Dual Battery Components?

[KraftyPg]

Like WIR35 I always solder joins and have never had any major issues with my soldering. I do screw to things like battery terminals or relay terminals where there is provisions and I never rely 100% on crimp connectors or the like.

I still think there is a lot of stigma around using the so called right cabling and stuff but as long as the current rating is high enough right or wrong isn't as big an issue as some make out.

My local battery power bloke tried to convince me to run a fridge that draws an average of 2amp per hour when running I needed an isolator capable of 220Amp or higher or else I'd only run the fridge for 3 hours on a deep cycle battery even if I'd been driving the car for 12 hours. The cable he tried to flog me was a bit over $17 per meter, even at retail price the 10mm2 cable I got wasn't worth that much and that is over rated for the amount of power it's ever going to get pumped down it.

With a 100amp isolator, 10mm2 cable my fridge drops the voltage in my battery by about 0.4 of a volt between turning the engine off in the evening and turning it back on the next morning. So just to throw the cat into the pigeon house just because an expert who spends his days selling batteries tells you something is right it doesn't mean it is, of course spending a few extra dollars on getting is right is worth it but don't be suckered into spending more than you need.

 

[WIR35]

Call me Toby

Yeah sounds like old mate is full of it. The rating of an isolator relates to the current rating of it's terminals (ie the amperage it is capable of switching/holding without burning out) and has nothing to do with power supply capacity.

 

[KraftyPg]

After listening to the guy my impression was he was just trying to make dollars rather than give the right advice. I guess there is idiots everywhere but I'd really like to think a guy who was managing such a business did actually know his spin was a load of crap and he just hoped we didn't. It might also have had something to do him being pissed off with the final sale given that due to his bosses dealing with a company I do work for he was obliged to sell me a $220 RRP battery for $140. I'm sure he still made money off it but had I used his ideas I'd have probably spent $600 just to make a second battery set up work.

 

[Old.Tony]

There's something that often crosses my mind: how much of the stuff is being recommended because the seller makes a better margin off it than they would if they sold you the gear that was better?

Commission based sales are another thing that annoy me, but that's an argument for somewhere else.

 

[KraftyPg]

There's something that often crosses my mind: how much of the stuff is being recommended because the seller makes a better margin off it than they would if they sold you the gear that was better?

Commission based sales are another thing that annoy me, but that's an argument for somewhere else.

I think thats an argument that could be held on just about every salable item. There is dodgy bastards everywhere and some people out there must be getting taken for a ride at one time or another. The only hope you have these days if you are in un-familiar territory is to get advice from forums like these and research what you learn because even just doing web searches these days doesn't always give you the right information because dodgy bastards also know how to author web pages.

 

[WIR35]

That's exactly right. Take plasma TV's for example. Samsungs shit on LG, but companies such as harvey norman make better margin and/or get good kickbacks from LG, so they really push the LG product even though the two are similar price. They even resort to changing the settings on the two items so that side-by-side the LG looks like a better picture.... bit of inside info there....

 

[KraftyPg]

I think the biggest problem with LCD's and plasmas is how bloody ugly they make people look. Hi-Def be stuffed I don't want to see how much botox and spack filler the people on tv are using. I'm considering turning my TV antenna slightly just so I get some snow back on the screen to save me from all the ugly presenters.

 

[teamkiwi]

I'm in the process of learning how to set up a dual battery in my D40 before I buy a fridge. Thanks heaps for such an informative thread guys.

 

[KraftyPg]

Glad it's helped someone. The one other piece of advice I think is worth giving is don't believe everything you read because only about 50% of it is true...actually no I've got better advice than that.

Plan everything, it's all good and well knowing the bits you need and knowing how to fit them but it's also very important to plan out where you are going to fit things. I was happy installing my second battery against the front wall of the tub and making a tool box along side it and everything works as it should however after getting back from my last trip to Perth I realised that the boxes I made aren't ideally suited to the job I expect out of the tub for the rest of the year when it's a shopping trolley or a farm hack.

It's taken me 10 months since first discovering that to do something about relocating the battery but since it's a while till my next big trip I'm in no rush, but it does mean I'll be doing a bit of electrical work over the coming months to extend my current power cables to where I want them and building a new box to suit.

Hindsight is always good and minds will always be changed but it's worth taking a little time to consider and re-consider these sorts of jobs because they might just save you some work down the track.

 

[WIR35]

kiwi, this might help out...

It's a wiring diagram for my setup that I drew