Dual Battery System - What have you fitted?

[Smergen]

After the "roaring success" of the thread I posted about choosing a canopy, I thought I would repeat the dose for the next upgrade I'm planning for The Rock Truck later in the year.

(http://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/canopy-what-have-you-fitted.7195/)

Not being "electrical" of mind, I'm interested to hear opinions, thoughts and experience of what should be considered. The things that are crossing my mind and that I'm doing research of include, but aren't limited to:

• Size of battery - needs to be reasonable but not industrial strength
• How to get solar input to charge
• Isolating primary battery
• How do I link with the caravan set-up?
• How complex does it need to be?
• Where does it go? (Pretty much in the tub, but maybe there's funky solutions)
• How to protect it?

Any thoughts or feedback would be great, and pictures would be excellent for a doofus like myself. In the end I'm just interested in what people have installed and if they're happy with it.

Between the recommendations and tips on speedliner (@17triton), UHF (@Crusty181, @yabbietol) and the tips on the canopy its fast becoming "The Truck EDU Built!"

 

[Crusty181]

Good topic @Smergen, Ive never had a dual battery in any of my 4x4s, it has briefly crossed my mind so Ill be following this with keen interest.

I run my Engel in the tub of the mighty Navara 24/7 as my lunch box and Cafe d' Wheels .... it never gets turned off, in both the current (1 year) and the last Navara (5 years) (I love Navara's) and the single battery hasn't kicked me in the head as yet .... touch wood. The fridge has a low voltage cutout and the genset we cart around has an inbuilt 12v charger, neither of which Ive ever used.

 

[bigcol]

battery controllers

it is all dependent on what you want the final out come to be

you can go really old fashion with a basic Cole Hersey Switch,

I've had a few of these in various Cruisers over the years, wire both batteries to the switch, you can run 1 or 2 or turn them both off (great immobilizers) -
pro's
both batteries are connected, so both batteries charge at the same time and rate
easy to work out and use
Con's
ugly
B I G
takes a bit of room


if your handy with the wiring - doing the same, but instead f a big switch, there is the basic solenoid type

I've had a few of these again in different cruisers over the years
same deal, charges both batteries at the same time and rate, you have no control over which battery you want to use at a time

then you get into the "smart" types
Redarc

charges main battery first, then charges 2nd battery - plug and pray - no need to touch again

Rotronics

had one of these in my old GQ for years, never had a problem with it

ABR Sidewinder


the ABR Sidewinder I had in my wife's MQ - again, never had any problems with it

in her current Cruiser, I have the Piranha fully Auto controller

 

[bigcol]

with ALL of the above, you can wire in the Solar

some will obviously do it better than others - Piranha & Redarc

being such a new vehicle, I would suggest the Piranha, as it is fully electronic - and with the newer cars, with computers, a fluctuation of 0.5V is enough to do some damage

 

[bigcol]

since your going to put it in the tub (or... get creative and cut a side out of the tub - like a fuel filler flap, and mount the battery behind that)
120Ah will be ample

 

[Smirke]

We have a dual battery in our patrol. Got it put in before we picked up the car. It runs the extra 12V that were put in the car (we got an extra 4 installed) and apparently the van when hooked up. Haven't really run anything on it 24x7, only used it for charging iPods, iPads, phones and run a little drinks cooler both while on the move or out and about for the day.
We have redarc attached to ours, and it allows our main battery to draw from the aux but not the other way around.....apparently. I do know that if our main battery dies, I have to get these 2 little wires, remove the cover capping and plug them into another set which are close to them. Then I can use the secondary battery to start the car. I think they can be done by a switch or automatically too. (Which is what we were going to get).
Sorry for not being too technical about it all. I'm just happy it works.

 

[bigcol]

yes, I have the Redarc in my Patrol
I also have a switch on the dash to switch from main battery to both (idea for when the missus leaves the lights on, while parked, flick the switch, count to 10, start car)

 

[bigcol]

I also have a heck of a lot of things running off my 2nd battery
I have 8mm cable (dont know the proper name for it) running to a fuse box under the glove box
this is for the UHF, DVD headrests, 3 x 12V plugs on console, power for clock & compass on passenger side
I have another 8mm cable running to another fuse box - Baintech one

mounted on the cargo barrier
this is for Amp, Engel 1 & Engel 2, 12V plug in rear and 300w inverter in rear

 

[bigcol]

been adding to this in between waves of pain & pain killers - hurt me back - sorry for the ramblings

I have a standard N70ZZ battery as battery1
I have a yellow top Optima battery as battery 2
I have the Redarc battery controller
these charge the main battery first, then, once it is fully charged (usually from starting) it then goes on to charge the 2nd battery
as your Alternator normally goes - Charge / Discharge when running
with a battery controller, it goes charge / charge when running

everything (except for my HID spotties and my winch - another story) runs off the 2nd battery
and I mean EVERYthing

 

[bigcol]

I also have a heck of a lot of things running off my 2nd battery
I have 8mm cable (dont know the proper name for it) running to a fuse box under the glove box
this is for the UHF, DVD headrests, 3 x 12V plugs on console, power for clock & compass on passenger side
I have another 8mm cable running to another fuse box - Baintech one
View attachment 35232
mounted on the cargo barrier
this is for Amp, Engel 1 & Engel 2, 12V plug in rear and 300w inverter in rear

forgot to add

I have 10mm cable going to the back of the car for my Anderson plug

 

[bigcol]

although alot of what you will want and need can be brought off ebay
just remember, the grey Anderson plugs are a standard size
the Red ones wont fit them (the grey) nore will the blue and Yellow ones

never scrimp on quality on house car or caravan

 

[Crusty181]

Wow @bigcol, how long have you been patiently waiting for some to ask this ???? 8 posts in 40 minutes. I think you owe @Smergen a little thank. Don't you ??

