Battery Isolator: need help (1 Viewer)

[fjatheart]

I'm trying to figure out how to use a battery isolator. I want to run/crank the vehicle off one bank of batteries and have a deep cycle battery to run accessories. Interstate battery customer service said a deep cycle battery is designed for a slow drain and slow charge with low amps. I'm using this in a diesel truck that puts out 60+ amps and supposedly that is too much and kill the battery before it's time. If this is so, is there an isolator that you can be adjusted down so there is a minimum charge from the alternator?

Thanks for the help.

 

[bsmith123]

deep cycle battery

Well a lot of people use em just like you are saying,

Starting batteries can put out a lot all at once but will not survive repeat cycles down to nearly being dead (thin plates)---deep cycles will not give as many cranking amps but dont mind being run down often (thick plates)

I have seen 20 percent of cold cranking amps as a rule of thumb for charging but that is probably out of the vehicle. Even at that considering a 400-700 CCA battery you should be okay anyway

Not an expert on batteries but looked into it a little when chosing mine and I know what I see under the hood of a lot of cruisers here on MUD

 

[Eshu Elegua]

hi,you can read this inf, battery separator ,thats the one that we use in my job and the one that i use on my fj40 dual bat system...

separator

Sure Power Industries

 

[stamp]

Odyssey Batteries You may want to skip the isolator and deep cycle battery setup and go with 2 of these batteries. The initial cost will be more, but in 17 years of manufacturing and Servicing Ambulances and emergency vehicles these are the best battery I have ever seen hands down. They are drycell technology that combines starting and marine capabilities into on battery and will take a beating too boot.

 

[3jvj]

I just wired one into my rv. Stupid easy. One wire from the alternator to middle terminal of the isolator. One wire for each battery. My house battery is a biggun (deep), and the crank battery is normal. Works pretty well. No adverse effect on the house battery that I can tell. I'm running a 90 amp gm one wire.

I have a fancy switch on my 55; don't care for it as much. It's nice to be able to direct current travel (ac1,ac2,both, and off) but I think I'll go simple plow truck isolator from here on out.

 

[3jvj]

If what your buddy said is true (which I'm not so sure it is), you could buy an inverter and run a trickle charger off of it. Seems ludicrous to me but you could do it. a 750watt inverter is about 50-100 at any wally world or targe'.

 

[fjatheart]

This is all great information, but is the alternator still going to dump all it's charging power into the aux battery by way of the isolator? If so, is that too many amps for the aux/deep cycle battery?

Again, I understand the isolator separates the cranking battery from the aux battery, but will the aux battery, which IS a deep cycle, still get too many amps of charging from the alternator, thus killing the deep cycle before it's normal life span??

 

[bsmith123]

Will my high-output alternator damage the OPTIMA?
No, as long as the voltage is properly regulated. Because the OPTIMA has a very low internal resistance it will accept high current more efficiently than conventional batteries.

FAQ from the optima site


When the battery is charged the resistance goes up---if it is deeply discharged and needs to go on a charger then too many amps could possibly be a problem but I dont think you need to worry

Look at it the other way---using a SLI (starter, lights, ignition) battery as a deep cycle will shorten its life for sure --- so it sounds like you have the right idea for usage for accessories with a heavy draw.

There are the so called dual purpose batteries that are a compromise between both.

If you use a deep cycle for starting then you would want one with higher cranking amps then a regular SLI battery

RV's use deep cycles a lot

if you use the 20 percent of CCA rule then a 600 CCA battery would take 120 amps so you are well inside the zone

GTMF (google that my friend)will a high output alternator damage a deep cycle battery - Google Search

 

[fjatheart]

Will my high-output alternator damage the OPTIMA?
No, as long as the voltage is properly regulated. Because the OPTIMA has a very low internal resistance it will accept high current more efficiently than conventional batteries.

FAQ from the optima site


When the battery is charged the resistance goes up---if it is deeply discharged and needs to go on a charger then too many amps could possibly be a problem but I dont think you need to worry

Look at it the other way---using a SLI (starter, lights, ignition) battery as a deep cycle will shorten its life for sure --- so it sounds like you have the right idea for usage for accessories with a heavy draw.

There are the so called dual purpose batteries that are a compromise between both.

