2nd Battery for Dual Battery setup (1 Viewer)

[Tennessee80]

Hey all,

beating a dead horse here, and lots of threads about dual batteries. I am getting a National Luna dual battery setup next week. I have a 5.3 with the larger 140 amp alternator, if that matters, and have an Optima red top as my main battery.

I have a Dometic 30L fridge, and will be running mild LED upper tailgate lighting and aux device charging (occasionally).

What are the batteries that people are running these days for 2nd batteries? I don't think I need an "overkill" battery in that 2nd spot, but want to make sure it is solid enough for my needs.

Any recommendations?

cheers,

Joel

 

[Spook50]

I'm curious to hear some personal experiences here myself as I've been of the understanding that ideally you want identical batteries so as to avoid a shortened lifespan.

Myself I'm intending to do a Hellroaring setup at this point, though I admit I keep waffling between that and the NL.

 

[OSS]

Get a solar panel and it won't matter what the 2nd battery is.

 

[TheNeek]

I'm in the market for both batteries at the moment. Also will be interested in this thread. I have the NL setup and a fridge as well.

 

[HemiAlex]

I'm going to try an $80 Marine starting and trolling battery from Costco, an interstate 27DC. I will wire my National Luna system for the self start function.

 

[dannyvp]

Im actually moving to 1 really nice battery with a solar charger attached.

 

[cruiserpilot]

When you use the fridge and accessories are you sitting for a day or two without running? Or are you more or less
running the truck everyday even on recreational trips? I'd recommend equivalent batteries from what you describe.
With that alternator your battery recovery time will be more efficient than most, so not really a problem. LED night lights
should not be a deal breaker. I have familiarity with NL stuff, their indicator is amazingly accurate. They may have
a cutoff level so your fridge won't kill your battery and this is adjustable feature to your level of comfort.

 

[Tennessee80]

I “inherited” this Optima and didn’t buy it new, so the recommendation for an equivalent battery would be one with similar CCA and overall specs? I’m not inclined to pay Optima money if I don’t have to.

Thanks, @cruiserpilot

 

[cruiserpilot]

I “inherited” this Optima and didn’t buy it new, so the recommendation for an equivalent battery would be one with similar CCA and overall specs? I’m not inclined to pay Optima money if I don’t have to.

Thanks, @cruiserpilot

My opinion is bigger is better when it comes to batteries. I run Interstate, reasonable value and have them
in 3 vehicles. Get CCA that best suits your engine start requirements. I think a standard is series 27 for land
cruisers. Read up about amp hours. I’m going to post a link from a really quick search. This is a generic
explanation of how big a battery you need is but it’s based on RV needs. Again, it’s worth a read, but if you
aren’t really sitting then it might not be the best information.
Solar is useful for extended times you have accessories running while you are parked, but a decent electrical
system shouldn’t need back up on a daily basis.
Here is that article, it will in the least explain terminology and give you background.

CaravansPlus: Calculating How Big Your Battery Needs To Be

Ensure you never run out of power again, this guide will help you understand how long your RV battery will last. Determine what size battery you need in your setup by using our easy battery calculator, and some quick tricks to getting the most out of your battery when camping. Article by Peter...

www.caravansplus.com.au

 

[rhah]

Hey all,

beating a dead horse here, and lots of threads about dual batteries. I am getting a National Luna dual battery setup next week. I have a 5.3 with the larger 140 amp alternator, if that matters, and have an Optima red top as my main battery.

I have a Dometic 30L fridge, and will be running mild LED upper tailgate lighting and aux device charging (occasionally).

What are the batteries that people are running these days for 2nd batteries? I don't think I need an "overkill" battery in that 2nd spot, but want to make sure it is solid enough for my needs.

Any recommendations?

cheers,

Joel

If you have a 5.3 why stop at the 140 amp alt?

I run a 254 amp on mine.

also why not a second alternator on a second battery?

dual alt setups are cheapish for the LS stuff... it’s my next move

 

[FJ Silver]

I'd spend money on a DCDC charger like a Redarc BCDC.