(or... get creative and cut a side out of the tub - like a fuel filler flap, and mount the battery behind that)

Cut a hole in the side of the new car?? Only one appropriate response to that ..... Allow me @Smergen :der:

Ive bought one of those for the 1982 Landcruiser ute .... and never used it


@Smergen If you don't mind me broadening the question ... would an additonal portable solar panel be a more beneficial than a second battery? If one was compared to the other, in an eether/iither type thing. The mighty Navara has zero room under the bonnet and Im very reluctant to put a battery in the tub when Im throwing tools and wood ..... and apprentices in the back.

 

[bigcol]

Cut a hole in the side of the new car?? Only one appropriate response to that ..... Allow me @Smergen :der:
.

why not?????
I know of a guy who just (last August) brought a brand new Patrol (Y61)
its only got 100kms on the clock, and it is in getting mod's

got the back cut off for a tray, about mid point of the rear doors, and extended the front - big ar$ed ute it will be
and its getting a 6.5 Duramax & Allison 6 speed auto fitted, he is doing the work himself, hence the time so far

looks AWESOME

also know of another guy with the NEW new Patrol (Y62)1000km on the clock, and he has ripped out the Auto and fitted the 6 speed manual like they get in UAE - not an easy task

 

[bigcol]

Wow @bigcol, how long have you been patiently waiting for some to ask this ???? 8 posts in 40 minutes. I think you owe @Smergen a little thank. Don't you ??

.

what can I say - some times I DO have some knowledge, and not just dribble

:bee::bee::bee::bee:

 

[bigcol]

also, if I had answered poor old @Smergen in point fashion like his question
it would have been one hell of a boring post............ and long as all get up

 

[17triton]

I have the same setup as @Crusty181 with the engle in the back full time and a low voltage cut off solenoid and being a 12v nuffy I will keep an eye on this thread.

 

[Kenshi123]

Being a 12v nuffy (Quote unquote) too I went for a setup that was set and forget. I have the Redarc bcdc1225 low voltage controller and charger. This effectively charges the cranking battery first then second battery. I have the second battery wired to a couple of sockets in the rear of the prado that run the waeco etc. Probably a more expensive setup, but works for us. We have a 105ah battery, which lasts about 3 days when on freezer and about 5 or 6 days when set on fridge. Served us well on our recent half lap of aus.

 

[Drover]

Wow @Smergen the replies have sure popped up on this one, ..........following up our other conversations got to have a look at my nephews set up in his BT50, he has his battery set up in the tub, mounted in a rack on the wheel arch, LH side with a redarc unit on the side of it and runs power to van from it as well as a couple of cig/Anderson plugs in the tub, his fridge is on a slide on the LH side as well and it all is tucked out of the way of things.
He is planning on a solar panel to charge it up but is going to just mount the panel when stopped so he can get the most sun on it, thinking of a sail track on the canopy to slip it into ...........
Others in the van park have done similar but haven't been able to have a looky as they are buried in the back but Redarc and Ctek seems to be the popular units, they all seem to have them fitted by others so you never get the good details.

 

[Shane Norwell]

You could got with a ctek or the redarc bcdc1225 which both allow solar input and a good charge algorithm. As for battery location there's actually a spot above the spare wheel under the tray for an optima battery.

Shane.

 

[greynt]

G'day @Smergen we have in the pajero a Projector 150amp dual battery controller running a Optima 55a/h yellow top battery and similar to @bigcol a 6 way fuse board that I have my Waeco 60ltr fridge connected to, the kids DVD headrests, and 3 x 12v sockets through the Paj. I installed this myself after buying all the goods through autoelecau on eBay. Great prices and quick delivery. Both the projector unit and redarc seem to be very popular. I would also check on your truck if it has a smart alternator or not, as this can, sometimes limit your options. The projector unit that I have has an override feature so if your main battery fails you can start it off your second battery if it's suitable. It does not however, have an option to add solar if you wanted, whereas the redarc unit does I believe. Any more questions let me know, I can post pictures if you want, but being a completely car, I didn't know if it would be relevant or not.
Cost wise from memory I was quoted approx $1300ish fully installed by an Auto Elec using similar stuff. I think it cost me around $900ish to do it myself plus around 6-8 hours of mucking around, deciding where to put the sockets and fuse board etc.
But I wanted the challenge of installing it and Google is always a good help if you get stuck.
Overall I am happy with our setup as it has lasted nearly 3 years so far, including the last 3 months or so full time on the road.
Either brand I think you will be happy with.

Cheers
greynt