2-6 Volt Batteries In Series Instead Of 1-12 Volt (Update!! ) 2024
MDBowHunter reply :
I pretty much fish a few of the reservoirs in my area and with them being eletric motors only, and sonce I can't afford the motor I want. With that being said I've been told by a few other guys that if I run 2-6s in series instead of one twelve that I would get way more run time. FYI I'm running two 55s on the transom to get around with and a 55 24volt bow mounted trolling motor for fishing. If my math is right I have it figured that I could get 6.5 hours of run time at full speed with 2-6s , now doing the same math for 1-12 it figures that I should 2.5 hours run time at full speed. Which seems to be about right, unless it's real windy then obviously I get less. what some of your thoughts on this for the guys who have done it. Thanks in advance for all the replies...
Wayne P. reply :
Your math is flawed.
Two parallel 6V batteries is 6V. None one makes a 6V trolling motor.
Put them in series and you will have 12V.
MDBowHunter reply :
On 3/4/2015 at 1:05 AM, Wayne P. said:Your math is flawed.
Two parallel 6V batteries is 6V. None one makes a 6V trolling motor.
Put them in series and you will have 12V.
I changed it to series that was just a brain fart, and your right they don't make 6volt trolling motor batteries. But they do make 6 volt golf cart batteries that are made to be charged daily and they say they can last up to 10 years.
Wayne P. reply :
Some that have the 48V, 60V. or 72 V electric outboards use the golf cart 6V batteries for their amp capacity.
MDBowHunter reply :
I run my 24 volt bow mount on 2-12s in series and it goes all day on two batteries, though I've never really timed how long that one actually run, plus that only runs on like half speed while fishing...
SHaugh reply :
When it comes to run time, amp hours are amp hours. So if the amp hours on your 2 - 6 volts in series is larger than the 12 volt you will get more run time. The advantage of 6 volt golf cart batteries is that they are made very well, true deep cycle batteries, and designed to last a long time. They will usually hold their capacity over time longer than cheaper 12 volt batteries. So if the cost make sense then I'd go for the 6 volts.
Way2slow reply :
Ok using the same 20 hour rating most deep cycle TM batteries are rated at, the Trojan T105 golf cart battery is going to be 225 Ah, which is just about twice the capacity of most group 27 DC batteries. Because of their size, they will be more efficient at the typical loads you are running so yes, if you get 2 1/2 hours out to two group 27 DC batteries you should get over 6 hours from a bank of GC batteries.
However it's going to take four GC batteries to get 24 volts. They are going to weigh approx 65 pounds each and they are not cheap. Also remember, when running series batteries, they need to be like batteries. You can't mix old with new, different sizes, or different capacities.
Also realize, batteries should be charged at 10% of their capacity, so when running a bank of four GC batteries, you are going to need a 24 volt 20-25 amp charger, an old 24 volt GC charger. Those are not cheap either.
J Francho reply :
I can pretty much guarantee that it's been thought of and doesn't work. Get yourself a marine deep cycle. The only way to increase run time is to add batteries.
SHaugh reply :
It's pretty easy to see if you put what you are talking about side by side... Batteries are pretty much the same stuff no matter what voltage. More stuff = more electricity.
2 of these expensive monsters of course is going to give you more electricity than 1 12 volt marine battery:
http://www.amazon.com/Trojan-Volt-Battery-T-105/dp/B004UJXPYU
but it would be just as easy and cheaper to run parallel 12 volts up to the amp hours you want.
J Francho reply :
I can't think of any reasons to chuck down $1400 to run my trolling motor, lol.
MDBowHunter reply :
I'm currently taking 4-12s to go most of the day, so if I could change 4-12s for 4-6s I figure I should be saving a little weight. ( But I've never weighed a 12 volt battery to see what they weigh) My batteries come out of my boat and get stored in the garage after every trip so why can't I just charge then one at a time? I only fish one day every weekend so the charging time realy ain't a biggie. I know for a fact that guys are running this setup, I'm just tryin to verify what they're telling me as these are guys I see at the ramp pretty much every weekend and not friends. I need to buy 4 new batteries anyway this year and the cost isn't superbad on the 6s, so I was thinking why not, since my batteries are getting old...On 3/4/2015 at 3:17 AM, Way2slow said:Ok using the same 20 hour rating most deep cycle TM batteries are rated at, the Trojan T105 golf cart battery is going to be 225 Ah, which is just about twice the capacity of most group 27 DC batteries. Because of their size, they will be more efficient at the typical loads you are running so yes, if you get 2 1/2 hours out to two group 27 DC batteries you should get over 6 hours from a bank of GC batteries.
