Budget Dual Battery System

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So I am doing this set up and just got the wire. I went to West Marine to pick up my 1/ o and 4g. Sales kid informed me that they price match on line prices, he then proceeded to look up on he computer some low prices for me ..... $6.99 a foot became $3.88 for the 1/o and $3.25 became $1.94 for the 4gage ..... talk about service. Any how just thought that was some good info for those who have not bought wire or supplies yet.
 
Great info, this is on the list of projects to get done before winter really hits hard.
 
i was about to buy the national luna diy kit but seeing as how i'm a commercial fisherman here in Bristol Bay, AK and have a charge account with SeaMar (Seattle Marine) and LFS, think i might save some money and go with the Blue Sea set up. good write up
 
So I am mostly done and ready to go live on this, but OCD set in and I want to upgrade the wire from the alternator up to 1/o as I have a few extra feet..... but were the H does it connect to at the other end? it doesnt seem to go straight to the battery?
 
Wow! That is cheap! Wiring diagram?
 
I wanted to share my today's finding. I know all these automatic systems are nice, but the same time they are expensive. I went to my local hardware store and found Meyer snowplow 150A Solenoid for 9.99; Amazon has it for $6.69. Part number is Meyer 15370. According to Item # BPL3011, Motor Solenoid on National Liftgate Parts, Inc. this Solenoid is rated for 150A. I would say nothing can beet this price.

BPL-3011.jpg
 
Steve, your installs are insanely clean. I've had my eye on the IBS system but the price has held me back.

IBS Dual Battery

I came across this today which appears to be a Chinese copy with an additional 50A for a third of the price.

T-Max 47-3800

Those concerned about long winch pulls under heavy load could replace the solenoid with something like this.


Any thoughts?
 
Uncle Grumpy said:
Steve, your installs are insanely clean. I've had my eye on the IBS system but the price has held me back.

IBS Dual Battery

I came across this today which appears to be a Chinese copy with an additional 50A for a third of the price.

T-Max 47-3800

Those concerned about long winch pulls under heavy load could replace the solenoid with something like this.


Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

I left my winch hooked up to the main battery, as I felt that there really was no need to have it on the second battery. When winching I would have the engine running, and the main + alternator would then be provide the power needed. Moving the winch feeds to the second battery just did not make sense to me as I was intending on it only handling household circuits which would be low-draw, but for long periods of time (Marine battery).

With my "Plug In Battery Cables" I am going to also hard wire them to the main battery for the same batt+alt reason. If I need to jump myself, I would just put the clamp ends on the second battery and plug into the modular plug which would normally be unplugged and switched off at the battery. I will post once I get that project done . I just found the 1/0 quick disconnect connectors for $17 ea at a local supply house. Also planning on using a set of cables that I already have, just chopping-off one set of ends.

With the CN copy of the IBS, it could be a pretty cheap solution indeed.

:cheers:

Steve
 
Uncle Grumpy said:
I came across this today which appears to be a Chinese copy with an additional 50A for a third of the price.

T-Max 47-3800
Click to expand...

I did some searching. Here is the PDF Manual for the T-Max. Great find Uncle Grumpy. I'm going to order this for the 1st component of my dual battery system. Then it will be the slee battery tray, followed by a Sears Deep Cycle battery. My fridge arrives in a few days, so hopefully this will all come together soon.
 
You've inspired me, I've gone completely overboard budget wise but will have everything needed by end of week to get mine started. Finding those nylon firewall gromments was the last piece of my puzzle.
 
blue sea dual battery

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007.webp I copied your layout for my dual battery setup. I have little to no experience with electrical stuff but this was not difficult at all. The biggest shock was the cables. I had my local coop make my 1/0 cables.... 148.00. I think 1/0 is overkill but that is all they had in stock. I also ran a group 31 deep cycle battery to run my stereo amp, engel MT45 and dual 12v plugs for the rear. Thanks for the inspiration.
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Thought I would add, genuinedealz.com sells marine grade battery cable for a very good price. They also sell Blue Sea.
Best part for me, they will custom build the cables to your desired length. It costs 1.00 labor to install the lug and heat shrink.
Free Shipping as well :) I could go on.
It was better than I expected.
 
BUMP!

"Where did you guys run the wire to for the start isolation to?"

Where does the other wire go on the 2nd battery? Do you guys that sent off for cables have the lengths you ordered?

Cheers,
Mike
 
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The reason I ask is because I think it said in the directions to the start side of the starter. Not the run side. Maybe I read something wrong
 
Anyone have a complete parts kit list for all the Blue Sea components needed to do this the best way possible?
 
^^^X2

-Daniel

Sent from deep in the mountains of Honduras using only sticks and rocks.
 
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