Recommendation needed for trailer battery

[eleblanc]

I'm looking into installing a deep cycle battery on my M101.

My truck is 24V, and the trailer also. But i do have a 24V to 12V 16 amp converter i plan to use to charge the battery. Now will the converter have enough voltage to charge? also i need a 12V to 12V charger, what would you recommand, i've seen lots of solar charger but i am unsure if they wil work with current from a regulator, or maybe even directly from the truck 24V. Down the road i would like to have the possibility to switch charging source from a solar panel to truck current to charge the battery.

any idea or recommandation will be appreciated.

 

[ntsqd]

If you use a pair of 12 volt batteries they can be wired for 24 volt charging while towing, but 12 volt charging while camped. You may need a series-parallel switch to do this, I haven't wrapped my head around this completely yet.

A quick search on the topic yielded a well respected poster on an Engineering forum saying that drawing 12 volts off a 24 volt system leads to unbalanced batteries, which is a recipe for disaster. So either a 24VDC -> 12VDC converter or a series-parallel switch. Do not simply tap the middle post of series wired 12 volt batteries to get 12 volts.

A bonus of two batteries in parallel while camping would be that the pair would yield a lot of endurance without any sort of charging method.

 

[CanuckMariner/Nomad]

I'm looking into installing a deep cycle battery on my M101.

My truck is 24V, and the trailer also. But i do have a 24V to 12V 16 amp converter i plan to use to charge the battery. Now will the converter have enough voltage to charge? also i need a 12V to 12V charger, what would you recommand, i've seen lots of solar charger but i am unsure if they wil work with current from a regulator, or maybe even directly from the truck 24V. Down the road i would like to have the possibility to switch charging source from a solar panel to truck current to charge the battery.

any idea or recommandation will be appreciated.

I too have a 24V system in my TLC from Japan. I use a device made by Solar Converter (nothing to do with the sun, just a name, Canuck at that!) http://www.solarconverters.com/product_frame.html they make converters for our systems that manage the load on both batteries (provided they are the same type and same age) by measuring the voltage every second or so on each battery and then letting your 12V accessories via a fuse block/panel use the battery with the highest voltage. That way both batteries get drained equally and hence charged equally. Promotes longer battery life. I also put a 24V 30 AMP relay in the system on the ignition side (i.e. the engine has to be running) so that it would not manage my batteries to zero as sometimes I do not start up my truck for a week or so. They also make chargers to do exactly what you mentioned.

You can get one depending on AMP rating etc. from http://www.gscruiserparts.com/ as they are the Canadian distributor for the unit. I have the 30AMP one with a Blue Sea fuse panel and works great! I use two Optima Blue Tops (has extra screw post for accessories, quick connect) the largest (D34M) I could get (2250 CCA). Good for cranking/starting and deep cycle.

The Yellow top is made for off roading type environment but doesn't have the extra post. I chatted with my local Optima dealer and he vouched for the Blue top for my application and will warranty it. Cheapest place I found was Walmart/Cost-co/Sam's for these but they don't always carry all the models.