6 volt batteries

[donreitz]

There's plenty of information at this forum and elsewhere suggesting that two 6 volt deep-cycle batteries (golf cart batteries in particular) connected in series offer longer service than a single or even two 12 volt batteries connected in parallel. I've gotten a fair amount of information on the subject from the web, especially the Trojan Battery web site. But what sounds good in theory may or may not make sense in practice. To those of you who have actually used a 2x6 volt battery system, does it, in fact, offer superior performance? Also, since golf cart batteries are of a different size than auto batteries, are there battery cases available to protect them from the elements when traveling?
Thanks,
Don

[emam]

We have 4 of them, so my comments might not count, but they fit fine in the standard case the normal 12 volt batteries fit in.

I know that our standard 12 volt deep cycle battery we had when we first got the coach would last us about a half a night if we were using the heater.

With the 4 6 volts, we can go for about 4 days with no sun to recharge them. So I guess daily total would double the stock battery?

[Tweety]

Pat, When your batteries last 4 days, can you give an example of the typical appliances you'd be using in that time? We were looking into that type of battery and they are sure expensive! For now we went to WalMart and got another (& better than the original) 12V, to hold us through our 3 nights in Shenandoah at the end of this month. We plan on using the heat just for a cycle in the morning if its even necessary; maybe a light at night for a couple hours; the water pump for 1 shower a day (Steve will use the bath house); what am I forgetting? Steve has a switch on the radio so it can be easily disconnected. He estimates we can go 4 days like this.

[pwb01]

I can say for sure that 2 good deep cycle 12 volt batteries using one or two lights at a time and being careful not to leave them on, running the water pump as required, and a vent fan once and a while, a TV and radio last us 4 nights without a problem. I've used the same combination with the furnace for 2 nights and still had plenty of power to spare.

Last weekend using an additional (3rd) battery, I went Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night with the furnace on one night. I also used a 12v TV at least an hour each night and a Satellite radio receiver along with my units radio for several hours total. Monday I saw 60% left on my meter and a reading of (g) good on the wall.

[frank]

Originally Posted by donreitz

There's plenty of information at this forum and elsewhere suggesting that two 6 volt deep-cycle batteries (golf cart batteries in particular) connected in series offer longer service than a single or even two 12 volt batteries connected in parallel. I've gotten a fair amount of information on the subject from the web, especially the Trojan Battery web site. But what sounds good in theory may or may not make sense in practice. To those of you who have actually used a 2x6 volt battery system, does it, in fact, offer superior performance? Also, since golf cart batteries are of a different size than auto batteries, are there battery cases available to protect them from the elements when traveling?
Thanks,
Don

Don,

I'm about to add two (or four, haven't decided yet) 6V Golf Cart batteries to the Sunline here.

For me, the real attraction to these batteries is their construction. The lead plates inside are much more 'beefy' when compared to your run-of-the-mill 'deep cycle', clearly evidenced by the size and weight differences between the GCs vs. a 'deep cycle'. They are built this way because of the intended service - charged daily by people who want to ride around and not maintain batteries. Anyway, the construction should yield a longer lifespan with some care, and people are claiming a good 4-5+ years out of a pair.

Battery boxes are available for many configurations, but like Emam said, your easy to find / existing boxes just might work out fine.

- Frank

[donreitz]

Thanks for the replies folks and Frank, keep us up on how your 6 volts work out. I'm very interested.
Don