However it's going to take four GC batteries to get 24 volts. They are going to weigh approx 65 pounds each and they are not cheap. Also remember, when running series batteries, they need to be like batteries. You can't mix old with new, different sizes, or different capacities.
Also realize, batteries should be charged at 10% of their capacity, so when running a bank of four GC batteries, you are going to need a 24 volt 20-25 amp charger, an old 24 volt GC charger. Those are not cheap either.
MDBowHunter reply :
On 3/4/2015 at 4:03 AM, J Francho said:I can't think of any reasons to chuck down $1400 to run my trolling motor, lol.
Batteries are $150 a piece x 4 is $600, I'm buying 4 new batteries anyway so to a couple hundred more for twice the run time and a longer battery life. Seems almost crazy not to think about it
J Francho reply :
The link above puts them at 350. Its your money. Sounds like you have something else going on - I get more than 12 hours on two 12v and my 80# TM on a 22' bass boat.
Thornback reply :
Are you saying you will be willing to run a 12v trolling motor on 6v? I would not advise that. Two batteries of the same voltage, connected in series, will give you twice the volts but at the duration of just one battery and the same amps as one battery. If you are after duration, and have a 12v trolling motor, you need to connect two 12v batteries in parallel. That gives you 12v at the single battery amp, but twice the duration of one battery. The parallel connection is the same as you use when you jump start a car. Because you are doing electric motors only I would also install a meter on the battery so I could tell how much juice I had left at any given time.
LunkercityVB reply :
The group 27 deep cycle weigh roughly 50lbs each depending on manufacture, the golf cart 6v weigh roughly 65-67lbs. Do the math but wouldnt be too much heavier.
MDBowHunter reply :
https://m.interstatebatteries.com/product/2147384911-4195161613-4195237385-4195237384-2147384722-2147384898-4195161580-4195161608-4195161578-4196125068-4196125103-2147384903/GC2-XHD-UTL
I have a friend that owns an auto parts store and will give them to me at cost since I take him fishing, so the price should be better then that
Two batteries in parellel will double the amps and could possibly catch fire, running them in series doubles volts so you would have the 12 that you need. The extra run time comes from the 6 volt battery, check out the amp hour rating versus the 12.
MDBowHunter reply :
My reasoning for doing this is for me to get wher I'd like to go in the reservoir that I primarily fish I'd need to add 2 more to my already 4 so that would make 6-12s that Id be carrying. If I can double the run time just by switching over to 6s plus stay with 4 batteries instead of 6-12s that would be awesome.
I'm running a 18' extra wide Jon boat with home built decks so the boat is heavy and eats batteries while we're traveling. Like I said when I'm fishing Im running the bow mount, and they last all day.
SHaugh reply :
When it comes to batteries you can almost do it by weight. four 65 lb 6 volt batteries are going to give you more juice than four 55 lb 12 volt batteries. The benefit that you will derive from the golf cart batteries is that they are made from better stuff... which is why they cost more. 6 months down the road the 6 volts might retain more of their capacity than the 12 volts because they are better batteries.
MDBowHunter reply :
Also this boat is set up just the couple reservoirs that I fish with it. Here in MD if we use our boats in the reservoirs here we have to sign stating that the boats will be in no other bodies of water due to them d**n zebra mussells
SHaugh reply :
Reading your post again I don't think you're doing the math right. Each 12 volt battery gives you 105 amp hours. Or 4 batteries x 105 = 420 total amp hours.
Each 6 volt battery pair wired in series will yield 225 amp hours , so you will have a total of 450 amp hours with four 6 volt batteries.
the difference between the 2 is only 30 amp hours. You will not double your run time you will only gain 7% total capacity or run time.
Way2slow reply :
Yes, you are correct in your idea that four GC batteries will give you a longer run time than most any bank of four 12 volt. You also have to look as the Ah rating on the GC batteries, the Trojan T105 is what it says and is one of the most common in industrial equipment, I have installed a bunch, and serviced bunches more. You can buy cheaper, you can usually find Trojans cheaper than that Amazon price. Just be aware, cheaper sometimes means lower quality, and lower capacity.
You mention getting 10 years out of them, well maintained, and for your application, you might, but I would not bet on it. Six to eight, and eight is a stretch, is much more common to see. To get that life from one, a high quality charger is critical. Does not matter if you are charging one at a time or all four in series, you still need a charger that deliver 10% of the capacity, or 20-25 amps at 6, 12, or 24 volts, depending on how you connect it. You also want a charger that is not going to put more than about 7.3 volts per battery into them.
If you charge a battery too slow, it can stratify, the acid and water separate, with concentrated acid at the bottom and a much weaker solution at the top. Charge them at too high of voltage and the plates can be damaged. So, if you are going to spend big bucks for batteries, don't kill them by skimping on the charger. Check around on ebay and golf cart shops, you might find a used 24 volt GC charger at a reasonable price.