You can save so much money by making your own Lithium battery. You buy the cells a BCM and a smart shunt and put it all together. Plenty of YT videos on this. I can send you a link to a place here in Utah that has cheap but good cells.

I spend a $120 on the cells (100ah, 4 cells) BCM you can get for $50 and a smart shunt you can access on your phone through Bluetooth to measure everything going in and out is around $130. Then you have a 100 amp hour LifePo battery that will perform like you have a 150 AH AGM roughly.

 

[Spook50]

I'd spend money on a DCDC charger like a Redarc BCDC.

You can save so much money by making your own Lithium battery. You buy the cells a BCM and a smart shunt and put it all together. Plenty of YT videos on this. I can send you a link to a place here in Utah that has cheap but good cells.

I spend a $120 on the cells (100ah, 4 cells) BCM you can get for $50 and a smart shunt you can access on your phone through Bluetooth to measure everything going in and out is around $130. Then you have a 100 amp hour LifePo battery that will perform like you have a 150 AH AGM roughly.

I've heard of doing this but haven't done any real research into it. I would imagine this combined with a reasonable sized capacitor would make for a pretty reliable system, if done right.

 

[MDH33]

I`ve been running the same national luna dual battery setup in my FJ60`s for the past 13 years. Red top in the starting position, yellowtop in the second. I have the usual fridge, winch, extra 12v plugs, radios, etc. I think i have replaced each battery once, so i`m averaging over 6 years for the batteries. I used to run the system more regularly than I do now. Trips where I would park for a day or two at a time with lots of driving. Now I just use it for occasional trips, and I keep the main battery connected to a trickle charger when parked which will charge both via the solenoid.

I am interested in learning more about solar assist, but honestly, for what I do, this setup has worked well for me for a lot of years.

 

[Ocho77]

We ran optima’s in our 80 series dual battery setup. They lasted about 5 years.

Switched to marine batteries from Walmart and they are going on 2 years now.

We could run our fridge and accessories for about 2 days before they needed to recharge. I will second grabbing a solar panel. We use a cheap portable folding solar panel and it is a game changer. Can stay out as long as you want and the batteries stay topped up.

 

[Tennessee80]

There are some great ideas on this thread! I don’t have heavy electrical needs really besides a fridge, and since I’m scooping up the NL power pack (all in 1 system) I just need to get a good battery that fits in there. The PO has had a group 31 fitted with no problems, and I may go that route.

@Ocho77 what solar panels are you running?

 

[Ocho77]

There are some great ideas on this thread! I don’t have heavy electrical needs really besides a fridge, and since I’m scooping up the NL power pack (all in 1 system) I just need to get a good battery that fits in there. The PO has had a group 31 fitted with no problems, and I may go that route.

@Ocho77 what solar panels are you running?

Joel,
I will look at the brand. It’s a panel that folds like a suitcase. It is old and I am certain technology is much better now (I.e. you can probably find a much smaller panel). Won’t need a lot to keep it charged for fridge and outlets. That’s what ours does. Pretty simple and inexpensive.

 

[Spook50]

Joel,
I will look at the brand. It’s a panel that folds like a suitcase. It is old and I am certain technology is much better now (I.e. you can probably find a much smaller panel). Won’t need a lot to keep it charged for fridge and outlets. That’s what ours does. Pretty simple and inexpensive.

Be cool if you could find one that you could cut to match the top of the dash pad and lay it over that. Charges AND protects the dash from UV. Two birds

 

[meatloaf]

I'm going to try an $80 Marine starting and trolling battery from Costco, an interstate 27DC. I will wire my National Luna system for the self start function.

@HemiAlex , did you end getting the battery mentioned above? If so, any feedback on how it’s been working? Considering this one for a 2nd battery on my vortec powered 60 to run fridge, winch, driving lights and other small accessories

 

[HemiAlex]

Negative. I’m running an optima yellow top 34/78 for starting. And I’ve used it for a week with the fridge. I killed the red top on the first day of running the fridge after using it for one year.

I’ll be putting the second yellow top on a National Luna kit to enable self starting and run the house system.