperate batteries in series and then again in parrellel. Your 12 volt charger/inverter will charge them all at one time.

If this is not clear send me an private message and we can discuss it more. Remember touching a wire to a post in a quick swing will not hurt anything and it sparks a LOT there's something wrong.