switching from 12v to 16v

[dblovah51]

Is the power gains worth going from a large bank of D3100s to 14v set up? I'm asking for a team mate who's running two dc5.0k n wants to rid his bank of 9 3100s to 12 d1400 n alt.

[alaskanzx5]

I can't exactly answer the question all that well but

With running 14v batts you would have to charge around 15.5-16.2v. So in theory if voltage drop bring you down to 14.5-15v you may or may nit notice a difference. If voltage drop on the 12v system is down to say 12.5-13v then basically you would have around a 2v gain.

Basically imo, if its for daily its not really worth the money when for less you can upgrade the current electrical for better voltage to help sustain the life of the equipment.

If for comps and is purely spl orientated then its possible to see a tenth or few on the meter maybe more but only trying will really tell you that answer.

[dblovah51]

YEa it's a daily driver but does comps as well, but no not strickly spl chasing a tenth of a db, but significant gains would be the goal

[alaskanzx5]

What kind if gains you can get I don't know.

I would imagine not much more then what most could expect to gain from an upgraded electrical from stock to hi alt and agm batt.

Its like if you have 2k rms and drop to 10.7v then do a simple upgrade and drop only to 12.7. Some say from that you can gain 3db some Sa maybe a few tenths. Only trying it out will tell you what if ant you will gain by increasing by a few volts.

[dblovah51]

Appreciate the response, I personally wouldn't go through that harassment of sellin those batts I'd just try gaining efficiency else where, but I haven't compared the two electrical so I came here to get input from y'all

[alaskanzx5]

Imo, he would be better off spending less on building different boxes, upgrading his current elec using stuff like dual input adapters, more wiring or more alt.

To change from a 12v to 14v system can get spendy real fast. Higher cost on batts, external regulator, step down module, and I'm sure I'm missing something.

[hispls]

The only time I'd recommend going up to 18V charging system is if you know what you're doing and NEED to replace your existing battery bank anyway. To swap out batteries that are still good for someone elses used batteries seems pretty sketchy. It's likely that you'll be really disappointed on your return on investment as far as how much you'll see on the meter vs how much you spend.

[alaskanzx5]

He was actual talking about running 14v batteries meaning charging at 16v not 18v. But still all the same.

[dblovah51]

Not 18v he's wanting to switch from 12 to 14 hispl, alaskan he is walled so tearing it down might be sketchy, he's doing 154.4 with 4 dc xL15"on two 5k, just wanting more I guess

[alaskanzx5]

Tell him to compare the cost to upgrade to a 14v system to the cost of selling his amps, buying 1 bigger or 2amps totaling more power, and a few more batts and wiring.