Dual battery, s

[coop]

G, day all, im looking at putting a second battery in and was after some advice as to which way to go ? Im thinking of a redarc bcdc 1225 or a ctek 250 im not sure which one, im leaning towards the redarc so any advice would be great plus what sort of deep cycle battery do you recommend, thanks guy's, cheers Tony.

[threedogs]

I have the Redarc and once in forget its there no problems in 4 years

[4bye4]

G'day mate, personally I have a Projecta VSR which is pretty much the same as the Redarc. Works well. Should be plenty of info forthcoming on the ctek unit as I have seen them mentioned here a few times before. Tony

[coop]

Yeah I think the redarc is the way I'll go, I don't think I've ever heard a bad report about them, so thanks guy's much appreciated.

[Agronaught]

The solution depends on a number of scenarios.

Where is the second battery to be installed. Under the bonnet or in the back?

What type of battery? Deep cycle gel cell, calcium, hybrid?

In my case I have a couple of SLA gell cells in the back and a refarc sb12 under the bonnet. A dc-dc charger in the back to boost the voltage which can be bypassed when it's not needed.

[coop]

I was thinking under the bonnet but not sure how good they handle heat, I will have draws soon so maybe mounted in there as ive heard that it's best to mount the charger as close as possible to the auxiliary battery, im unsure about the battery type so any advice would be good, cheers Tony

[Agronaught]

The only reason I don't have a battery under the bonnet is it simply won't fit. If it's under the bonnet and you want to use it as a backup and winch battery the redarc sb200 may be the go.

The bcdc is a great solution for a camp battery, solar charger, dc-dc, etc. Not so much for a backup starter/winch battery. (IMHO)

I may yet replace the gear I have in the back of my car with the bcdc as it's a nice compact solution.

You can use the bcdc for a backup battery/winch battery, i believe an appropriately rated bypass relay will be needed to take the bcdc out of circuit ( and i could be wrong on that point).

[coop]

Ok, so basically if im after a set up that does it all I should look at a solenoid style dual battery install ? Sorry for all the questions, im not real savvy with electric,s apart from zapping myself, so thanks for all your help.

[the evil twin]

If you want to use the 2nd battery for starting/winching as well as fridge etc then a VSR with 2 B&S cable is the way to go - simple, cheap and ultra reliable.

If the 2nd battery is only for low power use such as a fridge and you don't want to run large cables then you can consider a DC DC Charger like the Ctek or BCDC.

DC/DC chargers are a low current device and won't back feed unless additional gear is installed and then you need the 2 B&S anyway.

IMHO DC/DC chargers are of limited value in a vehicle unless you are running AGM or Calcium batteries or restricted in cable size.

[coop]

No worries , thanks for all the info guys much appreciated. :thumbup:

[megatexture]

G'day mate, personally I have a Projecta VSR which is pretty much the same as the Redarc. Works well. Should be plenty of info forthcoming on the ctek unit as I have seen them mentioned here a few times before. Tony

The redarc he is referring to is a dcdc charger with solar regulator so a few more features than a projector vsr but at 2xthe price of a ctek and 5x a projector My preference would be the ctek, more bang for your buck

[Patrol'n]

G'day coop,

I recently installed a 2nd battery in my GQ, installed under the bonnet, so far my experience with the Red Arc (SBl12 I think), has been all good. It also has the override to let me start off the aux battery should the primary go flat, assuming the aux has sufficient charge of course. I got a full wiring kit with solenoid delivered for about $230 from ebay.

I did a heap of research, asked lots of questions etc before doing mine, and I'm happy with the result for my situation. I'm sure more experienced guys on here may have different / better opinions than mine, but that's just my 2 cents, and my experience (so far anyway). Good luck with whatever set up you choose. Would be worthwhile asking an auto sparky or two how they would do the set up in your situation. If you aren't confident with auto electrics, I'd suggest getting a qualified auto sparky to do the job, might save a zap, or damage / fire etc.

[coop]

G, day all, thanks for all your advice guys, im going to do a bit more research and will keep you posted on my decision, so thanks again, cheers Tony. :rolleyes:

[SG1]

Will keep an eye on this thread, as in similar situation, tho already have a dual battery setup with a redarc, BUT it is the very basic one I think in that it runs of the alternator and chargers the 2nd battery, that's all it seems to do, given the second battery is cactus and would like to flick a switch or push a button to use as a starting battery just in case I think I will upgrade at some stage and completely re-wire the setup that's currently there that I bought with the patrol. I noticed a thin blue wire under the redarc that has a female joiner on it that's doing nothing except for hanging there so might have to investigate and find out what model redarc it is.

[Agronaught]

thin blue wire under the redarc that has a female joiner on it that's doing nothing except for hanging there so might have to investigate and find out what model redarc it is.

If its the SB12 or SB200 the wire can be used for an internal LED, Bypass switch, or both. The wiring is the same for both units, I'll be wiring this up myself in a couple of weeks with a LED next to the battery monitor to tell me when the relay has kicked in.

http://www.redarc.com.au/images/uploads/images/SBI_Instruction_Manual.pdf

[SG1]

Makes sense now, thanks Agronaught. I can see that mine is hooked up wrong or different from previous owner, tho still works, with both batterys are continuously linked until the starter drops below 12.7v by the looks of it. Think I will keep the unit but re-wire it up and use the over ride switch, probably option 3, unless I can work out the benefit of option 2 and having a LED in cab?