I think I have a couple, but they've been sitting around for at least 10 years so I would not put much hope in the capacitors still being good.
Another thing you need to be aware of trying to do one at the time, when a battery is below about 80% charge, it will start to sulphate in less than 24 hours, so you would not want a long delay time between the first and fourth battery.
00 mod reply :
My suggestion is to get th 12v batteries AND a bigger TM. The harder your tm has to work, the longer you have to draw. I have a similar boat, extra wide jon with decks and erveything. I have a 80lb 24v TM and I can go all day in current without using half my battery life.
Jeff
Rented Mule reply :
yes, it has been thought of before, and yes it works.
If'n you been around long enough, some of you may remember in the early 80's a lot of boats were running what was called the Bass one system. 2 6 volt golf cart batteries. I had one of the first 18' Stratos ever made, it came rigged with the bass one system. I used 2 interstate 6 volt golf cart batteries and a cranking battery as well. That was a great system, I ran the boat that way for at least 25 years. Never had a problem, and I fished a lot of electric motor lakes only. At that rate, I went through batteries about every 2.5- 3 years.
But over the years, the popularity of that system faded, but I'd run the same set up again in a minute.
J Francho reply :
Running 4 to 6 batteries for today's 24 and 36 volt systems is pretty unpractical. That's why bleeding edge tech for this is in lithium.
SHaugh reply :
I've wondered about this problem before. I have a 30 lb motor that I can run all day on an $80 Walmart battery... 6 - 8 hours trolling on speed 2. And still have plenty of battery left to get back to the ramp. I bought a 40 lb motor and doing the same thing on the same lake it only lasted about 3 hours and had totally drained my battery dead. (Which is why I remember rowing back to the ramp so well)....
So the question in my mind is why is a 30 lb motor so efficient ? Questions like: Why not try a bank 4 30 lbs 12 volt motors instead of a big 24 volt motor ? Why not just buy a 30 lb motor for your fishing maneuvering and leave the big motor for only traveling ? Some ideas to think about...
J Francho reply :
Depends on the motor. Some have a power optimizer that basically uses short pulses to run the prop, which drains less than a steady draw. You get what you pay for.
Way2slow reply :
A 12 volt TM is not more efficient than a 24 volt, it's just the opposite, a 24 volt motor is approx 25% more efficient that a 12 volt, and a 36 volt is more efficient than a 24. The higher the voltage the more efficient the motor.
Then as J Francho mentioned, for the longest run times you need to get a Motor with PWM or similar type circuit. They do nothing for increasing run time on max speed, but you will see benefits at below max speed, and at 50% and slower, they make a big difference. These are the motors with variable speed control, on not the preset numbers.
Way2slow reply :
I guess if you really wanted to do something, build you a regen circuit for your TM. Then figure out someway to make the prop spin when drifting, and let it be charging the battery. Figure this one out and the patent would be worth a fortune. DC motors become generators when free spinning.
J Francho reply :
Live off the grid, man!
james 14 reply :
Umm...am I missing something or are you under the impression that you are going to replace your 4 12v batteries with 4 6v batteries? You will, in fact, need 8 6v batteries to replace 4 12v batteries.
james 14 reply :
On 3/4/2015 at 5:52 AM, MDBowHunter said:My reasoning for doing this is for me to get wher I'd like to go in the reservoir that I primarily fish I'd need to add 2 more to my already 4 so that would make 6-12s that Id be carrying. If I can double the run time just by switching over to 6s plus stay with 4 batteries instead of 6-12s that would be awesome.
I'm running a 18' extra wide Jon boat with home built decks so the boat is heavy and eats batteries while we're traveling. Like I said when I'm fishing Im running the bow mount, and they last all day.
Bolded and underlined. You will not be staying with 4 batteries.
MDBowHunter reply :
On 3/12/2015 at 3:56 AM, james 14 said:Bolded and underlined. You will not be staying with 4 batteries.
