#12 volt battery rechargeable series#

As a rule, deep-cycle lead-acid batteries are designed to withstand regular discharge cycles up to 50% (i.e. “Deeply discharged” is a little ambiguous.

In a typical RV setup we usually want to be able to more fully discharge the battery, especially when charging may be intermittent, whether charging while driving the vehicle and then stopping for some time, or charging from solar panels and maybe having to wait a few days before there’s enough sunshine to charge again.īatteries designed to be deeply discharged between charging cycles are referred to as deep-cycle batteries. Car batteries are designed to provide a short, sharp cranking current, and then be immediately recharged by the running engine – they’re not intended for deep discharge. How much is “too far” depends on the battery’s construction. Lead-acid batteries may be permanently damaged if allowed to discharge too far. So why do we still use them? Other than being low cost, they have the significant advantage of being able to supply the large cranking current (hundreds of amps) required to start an engine. This is the good old-fashioned car battery, consisting of lead plates sitting in a bath of sulphuric acid electrolyte, and are a type of flooded lead-acid (FLA) battery, also known as wet batteries.Īlthough modern car batteries are mostly “maintenance free” (no need to regularly top up the electrolyte), they remain very heavy and have a low energy density - they do not store much energy for their size. Many improvements have been made since then, although the basic chemistry (lead reacting with sulphuric acid) remains unchanged. Lead-acid batteries are the oldest type of rechargeable battery, having been invented in the 1800s. And eight LiFePO 4 cells produce 25.6 V, suitable for “24 volt” setups. Four of them gives 12.8 V, which makes it feasible to use them in “12 volt” installations. Similarly, “lithium” (LiFePO 4) batteries consist of 3.2 V cells. But you’ll never see a 1.5 V lead-acid battery, because each cell is 2 V and you can’t have three quarters of a cell. This is why lead-acid batteries are always a multiple of 2 volts – a 6 volt battery consists of three cells, a 12 volt battery has six cells, and a 24 volt battery has twelve cells.

#12 volt battery rechargeable series#

The cells are usually connected in series, their voltages adding to produce the overall battery voltage.įor example, lead-acid batteries have a nominal cell voltage of 2.1 V, and six cells are connected in series to give a nominal battery voltage of 12.6 V. Some chemistries allow the battery to be recharged we’ll look at a few of those most suitable for typical 12 volt recreational vehicle usage.Ī battery consists of one or more cells. They can be made from various materials, which determine the battery’s chemistry, and may also be constructed in different ways that affect their performance. Batteries come in many shapes and sizes - and types.