6 volt to 12 volt conversion

[westcoast redneck]

Well it's a bit of a hiatus since  I've been here. Got a boat & have been doing the bulk of my spare time Marine camping.  Doing a trip in March so have to get the old brave up to snuff.  Batteries need replacing & got a great deal ( free) on 6 heavy duty 6 volt batteries.  4 for the coach & 2 for the engine.  Measured it out & they should all Just fit in the tray.  My question is just how do I do this right & has anyone else done this?  Don't want to make a mistake.  Could bugger things up . Pictures if possible would be great.  Thanks for any input,

[Froggy1936]

Hi Stranger, Welcome back.  On the 6 volt batteries you connect (with a short cable) a + to a - Positive to a negative, on 2 of the batteries.  This will give you 1 12Volt battery with the positive on 1 batt & the negative on the other.  This is the engine battery setup.  For the coach batterys do the same 2 batteries at a time when installing them though you will have 2 pos  & 2 neg terminals open on these.   You hook the 2 pos together and the 2 neg  together.  Now these are your 12 V house connections - Frank

[Oz]

That is exactly the set-up.  I ran 2, huge forklift 6v batteries for my coach because they are designed to have greater storage capcities under heavy loads.

[jkilbert]

just a quick correction....got it correct with the engine batteries. when you connect batteries in series, that is pos to neg, like putting batteries in your flashlight you increase the voltage. 2 x 6v = 12v, 2 x 12v = 24 v, ect. when you connect them parallel, pos to pos, neg to neg like jumpstarting a car you keep the same voltage but increase your storage capacity.

[Froggy1936]

West coast redneck here is the diagram you needed - Frank

[westcoast redneck]

Cool thanks. All hooked up.4 for aux & 2 for motor.Great power. Just short on putting the 4th on the main battery platform .Put the last one inside under the seat ..Hope it's not a problem. Putting it in a battery box.