HJ75 dual battery setup

[RhinoRig]

We just got a HJ75 (12v) that has a tray ready for the extra battery. We live at 8600ft and it got down to -14F the other night. Nothing wants to start at those temps, but an extra bit of cranking help would be nice.

It has the PTO winch, so we only need the aux battery for emergency starts, device charging, fridge, sound, etc. I've read the many threads on this exhausted topic, but being new to the diesel world, I thought there might be some 7* specific advice.

I'd like to keep it simple and avoid all the flashy panels/controls that come with the $400 kits. I'm thinking of using a Sure Power Battery Seperator with a lighted switch to control the parallel coupling of the batteries for emergency starting. Blue Sea sells an Add-a_Battery kit that is also an option.

Thoughts?

 

[ozcrusier]

Hi mate you may need to glow a few times to get her running in those cold conditions. The best fix is to make sure the glow system is working as it was designed and of coarse add dual batteries to help spinning the engine over.

 

[elkaholic]

We just got a HJ75 (12v) that has a tray ready for the extra battery. We live at 8600ft and it got down to -14F the other night. Nothing wants to start at those temps, but an extra bit of cranking help would be nice.

It has the PTO winch, so we only need the aux battery for emergency starts, device charging, fridge, sound, etc. I've read the many threads on this exhausted topic, but being new to the diesel world, I thought there might be some 7* specific advice.

I'd like to keep it simple and avoid all the flashy panels/controls that come with the $400 kits. I'm thinking of using a Sure Power Battery Seperator with a lighted switch to control the parallel coupling of the batteries for emergency starting. Blue Sea sells an Add-a_Battery kit that is also an option.

Thoughts?

You could use a Blue Sea system similar to this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Automatic-Charging/dp/B001C7CJHC/?tag=ihco-20

They are very robust and easy to set up. The Blue Sea Catalog has a reasonably good description of the various models of these to help you select the right one. They are designed to maintain dual batteries and allow paralleling of the batteries via a switch in the cab for extra starting oomph.

 

[perrobravo]

You could use a Blue Sea system similar to this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Automatic-Charging/dp/B001C7CJHC/?tag=ihco-20

They are very robust and easy to set up. The Blue Sea Catalog has a reasonably good description of the various models of these to help you select the right one. They are designed to maintain dual batteries and allow paralleling of the batteries via a switch in the cab for extra starting oomph.

I second that recommendation for the Blue Sea ACR. I have one of these on my 100 series and haven't had to touch it after installation. The one I bought includes a manual override switch so I didn't even bother installing the electric switch...which greatly simplified the wiring work and helps keep switch panel clutter to a minimum.

 

[RhinoRig]

Thanks all. I'm ordered the Sure Power solution, since it is much simpler and cheaper. The BS unit is $174 with 6 wires to connect and the SP is $54 with only 3 optional wires. Both allow the batteries to be connected during an emergency start, and the BS unit seems to have more controlling features. But, for $102, I got the unit, cabling, connectors, terminals, and a fuse block. I'll let y'all know how it works out.

Ozcruiser, I'm cycling the glow plugs about 6 times before turning her over. She's going in for some basic service next week, and the starting system is on the list. A 100W light bulb is serving nicely as a makeshift block heater until the new one arrives.

 

[RhinoRig]

UPDATE: The Sure Power has been working great since I put it in. And rebuilding the starter solved a lot of other problems!