Connecting different batteries in parallel/series (AKIO TV)

In this video, we take a look at the curious topic of mixing different batteries in one pack.

(AKIO TV) MMXXIII

[timdavis]

You've answered more of my questions in 5 minutes then RPS Solar did in the past 2 weeks. After getting conflicting and contradicting answers from them I finally just gave up and started researching this for myself. Thanks for an easy to understand explanation.

[peterwilson]

Thank you for very simply and precisely answering all of my questions and correcting my misconceptions. Thank you very much :)

[USL.Website]

Thank you for making this video and taking the time to do so, I love the water example you made, you explained it all in 5min flat. 😃 You are a great teacher indeed!!

[boxcutter]

You are obviously on track for a successful/lucrative career, whether it’s in a more traditional engineering role, teacher, or YouTube creator… it’s appreciated when we get this type of content that caters to small financially constrained tinkerers, before high end sponsors are included & most resource constraints are merely a memory.

[jws]

Nicely presented in a very clear and concise manner.
There are a couple of Youtube content creators who need to view this. There are some that have these concepts SO wrong and it is spreading false information.

[emmarioperalta]

Within a minute of you talking I spontaneously Subscribed.. Great explanation and well delivered words.. Keep it up Sir..

[gunnuts]

Good explanation. I understand it's not ideal but I have a few optimas that are different capacity. Now I know where to start and implement safety precautions when locating my bank.

[aaronsmith]

Ive heard you can wire 2 lifepo4 batteries in parallel, but wired in series is problematic for keeping the 2 batteries balanced to each other. Also best to even use same capacity batteries together in parallel.

[keegoon]

Yup! just what I needed - brilliant video

[desrender]

I am a cheap Charlie. My camper truck has 2 starter batteries and 2 deep-cycle batteries, all wired in parallel, off different capacities and ages. My feed to my inverter goes off the biggest deep-cycle battery. My oldest battery is coming up 5 years old and still good. My deep-cycle batteries alone cannot run my microwave, but with the starter batteries in the circuit, I have no problem.
The only issue I have is to regularly clean the terminals, but I do monitor their voltage and condition. I now rely on cheap reconditioned batteries and have found they work well. I am sure a lot of the crap about using the same capacity and age batteries is a sales gimmick

I agree most of thinks you said but thinks to consider in connecting batteries in parallel also age and capacity effect.
- When you connect different age batteries in parallel older batteries will drain the newer ones over time.
- When you connect different capacity batteries in parallel, smaller batteries have longer time on charging absoption and bulk. This doesnt have too much effect on 100Ah with 105 Ah battery but it will destroy fast 100 Ah battery with 20Ah battery.
- Also different brand batteries even they have the same chemistery they have different plates and different charging charesteristics. This will also increse the chance of 1 battery to supply other battery.
- Also when you are discharging, if the batteries has huge difference in capacity and you pull near the limit amps always biggest one tries to compansate the smaller one. This will kill the big one because when you stop discharhing the big one will compansate the smaller one and big one will make work harder which will.

Batteries in parallel work as "weakest link" and weak ones damage the strong ones over time. =)


But of course if you have batteries lying around and one is not enough, you can parallel them like this and take the most juice out of them. Better than nothing =)

[tabprintt]

I just need to say thank you for the amazing video. Well explained!

[marcusmobley]

Helpful demo display, thank you. Great teacher.

[SPRAYPAVE]

Very helpful. I connected 12x2 volt batteries in series = 24 volts. 8x 1000ah + 4x600ah. Knowing it's not quite right, but not knowing exacts. So now I've got buy more of the same ah to match. Hope I can fix before a fire!!

[autobotsolutions]

Nailed it, thank you for solving my problem.

[practicaltactical]

Very informative! It is what I needed to know! Thanks

[robertgarrett]

Thank You. You explained the connections exactly as I thought they should be. (But I wasn’t 100% positive.)😂

[RobbieLValentine]

WOW! This is the first video I've watched that's very easy to understands. I have one question though as I have heard conflicting info. Can I connect two 130 ah Lead Acid with a 105 ah Lead Acid battery to have a total of three batteries with a combined amperage of 365?? Thank you so much!

[MDogg]

Hi, will a 6V 208Ah battery and 5- 6V 225Ah battery connected in series for 36V be a big problem? I'm having trouble getting a direct replacement for a bad battery on my golf cart, and I don't really want the expense of having to by all new batteries. I know you said capacities should be the same in series, but I'm thinking the older 225Ah batteries may have some degradation any way. Thanks

[RobertoGamboaEstrada]

Superb Video, you answer all my doubts.