Solar Charging two 6V AGM....concerns?

[mgm]

I have a Go Power Solar System with 445W of power that puts out about 25AMPs. I have changed all my lights to LED and am now looking to upgrade my batteries to AGMs to gain some additional AMP hours and a longer discharge rate.

Specifically I have been looking at Lifeline AGM 6V 4CT, wich have 220 AMP hours a piece and wont require me to alter my stock battery box.

My questions is after reading about the difference in discharge rates from 12V to 6V batteries should i consider changing my battery charger as well? If i upgrade to 6V...

[alumascoupe]

couldn't you just wire the batteries in series to achieve 12 volts ? Sounds like you have more than 1 batt. already so any battery bank with an even number should be capable of 12 volts if wired properly. No personal experience but I've heard AGM's are also able to accept a charge faster than conventional lead/acid, not sure if it's as cost effective as lead/acid but sometimes the extra gain is worth the extra cost if you're limited in ability to collect enough amps fast enough.

[morgandc]

For longer life of AGM batteries, you want a charger that you can set to an AGM charging profile. The AGM batteries will be in series for 12V and will charge faster than lead acid.

[mgm]

I know I can wire them in series, but I won't gain any significant amperage when I do that. I guess my question is if I wire them in parallel if that will cause any issue with my stock battery charger.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by mgm

I know I can wire them in series, but I won't gain any significant amperage when I do that. I guess my question is if I wire them in parallel if that will cause any issue with my stock battery charger.

If you wire 6V batteries in parallel your output voltage will only be about 6V.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by mgm

I know I can wire them in series, but I won't gain any significant amperage when I do that. I guess my question is if I wire them in parallel if that will cause any issue with my stock battery charger.

You MUST wire them in series. They are 6 volt batteries. You have a 12 volt system in the AS, and a 12 volt converter/charger. Two 6 volt batteries in series will give you the 12 volts you require.

If you connect them in parallel, you will have a 6 volt battery bank hooked to a 12 volt charger and AS system. It will not work. Period.

Don't worry about Amps. When you series the batteries you will double the capacity of the system.

I have been using two 6 volt golf cart stile batteries in series for many years. They simply work better than any other combination for the same money.

A twelve volt battery is simply 6 two volt cells in series (wired internally). A 6 volt battery is simply 3 two volt cells wired in series (again, wired internally).

The advantage of 6 volt golf cart stile batteries is that the cells themselves are larger with more capacity in each cell, and are more rugged in design overall.