Dual Battery Setup (8 Viewers)

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7" is the boat standard, sorry i was wrong!
 
If I simply added the small fuse block on my house battery and kept the 80A inline it would be fine? I don't really want to run another 6AWG to the back.

If so - stick with 80A at the battery to match the 80A 21" down line?
 
Another downside to these fuses is that the fuses themselves are more expensive than the generally available ANL.
 
I have been using this set up. With this you have two main fuses right at the battery and you can pull direct power for starter and winch right off the main pole.

So bear with me as I am still electrically deficient - would I hook up the winch to the 300A fuse or just hook the winch up directly to the battery?
 
The picture that keeps floating around of melted winch wires is mine!! I hate to admit that.

If i would of had a fuse on the winch wires, the situation would of been different and i would not of melted my winch or had a chance to burn down my truck. It came from having the positive wire rub ever so slightly on a battery tie down. After a few years of this rubbing it finally rubbed through the wire insulation and exposed the inside to metal on metal.

A fuse would of popped or a breaker would of popped to stop the damage, but i didn't have one. Now, regarding the amperage of the fuse... that's above my pay grade right now.
 
The picture that keeps floating around of melted winch wires is mine!! I hate to admit that.

If i would of had a fuse on the winch wires, the situation would of been different and i would not of melted my winch or had a chance to burn down my truck. It came from having the positive wire rub ever so slightly on a battery tie down. After a few years of this rubbing it finally rubbed through the wire insulation and exposed the inside to metal on metal.

A fuse would of popped or a breaker would of popped to stop the damage, but i didn't have one. Now, regarding the amperage of the fuse... that's above my pay grade right now.

That's what I keep reading, too..... All that I've 'read' seems to point to a larger fuse than 300A for a winch due to the initial draw/extended load.... but I really like that setup that @NCFJ posted earlier......
 
If I simply added the small fuse block on my house battery and kept the 80A inline it would be fine? I don't really want to run another 6AWG to the back.

If so - stick with 80A at the battery to match the 80A 21" down line?

What gauge wire is feeding the fuse box? Remember, size your fuses to protect the wire. If you're running a small wire off of a 80A fuse, the small wire will melt before the fuse pops. Not what you want.
 
What gauge wire is feeding the fuse box? Remember, size your fuses to protect the wire. If you're running a small wire off of a 80A fuse, the small wire will melt before the fuse pops. Not what you want.

6 AWG. 18 feet back to rear breaker circuit box. 21" from battery to current anl fuse.

Edit: Said another way:

I have a 6 AWG from the house battery to the firewall of the truck. There I have a 80A Blue Sea fuse on the firewall. That fuse is 21" from the house battery. Then I run the 6 AWG back another 16 feet through an Anderson PowerPole connection and to the Circuit Breaker, where I distribute to the stuff in the rear.
 
Like we talked about before, I don't fuse any winches, but I do keep the winch wire disconnected unless I need it.
 
I have our winch directly wired to the battery and use a large Anderson connector. I also wrap all my primary cables with split loom and tape that. I also anchor all wiring to firewall,frame,fender liners etc to eliminate as much movement/abrasion as possible.
 
6 AWG. 18 feet back to rear breaker circuit box. 21" from battery to current anl fuse.

Edit: Said another way:

I have a 6 AWG from the house battery to the firewall of the truck. There I have a 80A Blue Sea fuse on the firewall. That fuse is 21" from the house battery. Then I run the 6 AWG back another 16 feet through an Anderson PowerPole connection and to the Circuit Breaker, where I distribute to the stuff in the rear.

Yes, you'll be fine.

Reference I'm using to make that statement:

12 Volt Wiring Tech: Gauge to Amps | Offroaders.com


I like a slightly more conservative wire gauge chart, and BlueSea has their ducks in a row:

Part 1: Choosing the Correct Wire Size for a DC Circuit - Blue Sea Systems

For fusing:

Allowable Amperage in Conductors - Wire Sizing Chart - Blue Sea Systems

@weejub - Sounds like you're good. :clap:
 
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Thanks, guys.

Updated To Do List:

1. I am getting some rubbing on the red cover over the house battery negative terminal on the hood without really pushing the hood high via the adjustable rubber thing. This is causing the left side of the truck hood to be tilted low.
  • Thinking about going to the smaller fuses and rewiring everything. I can flip the batteries and rewire and avoid contact. If this doesn't work, then it is plan B:
  • Going to try to plane down my 1.5" structural base board.
  • Regardless, I am going to route the edges and clean up the top cutting-board hold down to let the wires come down a bit on the terminals. This will also look better/cleaner.
2. Cables are too long in the back - need to be shortened to fit properly with the board
  • Will likely be removing the bed liner to install a bed slide. Going to make a decision here, first, so when I cut the cables I can re-route them.
3. Need to upgrade my wires from my breaker to stuff - need to install some lights.
  • Going to move away from SAE as much as connection and go with 10 gauge Anderson PowerPoles

4. Possibly add an On/Off switch in front of the breaker to turn the whole system off.
 
  • Going to try to plane down my 1.5" structural base board.
  • Regardless, I am going to route the edges and clean up the top cutting-board hold down to let the wires come down a bit on the terminals. This will also look better/cleaner.
If you have the router out anyway, why not route recesses for the batteries instead of planing the board? Meh, either way accomplishes the same task unless you'd prefer to keep some areas full 1.5" thickness for some reason.
 
Or if you rebuilt the lower mount from steel, you could probably get the same strength and less than 1/4 inch thick.

But, hey-the system worked, you had a great weekend and it's time to add some solar!
 
Seems everyone is referencing the Positive. Don't forget your grounds. IMO from my experience, the grounds can cause more issue's than the positive cables.

No change to current grounds that we worked on is planned. Front is grounded the same as it was in stock format with the negatives on both batteries tied to the previous ground wire and then to the stock engine bay ground. The rear is grounded to the frame.

Let me know if you think this should be changed, but the whole system is not being changed, just smaller fuses, better fuse locations and better cable routing.
 
I think you have a good set up. I can't remember if you have 4awg or 6 at the rear. My only thought(besides the mentioned suggestions) is to run the same size ground at the rear as at the front batteries.
 
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