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Old 06-01-2014, 01:50 PM   #1
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Deep Cycle Batteries

I am wanting to increase my battery capacity for when we dry camp. I would like to get other opinions on using 2 6-volt golf cart batteries in series or 2 12-volt marine deep cycle batteries in parallel. Is there an advantage to either set-up. Also, what brand batteries are best? (I have been told Trojan are best) What is the proper way to maintain deep cycle batteries for the longest life? Thanks for any input!
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Old 06-01-2014, 05:05 PM   #2
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My personal belief is that 6 volts in series will provide you longer life and an increase in total amp hours for your bank. Battery brand is also a personal preference. Trojan T-105's have long been considered the gold standard. You may also want to investigate Crown batteries. They come highly recommended from a source I trust and will be my next choice, CR-260 model (260 amp hours).

The metric to look at will be "Amp Hours". You should first determine how much power you really need. There are a couple of articles I recommend that are older, but give everyone a good start to understanding 12 volt systems. Check out these links and read up before you start spending money.

http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volta.htm

I currently use Costco golf cart batteries. I have four of them. Each paired in series to make 12-volts and the connect the pairs to each other in parallel to maintain a 12-volt system. Each battery is 220 amp hours. When you put two 220 amp hour batteries in series, you have a 220 amp hour bank. In series you do NOT double the capacity. The four batteries combined give me a 440 amp hour bank. I bought these in April 2010 and stay on top of the maintenance (checking fluid levels & never running below 50% charged). They are doing great and we use them hard. I think we spent $90/battery, but it's been a while and I can't remember if that was with or without the core returns.

Good luck researching and best of luck to you. It truly is a personal preference based on what you feel will suit your needs best.
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Old 06-01-2014, 05:46 PM   #3
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Thank you Big Sky for some great information. I will probably go with the golf cart batteries. Thanks also for the links to marxrv.com. That is just what I was looking for. LW
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Old 06-01-2014, 06:57 PM   #4
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I personally debated GC2 6v vs Grp24 12v quite a bit and determined the dual Grp 24 were best for me. Combined they provide 170Ahr which is plenty for me to get through 24 hrs and not even come close to 50% discharge. I already owned a Honda EU2000i that comes whenever we don't have electric hookup. Some folks who don't want to buy/haul a generator or invest in solar seem to be trying to get 3-4 days between charges, but a day or two is more than enough for us.

Another thing that factored in for me was the portability of Grp 24 batteries. They are much lighter than GC2 and typically have a handle on them. This mattered to me because I pull the batteries whenever the TT is in storage so I can keep them on my battery tender in the garage.

Lastly was cost. I bought my batteries at Costco for ~$70 each and boxes Grp 24 boxes from amazon for $7 each. Not a whole lot cheaper than dual GC2s and gc2 boxes, but cost along with all the items dual GRP24 was just a better option for me.
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Old 06-01-2014, 08:35 PM   #5
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I have (4) 12 v group 24s.

Partially because the new 5er came with two, and I just added 2 more, but having done that, I have the ability to remove any 1 from the string should one go bad and still produce 12 volts.

If you only have (2) 6 volt batteries, and you have one go down, you don't have the option to remove the bad one from the array.

Age old discussion about the pros and cons.
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Old 06-13-2014, 11:08 PM   #6
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We bought 2 Interstate 6 volt batteries a year ago and finally dry camped over Memorial weekend. We were out 4 nights and were extremely impressed. We both use CPAP machines all night, ran the water pump, a few lights and a little heat. Not that the trailer gauge is totally accurate but we only went down 1 peg. In the past with our 12 volts we'd have to run the generator once or twice being out that long.
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Old 06-14-2014, 02:29 AM   #7
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I just bought two GC 6volt batteries from Costco. I recently read that it is important to discharge them to 50 percent in the first 10-20 cycles, rather than multiple small discharges. I will be boon docking more in the next few years and that was the reason I purchased them. I also found out that the T-105s and than the Crowns were the the best.
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Old 06-14-2014, 07:15 AM   #8
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Lets look at it this way... I will use the TROJAN batteries as they have a great specs guide with all the info available on it.

T105 6VDC GP24 GC2 BATTERY weighs 62 lbs
447 minutes (7.45HRS) capacity producing 6VDC @ 25AMPS
225 AMP HOURS @ the 20HZ rate
Requires two in series to produce 12VDC
When two are connected in SERIES the specs are
447 minutes (7.45HRS) capacity producing 12VDC @ 25AMPS
225 AMP HOURS @ the 20HZ rate
Cost around $80 or $160 for two



27TMH GP27 12VDC BATTERY weighs 61LBS
200 minutes (3.3HRS) capacity producing 12VDC @ 25AMPS
115 AMP HOURS @ the 20HZ rate
When two are connected in PARALLEL the specs are
400 minutes (6.6HRS) capacity producing 12VDC @ 25AMPS
230 AMP HOURS @ the 20HZ rate
Cost around $180 or $360 for two


So in this case you will get more capacity and longer operation in hours from the two 6VDC batteries in series then two 12VDC batteries in parallel for half the cost.

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Old 06-15-2014, 11:45 PM   #9
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On the West Coast in Canada the Trojan T-105s 6v sell for about 180 dollars each. That includes a 20 dollar discount for your old batteries. That's why I went with the Costco batteries which were half that price.
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Old 06-16-2014, 08:16 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Murphie View Post
On the West Coast in Canada the Trojan T-105s 6v sell for about 180 dollars each. That includes a 20 dollar discount for your old batteries. That's why I went with the Costco batteries which were half that price.
X2 for California

Trojan T105 best price I have seen is $150 each.
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