Dual Battery Systems - And a couple of Questions

[rlynch356]

OK Gang,

I am planning on installing a couple of dual battery systems in my D90 and another simpler system in the AT Horizon.

My Questions (then i will get to the planned setup in both)

1. Dual Charger systems, National Luna or something like a T-Max - i am asking due to the disparity in cost of the 2 systems for what seems to be a fairly straight forward device. Pros/Cons would be appreciated. I am leaning towards the National Luna system but this is really from the fact that they seem to be the top grade standard here rather than knowledge and i would like to be more informed.

2. Do have have enough Capacity (aH) for the below scenarios

Proposed setup:
D-90: Dual Battery Controller with 2 - G34 Optima yellow top batteries (55AH).
Usage is normal Truck loads, Winching (Both on the "Truck battery"), and occasionally ARB 50qt fridge on the house battery. I may move to a dedicated truck fridge with something like the engle 27qt full time. The real reason for the Dual is going to be redundancy while traveling (for instance i have lost the alternator on the trail before)

AT Horizon: 2 - G34 AGM batteries in parallel (Sears, since i have one Platinum already, I will buy a companion G34 AGM. This takes charge from the truck while driving, and i do have a 65w solar panel with Blue Sky controller as well. But needs to power the fridge for 3-4 days with only the solar as primary charger. The rest of the load will be from charging cell phones, and running the LED strip lights.

Thanks in advance

 

[thebigblue]

I use a CTEK D250S DUAL and two Yellow Top Optimas 55Ah in my G, running a ENGEL MT-45-FS, 45 litre fridge/freezer and a ARB Maximum Performance Compressor. On my roof rack ia a 1000 W solar panel wired directly to the CTEK. I don´t have a winch, I use Maxtracks instead. I never had any troubles with the CTEK, I also have one on my Mercedes L608D with two 1000 W solar panels and a single 90Ah battery, and have never experienced lack of power.

 

[Martinjmpr]

You might try posting this in the "power systems" section of the board, there's lots of good knowledge there.
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http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/48-Power-Systems-12v-Solar-Gen
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Don't know how many amps your stock alternator is rated for but I would imagine that it should be able to keep a couple of 55ah batteries charged up pretty well. My Suburban has a 145a alternator but that was an option, I think the standard would have been 75 or 90.
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As for the trailer - that's a different issue. First of all, I'm assuming your trailer has a 7 pin (round) connector for power, because AFAIK those are the only ones that have a power lead on one of the pins. BUT, not all trailer wiring connections actually send power through that pin, so you would have to check your setup (I can't remember which pin is the "charging" one but you can find out on line.)
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I know there are people in our Teardrop camper group who have found themselves with dead trailer batteries because they "assumed" that the battery was being charged as they drove down the road, only to find that there was no power going to the "charging" circuit on their 7 pin connector.
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As far as the trailer battery goes, have you thought about using a couple of 6v golf cart batteries hooked up in series? Another guy in our teardrop group did that and using the two golf cart batteries he got a whopping 205ah - more than enough to run a fridge for several days. The nice thing about the trailer vs the tow vehicle is that on the tow vehicle, you are restricted in terms of size, but on the trailer you often have a lot more freedom to use a physically larger battery setup than you could in the tow vehicle. Just something to consider.

 

[dwh]

I use a CTEK D250S DUAL and two Yellow Top Optimas 55Ah in my G, running a ENGEL MT-45-FS, 45 litre fridge/freezer and a ARB Maximum Performance Compressor. On my roof rack ia a 1000 W solar panel wired directly to the CTEK. I don´t have a winch, I use Maxtracks instead. I never had any troubles with the CTEK, I also have one on my Mercedes L608D with two 1000 W solar panels and a single 90Ah battery, and have never experienced lack of power.

1000 watt?

 

[Martinjmpr]

1000 watt?

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I'm thinking 100w.
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Don't know what a 1,000w panel would look like on a D-90, much less two of them. :Wow1:

 

[dwh]

.
I'm thinking 100w.

I was thinking too much coffee when he was pounding on that zero key.

Don't know what a 1,000w panel would look like on a D-90, much less two of them. :Wow1:

Prolly look like a garage door on the roof.

 

[thebigblue]

I was thinking too much coffee when he was pounding on that zero key.




Prolly look like a garage door on the roof.

Too much coffee 100W Monocrystalline solar panel. 1200x554x35 mm. 19.2V, 5.2A

 

[rlynch356]

Not my 90 with the 1000w panel (100w! above)....

i guess i should segment the questions into different threads over in the power systems area.

Some good thoughts above...

My D-90 V8 NAS - has a 120a Alternator (upgraded) so i'm not too worried about using it for dual 55ah optimas and that seems to be the best way to go, based on a couple of factors, 1 is packaging of the batteries in the stock location under the divers seat along with the dual battery controller, blue sea cut off, and wiring.

I'm planning on going forward with moving my G34 DH platinum battery to the trailer and adding a matching one which will give me ~140ah, and backwards compatibility with the truck.
I did the wiring on the truck so i know the pwr pin is live, and the trailer is charging from the truck so all good there. I also have a Generator for extended stays (which i have not done yet, and i generally do not want to take it)

i really like the idea of 2 6v batteries and may do that in the future when the 12v crap out and i can let go of them.

 

[mtaylor]

Just make sure you tie those golf cart batteries down and vent them well. Tight connections and good charging also help prevent messy explosions and leaks.

 

[dwh]

Does Sears still sell the Diehard Platinum?

 

[1Louder]

Does Sears still sell the Diehard Platinum?

Not the re-branded Odyssey batteries.

 

[rlynch356]

No they don't sell them anymore (it's what I have as the main truck battery, the optima g34 is going in there as the house battery. The trailer is getting 2 g31 12v deep cycle flooded batteries (tongue box).
I think I'm going to use the t-max dual battery controller - seems an ok unit, but still thinking about that one


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