Batteries?

[vjswhippet]

My sprinter motor home came with a solar panel and 2 batteries. I’ve never seen the charging light come on even on the sunniest days. My husband pulled one of the batteries and tested it and then the second one. Both say they have a short in them. Then realized they are both golf cart batteries. Is this ok ? I thought for trailers, campers, motor homes you used marine batteries!

[opnspaces]

vjswhippet wrote:
KD4UPL thanks for that tip !! there are 3 caps .. so 6V is the answer !!

Great, now you guys know. Here's a picture of how 6v batteries are wired in series to get the 12 volts that the trailer needs. If your husband disconnects the jumper wire between the batteries and checks the voltage on one battery only it should be reading 6 volts. But with the jumper connected, if he he measures the positive and negative that go to the trailer he should get 12 volts.

[pnichols]

pianotuna wrote:
Phil,

Deep Cycle batteries were common before 1955. Truly deep cycle jars have thick plates. Golf cart fit that description well.

Deep cycle batteries have more space under the plates. Probably more than a golf cart jar.

I remember looking at wind charger batteries as a child. They were glass, tall, and had at least 4 inches of space beneath the plates.

Thanks Don, for the info above.

Now ... I wonder what the difference is between deep cycle AGM batteries and non-deep-cycle AGM batteries?

[pianotuna]

Phil,

Deep Cycle batteries were common before 1955. Truly deep cycle jars have thick plates. Golf cart fit that description well.

Deep cycle batteries have more space under the plates. Probably more than a golf cart jar.

I remember looking at wind charger batteries as a child. They were glass, tall, and had at least 4 inches of space beneath the plates.

[2oldman]

pnichols wrote:
what is the difference between a golf cart battery and a deep cycle battery?

GC batteries *are* deep cycles.

[pnichols]

The above conversions got me thinking: For any given capacity and voltage, what is the difference between a golf cart battery and a deep cycle battery?

[vjswhippet]

KD4UPL thanks for that tip !! there are 3 caps .. so 6V is the answer !!

[vjswhippet]

CA Traveler .. there is a little golf cart out of Florica the Cricket .. uses 3 12V batteries ...

[CA_Traveler]

KD4UPL wrote:
Golf cart batteries are great for RV house loads. I don't know if anyone makes a 12 volt golf cart battery but I've never seen one or heard of one. If you really have 12 volt golf cart batteries you have something extremely rare.

You prompted me to Google 12V GCs. There are a variety including Trojan's T-12xx deep cycle flooded GCs. Perhaps they are becoming more popular.

[bobndot]

I don't know if anyone makes a 12 volt golf cart battery but I've never seen one or heard of one

12v deep cycles are avl for 48v systems. More space saving.

https://deepcyclebatterystore.com/12-volt-48-volt-carts/

[opnspaces]

vjswhippet wrote:
CA Traveler .. I asked him. He says they are 12V he tested them individually

Easiest thing to do is count the water fill caps on each battery. Three caps is a six volt battery. Six caps is a 12 volt battery.

[KD4UPL]

Golf cart batteries are great for RV house loads. I don't know if anyone makes a 12 volt golf cart battery but I've never seen one or heard of one. If you really have 12 volt golf cart batteries you have something extremely rare.
I strongly suspect they are 6v. It's easy to tell. If there are 3 caps on top they are 6 volt. If there are 6 caps on top they are 12 volt. There are some 8 volt golf cart batteries, these would have 4 caps but shouldn't be used in an RV.

[2oldman]

vjswhippet wrote:
where do you get the 17 years old 2oldman ?.

From your join date.

[vjswhippet]

CA Traveler .. I asked him. He says they are 12V he tested them individually

[vjswhippet]

where do you get the 17 years old 2oldman ? When I bought it last year they said they had been replaced the year before so I'm assuming around 2 years old.