T&T: Batteries in series

[Peter Bennett]

Tuesday, August 11, 2009, 7:50:42 PM, Dennis wrote:

D> O.K. here I go again, stupid me, how come my 8 volt batteries are wired to
D> give 32 V if the negative is connected indirectly to ground ?? are they not in
D> series??\
D> DM

No - only the negative terminal of one battery is connected to ground.
 In your case, your four 8 volt batteries are connected in series to
make one big 32 volt battery.

On my boat, I have two pairs of 6 volt "golf cart" batteries, each
pair connected in series to act as a single 12 volt battery. The
negative terminals of one battery of each pair are connected to vessel
ground.  These batteries together make up my house battery bank.

I also have two 12 volt Group 27 batteries connected in parallel, with
their negative terminals connected to vessel ground.  These batteries
together make up my start battery bank.

As the negative terminals of both banks are connected to ground, I
can't connect them together in series to get 24 volts.


-- 
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI    Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Ennos 31 "Honeycomb"
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter 
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca