iggi
Ian
EDIT/UPDATE
Updated the thread title as my initial idea of running a fully separate 12V system was a dumb one.
Thanks to help here and off line I found the real issue (faulty power connect switch) and the thread rapidly turned into sorting out the best battery bank and discussing electrical cooking systems vs propane based.
Leaving all comments as they may help someone else.
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Hey ya'll,
My head is spinning with options and I'm hoping someone can steer me straight here.
I've got a 2009 Crestline Ambulance.
I'd like to add a battery that's dedicated to running the fridge, furnace, fan, water pump and a set of lights.
I want to retain the original electrical as I like the various doo-dads but it's not optimal for constant use due to the parasitic draw from the relays and such.
Easy enough to add an extra battery and even to connect my solar to it.. but am unsure of the best way to tie it into the current charging system (alternator plus shore power charger/inverter)
Currently it's got 2x 12 volt starting batteries and 2x 12 volt deep cycle that connect to the panel and inverter.
Below is my rough drawing of the system as I understand it.
Specific questions:
Updated the thread title as my initial idea of running a fully separate 12V system was a dumb one.
Thanks to help here and off line I found the real issue (faulty power connect switch) and the thread rapidly turned into sorting out the best battery bank and discussing electrical cooking systems vs propane based.
Leaving all comments as they may help someone else.
-------
Hey ya'll,
My head is spinning with options and I'm hoping someone can steer me straight here.
I've got a 2009 Crestline Ambulance.
I'd like to add a battery that's dedicated to running the fridge, furnace, fan, water pump and a set of lights.
I want to retain the original electrical as I like the various doo-dads but it's not optimal for constant use due to the parasitic draw from the relays and such.
Easy enough to add an extra battery and even to connect my solar to it.. but am unsure of the best way to tie it into the current charging system (alternator plus shore power charger/inverter)
Currently it's got 2x 12 volt starting batteries and 2x 12 volt deep cycle that connect to the panel and inverter.
Below is my rough drawing of the system as I understand it.
Specific questions:
- Is this as simple as adding a battery balancer between the two deep cycle packs?
- Or is going to an Automatic Charging Relay the better method? Could I replace the current Diode Battery Isolator with a single ACR that would run all three sets of batteries
- Any specific part recommendations? I was browsing the Blue Sea site but am as confused as before. As I have 320 amps of Alt capacity would I need an ACR capable of that? Confused as the current diode isolator is rated for 240amps.
- The battery relay gets hot as hell. I believe this is the one that's activate from the front ambulance connect switch. Seems like it is the source of the drain. Is there a higher quality relay you'd recommend?
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