[bishbashbosh]

just installed a ctek dual in my cargo area - no problems and pretty straight forward to install once you have your head around it.. lots of support from this mob to made it like simply connecting the pieces together.

i paired my ctek with a 105 full river and a baintech power panel - i'm now just figuring out the solar component to it all.

went away the other week and it ran my fridge, speakers, lights and other usb devices without any drama. really happy so far.. t

he hardest bit is dropping the coin on a product - do i buy this.. do i buy that one.. aww which is the one for me.. which is the right one..

list what you want to achieve with your setup and the folk here will tell you which product is the most suitable.

[coop]

I tell you what guy's this can all get very confusing but as im not running a winch at the moment I think I'll go down the dc to dc route, im hoping to get a winch in the new year when fund's allow so its just the fridge and a few accessories for a while, is it correct that the charger has to be as close as possible to the auxiliary battery ?. I appreciate all your help guy's. Cheers Tony. :)

[threedogs]

FYI Redarc have just released a dual battery monitor gauge,
similar to whats out there but a Redarc Brand I think Price is $165

[bishbashbosh]

I tell you what guy's this can all get very confusing but as im not running a winch at the moment I think I'll go down the dc to dc route, im hoping to get a winch in the new year when fund's allow so its just the fridge and a few accessories for a while, is it correct that the charger has to be as close as possible to the auxiliary battery ?. I appreciate all your help guy's. Cheers Tony. :)

Yup you want that charger as close as you can get it.. my is about a metre of cable away and nil problems.

[coop]

Righto, thanks guy's I'll keep you posted :thumbup:

[aazn]

i used a battery link kit and it worked awesome. i got it cheap at autobarn on sale..

also i used a optima yellow top. but if i could do it again i would go full river.. higher CCA, cheaper and bigger capacity for the same money.

[coop]

G, day all, I've finally decided on the redarc bc/dc 1225 and an optima yellow top mounted in my draws as I think this will be the best position close to the fridge, so thanks for all of your advice. Cheers guy's. :thumbup:

[Flex]

One thing you need to consider is the loads that will be running off your second battery. If you are running device which pull more than 25A (the 1225 maximum output current) your battery will never charge or will very slowly as the BCDC1225 can't give out enough current.
For example my second battery runs my amplifier, head unit and fridge, which on average draws around 20-25A so with BCDC1225 there would be no current left to charge the battery. Also the BCDC1225 will reduce it's output current if the ambient temperature goes above 55 degrees C which can happen if mounted under the bonnet on a hot day.

[coop]

Maybe I should go with the 1240 ?

[Rock Trol]

If you are running the fridge, charging phone/laptop and LED lighting off the rear battery then the 1225 would be enough. A 1240 will charge quicker though. Have you decided what do you want to use the battery for? It might just be cheaper and simpler to put a wet cell under the bonnet with a normal VSR. It would save heaps of money and still be the most versatile option as you can use as starter, help with winching, big amp etc.

I have a redarc 1220 and Dekka AGM battery under the bonnet. It has worked well for the last couple of years but I am noticing the battery does not seem to hold a charge as well as it used to. Will monitor the situation, but unless I get 5-6 years out of the battery then it was not a cost effective way to go. I would have been a lot better off staying with the VSR and lead acid battery set up that the car had when I bought it.

[coop]

It's mainly going to operate the fridge, led lights and a 300w inverter, im not running a winch at the moment but am looking at fitting one in the future so I might look at an under bonnet option when i get one. Thanks for the advice guys. Cheers Tony.

[Drewboyaus]

If you are running the fridge, charging phone/laptop and LED lighting off the rear battery then the 1225 would be enough. A 1240 will charge quicker though. Have you decided what do you want to use the battery for? It might just be cheaper and simpler to put a wet cell under the bonnet with a normal VSR. It would save heaps of money and still be the most versatile option as you can use as starter, help with winching, big amp etc. I have a redarc 1220 and Dekka AGM battery under the bonnet. It has worked well for the last couple of years but I am noticing the battery does not seem to hold a charge as well as it used to. Will monitor the situation, but unless I get 5-6 years out of the battery then it was not a cost effective way to go. I would have been a lot better off staying with the VSR and lead acid battery set up that the car had when I bought it.


AGM's typically don't like under bonnet installation.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[BigRAWesty]

One thing you need to consider is the loads that will be running off your second battery. If you are running device which pull more than 25A (the 1225 maximum output current) your battery will never charge or will very slowly as the BCDC1225 can't give out enough current.
For example my second battery runs my amplifier, head unit and fridge, which on average draws around 20-25A so with BCDC1225 there would be no current left to charge the battery. Also the BCDC1225 will reduce it's output current if the ambient temperature goes above 55 degrees C which can happen if mounted under the bonnet on a hot day.

You cant just say your applications are drawing 25A and the 1225 is to small.
The fridge for example may draw a maximum of 5a/h but how many amps per hour?? Might have a duty cycle of 20% so in reality it's only 1a/h.. (example only)
Same with amplifiers. They state maximum amp draw. If your only listening to soft music the draw will be much less.

Anyway imo the ctek 1225 is a good choice with a good battery, mounted in the back.
I wouldn't worry about dual battery while winching, you winch with motor running so the alternator is doing most the work..