Okay, Judy and I hit the hay again at just before three this morning and now we’re up again. So here’s the second post of the day. Yesterday was a great day to complete a project which was accomplished along with Mikee’s supervision. The project was finishing the battery upgrades to the rig.
Being that the “old batteries” were five and a half years old they needed replacement, however, it wasn’t a one for one change out. We replaced the two twelve volt batteries with two six volt batteries. There was another twist in the installation as well – the coach was originally designed for one battery, but we ordered it with two so the dealer installed a another battery box which they placed in a second location. Then they wired the batteries together in parallel using undersized wire which we upgraded last year when we installed the inverter.
So, being that we wanted the batteries to be in one place, we built a new battery box that would accommodate both batteries using a cheap plastic box from Walmart. We had enough cable length on the existing cables to support this new location, but we did have to add to the hose that ventilates the batteries. Good old Home Depot had all the required supplies. The project is now complete (a much “cleaner” installation if I must say so) with the new batteries fully charged and waiting for their “boondocking” test. Another item scratched off the Ol’ Ta Do List. The next project? Redoing the cabinet under the desk.
Take Care Until Next Time - - - - - -
Hey Darrell, as a result of your post, I got an education this morning on coach batteries. I didn't understand why it was a good thing to replace 2 12-volt batteries with 2 6-volt batteries. My simple blonde brain said that you reduces your available voltage so our coffee time this morning was spend on a quick coarse on coach batteries.
ReplyDeleteOur 2 6-volt batteries are now 4 years old and our boondocking times here in AZ have proven they are getting week too. Replacement sounds like a lot of work so I've suggested getting a new coach! ;-)
Yes, I can certainly understand the confusion. 2+2=4, 6+6=12, and 12+12=24 unless you're dealing with batteries. We had two Group 24 twelve volt batteries which we replaced with two six volt golf cart batteries and have more power than before. How does that add up? Mikee could explain it to you, but I don't have a clue. I just know that the two 6 volt golf cart batteries have as much power as two 12 volt group 29 batteries (which are bigger than the group 24's that we took out). Simple math doesn't work here, however, simple math does work when it comes to budgets or else we would have bought a new diesel pusher with four 6 volt golf cart batteries. ;0
ReplyDeleteI am planning on doing the same. I think my battery case will hold two 6 volt batteries? I measured and it looks good. I will just have to come up with the money to buy the batteries.
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