If you use a deep cycle for starting then you would want one with higher cranking amps then a regular SLI battery

RV's use deep cycles a lot

if you use the 20 percent of CCA rule then a 600 CCA battery would take 120 amps so you are well inside the zone

GTMF (google that my friend)will a high output alternator damage a deep cycle battery - Google Search

bsmith123 to the rescue! Thanks again. This makes sense because I've ran an Optima in my 40 for years with the factory alternator and they have lasted the normal life span.

But, one more questions. I use my Optima for cranking, it that wrong, should I really have a dual purpose/combo battery?

Thanks!

 

[mr_manny]

Odyssey Batteries You may want to skip the isolator and deep cycle battery setup and go with 2 of these batteries. The initial cost will be more, but in 17 years of manufacturing and Servicing Ambulances and emergency vehicles these are the best battery I have ever seen hands down. They are drycell technology that combines starting and marine capabilities into on battery and will take a beating too boot.

odyssey x2

only thing you have to keep in mind when choosing an isolator...make sure it's rated HIGHER then your alternator output.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/37136-isolate-not-isolate-dual-battery-setup.html

 

[bsmith123]

AFAIK

As far as I know ------the only downside to using a deep cycle battery is that they dont put out the cold cranking amps like a LSI battery---so if you were to be in a hard to start situation maybe a normal battery or Dual Purpose would be better, or as recommended a Deep Cycle with higher CCA than you would use if you were buying an SLI battery


I like Stamps post ---I would seriously look at those and I think I will too---Nothing like first hand experience and he says he's been using them 17 years in heavy duty situations.

I saw inverters mentioned--I have one I bought at wally world --good for game consoles/computers/phone charges or what have you, pretty handy little device


Something I like from service trucks are an external plug for jump starts ---gonna do this when I get around to my dual batt set up
Jumper Cables - Quick Disconnect

 

[bsmith123]

optima review

Hey just noticed there's a lot of good info in the OPTIMA review on the Mud home page For a dual battery set-up,


"if the batteries are wired in parallel, the batteries must be the same size, type and age. This is true for any battery. If not, the differing performance characteristics will reduce performance of the bank, and reduce service life.If there is an isolator used between the batteries, then they do not have to be the same. That would require using a diode isolator or a solenoid isolator, to which each battery would be hooked up, but separated from each other. That also allows you to discharge the accessory battery (YellowTop) and still have the capability to start the vehicle with the RedTop/YellowTop starting battery.Generally, if someone is running dual batteries it is because they have a lot of aftermarket electronics, or they want to be able to run electrical devices while the engine isn't running. For both of these situations we recommend a YellowTop, because this type of battery will be much more tolerant of repeated deep discharge. So probably it would be best to use at least 1 YellowTop battery, for the electronics."

 

[Romanski]

I have a BlueSea Automatic Charging relay. I use an Optima Red Top as my primary starting battery and a DieHard Platinum II marine battery as my accessory battery. The ACR monitors both batteries and charges them when the engine is on and disconnects them when the engine is off. This setup has worked well for me. The previous isolator I had went south and made my 12V system into a 24V system and that didn't go so well. So far I've had good luck with the Blue Sea ACR. FWIW, I read that the DieHard Platinum II is a re-badged Odessey battery.

This is an old pictures and all those little wires have been cleaned up so no comments please

 

[red87runnerATX]

Odyssey Batteries You may want to skip the isolator and deep cycle battery setup and go with 2 of these batteries. The initial cost will be more, but in 17 years of manufacturing and Servicing Ambulances and emergency vehicles these are the best battery I have ever seen hands down. They are drycell technology that combines starting and marine capabilities into on battery and will take a beating too boot.

Mr Manny, as far as wiring/installation goes how would you do 2 Odyssey's and no isolator?

THis may be a stupid question. I've got an Odyssey 1200 and my old battery is still good. Can I use the older battery as an aux./backup starting battery? I was looking into the Hellroaring BIC-85300A, but that setup would quickly add up! $$$

 

[fieldsken1]

wiring nightmares oh my god. i just used a isolator like you did works fine

 

[FishNinJay]

There's a whole post (second article) on the IH8Mud home page, by Woody with input direct from Optima. Lots of good info here on just this set-up...

Optima YellowTop Deep Cycle Battery :: IH8MUD.com