8 volt battery

[azmichael1]

I have pretty much given up on the 6 to 12 volt conversaion on my '48 p-15 but am now kinda wondering about how an 8 volt battery would for just that little extra bit of power. Has anyone here used an eight volt battery with unaltered 6 volt system? If so, how did it work for you,when it needs charged do you use 6 volt or 12 volt , where are they available aand about how much do they cost ?

I actually used a golf car battery a few years ago and it seemed to work pretty good so if eight volt car battery turns out not to be the way to go , maybe I'll go back to golf car battery..............I just get tired of yelling "fore" everytime I start it. Any suggestions,opinions,personal experiences on the matter will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks !

Mike

'48 Plymouth p-15 four door Delux

Apache Junction, Arizona

[silvernickel3]

Source is a "Tractor Supply" or similar farm equipment store. Don't know this for sure but I'm told you have to adjust the regulator a bit. I'll ask my Sr. Dodge mechanic and send more info later.

silvernickel3

PM address:

harry.hill19@yahoo.com

[ptwothree]

Why not just fix the 6 volt system instead? An 8 volt battery is a bandaid for an ailing electrical system. Not to mention the possibility of catching your ride on fire and increased unreliability of a generator and light bulbs running on the edge of failure most of the time.

Wiring in good condition, tight clean connections and a hot 6 volt battery is what you really need.....Oh, and a winning lottery ticket would be nice too!

Now if you're adding A/C then that's another story...........

[Rusty O'Toole]

A six volt Optima battery will give you the extra power and last longer to boot.

The 8 volt battery was an old upgrade for 6 volt cars. I have used one and it helped, in my case it was a 52 New Yorker with the first Hemi V8. The 6 volt battery struggled a bit to start it, the 8 volt did better.

Looking back maybe all I needed was a new 6 volt battery.

The 8 volt is supposed to give extra power to overcome resistance in old wiring systems and generally wake up the old electrical system. The only change you need to make is to increase the voltage regulator output from 8 volts to 10.2.

[Robert Horne]

Last year I went to Tractor Supply and bought a 6 volt battery with alot of

cranking amps. It has worked very good. My test volt meter reads

6 volts before starting, and 7 volts after starting....

[OldDad67]

This is an age old discussion on all cars regardless of make. A good 6 volts system works just fine, and doesn't need an 8 volt battery. But if you want to add any new stuff like a CD player, A/C, Mp3 player then 12 volts is the only way to go in my opinion. It's very easy to do and "good" 6 volt wire handles 12 volts with no problem since the amperage load is much less with 12 volts. It's a matter of choice, I have a 52 Chev besides my 49 P15 and I love my 12 volt system with a 6 volt starter that really spins my motor over. I'm going to do the same on the P15. Just my take and since it's my ride I'll do it my way. Didn't Frank somebody sing that song?

[msawdey44]

Eons ago, I had a '55 Chrysler Windsor as a daily driver (graduate school--a $25 car had its attractions). That was the last year of 6 volts for Chrysler, and starting the 301 V8 out on the Illinois prairie was a challenge. I, too, went to Tractor Supply, but simply came back with a huge 6 volt battery. I think it was a group 4, probably for some ancient diesel truck or tractor, about 250 ampere-hours. I don't think I ever failed to get the car going. And, yes, clean connections and good-sized battery cables are a must. On my current project ('50 Dodge Wayfarer), I went with 12 volts from the start, to allow for modern accessories. I found the generator-to-alternator mount (for a GM one-wire unit) on eBay, from one of the suppliers of stuff for antique tractors. They also had the wide pulley to go on the GM alternator to accommodate the wide belt on the '50. The conversion wasn't all that difficult, lets me have a CD player, and the starting is whip fast....