I have 2 -12 volt 55 lb motors and I take 2 12 volt batteries for each motor, Im changing batteries after 2.5 hours. If I change to a 6 volt system, I'll need 2-6s per motor. Which is still 4 batteries total in the rear of my boat, and I'll get 6.5 hours run time. If I stay with a 12 volt system I would need to take 6-12s to get the same run time,!thats 3 per motor with 2 swaps.
james 14 reply :
Okay that makes sense. Didn't want you to get your wires crossed 
MDBowHunter reply :
For all the naysayers I'm darn glad I went my own direction instead of listening to you guys:
Ok for the record I purchased 4 interstate GC batteries and a smart charger through my buddy, the batteries and charger was a total of $400 combined. I took the boat out for its maiden voyage with the new battery setup. I left the bow mount folded up all day and ran exclusively on my two 12 volt 55 lb transom mounts hooked to 4-6 volt batteries, just to get an honest evaluation. Also something to keep in mind there was a 5 to 10 mph wind all day, and when I got home and hooked the batteries to the charger, they all still had 71% charge left on them. So if any of you guys are looking to go further and longer with out swapping out batteries try going this route, I spent a total of $420 counting the jumper wire that's needed to run the 6 volt batteries in series. Where as it would've costed me more to go with enough 12 volt batteries to have the same run time. So this is a success and will change my fishing a ton, for the one or two guys who actually said this was a good idea thank you, as for the naysayers next time don't be so quick to tell someone something your not really sure about yourself.
MDBowHunter reply :
Also to be completely transparent: I ran approx 4hrs with both motors cranked all the way up and the rest of the time was bumping around on about the 2 or 3 power setting.
LuckyGia reply :
On 3/12/2015 at 4:14 AM, MDBowHunter said:I have 2 -12 volt 55 lb motors and I take 2 12 volt batteries for each motor, Im changing batteries after 2.5 hours. If I change to a 6 volt system, I'll need 2-6s per motor. Which is still 4 batteries total in the rear of my boat, and I'll get 6.5 hours run time. If I stay with a 12 volt system I would need to take 6-12s to get the same run time,!thats 3 per motor with 2 swaps.
??? I have a 12v tm with two 12v batteries. I can run 12 hours without a recharge.
Am I reading correctly that you are only getting 2.5 hours out of a charge ?
And it is why I chose my Smokercraft because the tm batteries are up front with the tm.
No extra weight in the back
MDBowHunter reply :
I'm not sure what your trying to say here, but if you read all of the post you'll see that this is an all electric boat with 2-12 volt 55# thrust transom motors for travel and one bow mount 70# thrust motor that is in use while fishing. A standard 12 volt battery has 105 amp hours and a 55 at full blast draws 40 amazing hours which equals roughly 2.5 hours of use.On 4/26/2015 at 10:56 PM, LuckyGia said:??? I have a 12v tm with two 12v batteries. I can run 12 hours without a recharge.
Am I reading correctly that you are only getting 2.5 hours out of a charge ?
And it is why I chose my Smokercraft because the tm batteries are up front with the tm.
No extra weight in the back
My bow mount runs on 2-12s hooked up and n series in the front also, but this has nothing to do with the run time with my transoms
Way2slow reply :
OK, just so you understand, you are somewhat correct on your math, but you failed to account for a couple of other variables. That 105 Ah rating for the TM battery is on a 20 hour rating, meaning they are only using about a five amp load, and the battery will last 20 hours before being fully discharged. As the load on a battery increase, efficiency decreases, so when you start drawing the 35 - 40 amps the TM is at full power, that so called 105 Ah battery becomes about a 70 Ah battery
Many GC batteries are rated on a much lower scale, they don't usually use that useless 20 hour rating. So, to get the same run time as the two 210 Ah, GC batteries, it would probably take closer to three 105 Ah TM batteries to match the two GC batteries.
In my post, I was not trying to say you should not try it, I was just trying to make sure you were aware of what was involved and the potential cost. I know a guy that's running two 36 volt TMs on six GC batteries.
snapperd1 reply :
As a fellow Md fisherman I ran a boat for years exactly how you described. 3 12 volt motors two on the transom and one on the bow. I ran mine on 4 6volt batteries. It is rather complicated but I hooked two togeter in series to make 2 large 12 volt batteries then hooked the big 12 volt batteries together in parrell to make on large 12 volt battery. I had all 3 motors running off of the one large battery pack. It would run like this all day long and could be charged with 1 12 volt charger. It took a long time to charge but it did work. Glad it worked out for you.
WPCfishing reply :
I bought a new 55 pound thrust MK Endura Max.. Huge difference over my 1-5 click 46 pound thrust Endura. I have more power and it draws less ah. Depending on my day out fishing I'll use a series 24 deep cycle battery or my series 29 deep cycle or both. Last season I had a few days out where I drained the 24 battery and had to paddle in. That problem has been solved.
The other addition I made was a front and rear anchor system. Keeps me planted and I'm not wasting battery life or fishing time. I'm aware the 29 will try to charge the 24 if the 24 drains down while I'm out there. To date this has not occurred. I also used tin coated copper 6 gauge wire for my leads with red Anderson connectors and MK 60 amp circuit breakers.
If anyone out there knows if the 2 different batteries can or will cause damage to the motor let me know.
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