12v to two 6 v?

boonie

how many have switched out the 12 volt battery to two six volt? is it true you get more day's of boondocking power? and why? thanks

Sharon_is_SAM

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/search?adv=&search=6+volt+batteries+&title=&author=&cat=all&tags=&discussion_poll=1&discussion_d=1&comment_c=1&within=1+day&date=

Here is a link to the threads that have addressed this.

pthomas745

My trailer came with a 70 amp hour, group 24 battery.  To maximize your battery life, you should only "discharge" a battery to 50 percent of its capacity.  So, in essence, I have 35 amp hours to use.

Go look at your battery.  Find out those numbers from the model number on your battery.  The amp hours and group are the first things to figure out.

Usually, putting six volt batteries together results in a total of 200 amp hours (all these numbers are approximate. )  At 50 percent discharge, that means you can use 100 amp hours.

That is the "two six volt advantage."

You don't know how much you need until you know how much you might use.  I have a 100 watt solar panel and have never had a problem (well, almost never!) running out of amps to use. 

Try Jenn Grover's blog about battery management:

https://jenngrover.com/2015/11/guilty-as-charged-rv-battery-use-management/

Try this page as a reference to All Things Battery.

https://www.solar-electric.com/learning-center/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html

falcon1970

Two 6v versus one 12 v won't necessarily give you greater amp-hours,  You need to compare the specs on the batteries.  And the AGM batteries nuCamp is using have a greater DoD than 50 pct.  They will actually allow up to 80 pct.  However, all batteries have a maximum number of recycles before they will no longer take a charge.  Discharging your battery deeply will reduce the total number of cycles it can withstand.  

dCliffhanger

I've commented somewhere else regarding batteries but will pass this on again. My dealer (Jerry's) put me onto a new form of lead\acid battery called Carbon-Foam. It was developed by Catterpiller Corp 10-20 years ago, was spun off as Firefly and have been slowly ramping it up. It has the ability to be discharged to near zero without suffering hardly any damage and is unaffected by zero degree temps and has a longer life of many cycles. Same for leaving in a discharged state. This has made it ideal for long distance sailers and the military. Mine is a group 34 rated at 115 Ah. It just barely fits into my 320 tub. But, it can provide me 100 Ah of power and eases worries about temperatures and keeping it charged. It's expensive but still much less than lithium... if you can get one.

ScottG

@boonie, this is all good information, but I suggest you actually enjoy your camper a bit and get a sense how you will use it. You might even accidentally kill your first battery in the process.  ;-)

Once you have a handle on how things work and what your specific needs are, then think about dropping big $$$ on battery upgrades or other power enhancements if you decide they are really necessary.

boonie

ScottG said:

@boonie, this is all good information, but I suggest you actually enjoy your camper a bit and get a sense how you will use it. You might even accidentally kill your first battery in the process.  ;-)

Once you have a handle on how things work and what your specific needs are, then think about dropping big $$$ on battery upgrades or other power enhancements if you decide they are really necessary.

thanks, yes i am getting a good handle on things while the camper is here at home, so nice to plug in and warm up. even with the all pro cover on there is enough light that get's thru. i do plan on using the 12 v battery and using boonie as is. happy turkey day

ColoradoJon

I've done the 6V conversion and am glad that I did.  Two six volt golf cart batteries will definitely give you more amp hours than a single 12V battery except for the most super expensive niche batteries out there.  The typical hybrid marine battery installed by the dealer has an average capacity of 55 amps.  The two six volt set up has an average capacity of 225 amps.  The downside is weight and space.

Don't worry too much about that theoretical 50% depth of discharge figure.  It's a good ballpark to aim for, but it's really intended to maximize the life of the battery. If properly maintained you should get at least five years out of them regardless of how you discharge them.  Just don't go below 80%.

You can go with the more expensive AGM batteries for ease of maintenance (and a small hit on amp hour capacity) or flooded, which are cheaper but require topping off the water in the cells.  I prefer the flooded - more bang for the buck.