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I assume that these days its mainly a question of cost….. with a 12V battery typically being much cheaper than two 6V batteries.
For info I know that the modern Fiat Punto 12V battery is roughly the same size as a 6V as it’s quite a common conversion to use one in an 1950’s MGA instead of the original two 6V as it still fits in the MGA 6V battery carrier. Whilst in an MGA a 12v single battery does seem to have sufficient capacity to start a B series engine, sometimes two Punto batteries are connected together in parrallel to increase the amp-hour capacity
Interestingly I own a 2 litre which now has a modern 12V 70 Ah battery, but looking back to Arnold Daveys “2 litre In detail” book (page 37) it looks like a 12 volt battery was originally fitted ie”12 volt, negative earth 11 plate tall”.
As am sure you are well aware, the M45 originally had two 6V 90 Ah in series fitted under the rear seat (Arnold Davey’s “4.5 litre In detail” book page 47)…. so not sure why they would move from a single 12V (in the 1920’s) to two 6V (in the 1930’s) but assume/guess either due to increased amp-hour capacity or weight distribution.
I swapped two 6 volt batteries for a 12 volt battery in my M45. Plenty of options available and I have found having a modern 12 volt battery is much more reliable.
I always assumed two 6 volt batteries were used, as a 12 volt of similar capacity would be rather heavy. However, when speaking with the proprietor of Lincon Batteries, he averred that two 6 volt batteries were more powerful than a single 12 volt battery. I can’t see how that can be the case, though. These batteries are 1.5 volt cells (individual batteries), linked by bus bars (connecting links) … so, 4 cells for a 6 volt, and 8 for a 12. The cable connection between the two 6 volt batteries needed to link them to make 12 volts is surely none other than a bus bar, so how extra power results is … mysterious!
On this topic; does anyone have period pictures of the original battery fitment in a V12 or LG6? I have the steel cross straps, and the lugs for those are still extant … but I can’t envisage how these straps actually held the original batteries!
Ah ha, the proprietor of Lincon Batteries eh?… lovely batteries but he’s a grumpy bugger! 😉
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