[VAC] Re: Electrical System...

["Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer" <geraldj@xxxxxxxx>]

If you keep the two batteries in the trailer decently matched (same age,
same maker, same size, same specific gravity), they will give you the
most energy wired in solid parallel. The internal construction in each
cell is plates in parallel. Paralleling batteries is the same concept
but with copper wire involved. The diode drop will cost you probably 40
or 50% of capacity by not getting the two batteries charged. Worse with
the two isolated batteries you'd have to split and make a perfect split
of your trailer loads to get full energy from both batteries. You'll get
more utility from them paralleled without diodes.

There will come a time when one battery discharges into the other. Then
its time for a new PAIR of batteries. It probably would have happened at
about the same time of life with one big battery, but two fit the
battery space better than one.

Gerald J.