Going to be getting ready to run a deep cycle battery and a charging controller and have no idea where to start. What are any of yall using battery and controller wise?
Dual battery help
- Thread starter Fireman
- Start date
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MScruiser
obsessive-compulsive oppositional-defiant wise-ass
Read up on the Australian made Redarc systems. Very nice stuff.
MScruiser
obsessive-compulsive oppositional-defiant wise-ass
And for a nice but cheaper alternative, look into the Deep Sea System marine grade switches/fuses.
Deep sea or Blue Sea?
Bomar
SILVER Star
Don't do it. A lot of BS. Trust me.
Buy a very nice main battery and a jump pack.
Buy a very nice main battery and a jump pack.
- Thread starter
- #6
we completely killed Nolens and the jump box wouldn't cut it. We ended up jumping it with our truck.
This is my plan. Confirmed with Dugan at ACC and this is what they recommend over expensive setups. Less than $100 in parts plus the 2nd battery.
That was the gay ass Sears Odyssey Series 31 that Slee pushed that we all discovered needed 15.5 amps to charge and the 100 puts out 14.5
I can't kill the Duracell with a full night of abuse.
I second Bomar. Get the biggest battery that will fit in the stock location or modified stock location and rock out. Here is my recommendation
Bomar knows first hand about dual battery set ups .
Spend that money one wheels and tires. Holy s***.....
Bomar
SILVER Star
Back away Fireman.
This a huge mistake.
Did you have any issues last few weeks in CO?
Are you running party lights in that truck?
Go with Robs battery recommendation and buy a nice LI jump pack.
This a huge mistake.
Did you have any issues last few weeks in CO?
Are you running party lights in that truck?
Go with Robs battery recommendation and buy a nice LI jump pack.
- Thread starter
- #13
My only concern is that I will be running a fridge, a ventilation fan, lights and a winch. While obviously not all at the same time if I did have an issue while on a solo trip in some of the places like where I was in Colorado i would be screwed. Just seems like a cheap insurance policy. What problems have you run into @Bomar while running a dual set up?
Every duel battery kit I've dealt with from the home brew set up to a kit such as National Luna all has the same common issues. No matter if both batteries are the same size and age 1 battery is always stronger than the other and causes a situation where the compete with each other charging. The weaker battery a lot of the time is actually the main cranking battery. Hopefully your "kit" will have some sort of logic to kill the link and protect the aux battery so that you will have a chance of cranking in boost mode, but wait all of your accessories, fridge, toaster are run off your aux battery which will either be drained as well or will be protected so that you will be able to crank the truck. Your aux turns into your cranking/main battery and accessories won't work if the solenoid saves it so that you will be able to crank. To keep from having to type another post, lets say the aux battery is weaker. Your accessories will completely drain the aux but your truck will crank. Once drained good luck getting it back up to a full charge with another battery in the system that needs to charge as well. Leaving a dual battery set up completely pointless. If your worried the microwave will drain your battery over night you would be better off taking an extra battery with you and swapping it out as needed than to invest in a dual battery kit of any kind. Put the biggest battery with the longest reserve in the truck and you will be fine.
I completely agree with the one battery approach. I have never had a problem with one good yellow top but hedged my bet with a manual trans that would allow me to push start if necessary. Not the solution for everyone I know. I will say that the solution used by Jrob and "Jeffena" was an neat approach. They had a second battery mounted and used a neat little suitcase solar charger every time we set up camp. Maybe one if them will share their thoughts?
Bomar
SILVER Star
Fireman once you get your fridge cooled down it is not a crazy load on keeping it cool.
Your winch you will be running when rig is on.
If you are winching while your fan in the rear is on s*** has gone very bad and you need more help than a dual battery can provide.
It is just not worth the several thousand of dollars you will spend thinking it will work the way everyone says it does. It will not.
Jump packs have come a huge long way in the last few years. Go that route.
If not be prepared to spend a lot of money on hopes of it working correctly.
Your winch you will be running when rig is on.
If you are winching while your fan in the rear is on s*** has gone very bad and you need more help than a dual battery can provide.
It is just not worth the several thousand of dollars you will spend thinking it will work the way everyone says it does. It will not.
Jump packs have come a huge long way in the last few years. Go that route.
If not be prepared to spend a lot of money on hopes of it working correctly.
Or just go over to the 80 section where they will tell you how great it is.
Bodean
Hot Damn
Yeah, What Bossman says (not sure who Jeffena is tho). Not sure you'd ever have the light we had at night in AK to charge a battery with solar but for our situation it worked nicely.
Electrical is my kryptonite, so bear with me. In my single battery experience, running a fridge nearly 24/7 in my truck, shortens the lifespan of my main battery (group 34). I've run a massive 78 yellow top before and no increased performance was achieved. My goal of installing a second battery was to eliminate the shortened lifespan by splitting duty between two batteries. The winch always has to run on the main/starting battery to my knowledge, and as pointed out above, you typically run the winch while the rig is running. So, nothing changes there.
I hear Rob's and Bomar's argument, but those scenarios describe massive drainage situations. I'm thinking an extraordinary winching operation that goes on for eternity that would exceed the alternators output. Or you've parked the vehicle in the Canadian tundra for 3 weeks while living out of the truck. When are you going to drain your starting battery to the point it won't crank, if all your accessories are pulling from the 2nd battery in a key off position?
So for a fridge, vent fan, LED lights, can you not benefit from running those off a second battery without worry of affecting your starting battery? Does any of this change if you have a larger capacity alternator? I'm running a 180A alt on my rig now, hoping it will prolong the life of my single battery where running a larger battery did not. I'm fumbling through this, so please edumacate me.
I hear Rob's and Bomar's argument, but those scenarios describe massive drainage situations. I'm thinking an extraordinary winching operation that goes on for eternity that would exceed the alternators output. Or you've parked the vehicle in the Canadian tundra for 3 weeks while living out of the truck. When are you going to drain your starting battery to the point it won't crank, if all your accessories are pulling from the 2nd battery in a key off position?
So for a fridge, vent fan, LED lights, can you not benefit from running those off a second battery without worry of affecting your starting battery? Does any of this change if you have a larger capacity alternator? I'm running a 180A alt on my rig now, hoping it will prolong the life of my single battery where running a larger battery did not. I'm fumbling through this, so please edumacate me.
- Thread starter
- #20
All good points and questions. Throw a roofmounted solar panel into the equation and a charge controller.