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Dual Battery Charging

Discussion in 'Electrical' started by sea_weathered, Aug 29, 2021.

  1. Aug 30, 2021 at 6:59 AM
    #31
    Occidentalis

    Occidentalis Out Snakin'

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    Redarc is Australian, with very quality documentation and support. Redarc and blue sea are my go to DC system stuff. I also chose redarc because of the lifepo4 charging profile they offered and the display head, but renogy has decent remote monitors too. I need to be able to plug in to ac power so I went with the redarc unit that combined as many of these things as possible.

    Renogy seems fine but is built at a cheaper price point. Some of their components like flexible panels look like good buys (on sale) but I'm not sure about the other items. I've been waiting for their 2k watt inverter to be back in stock for a while now.
     
  2. Aug 30, 2021 at 7:19 AM
    #32
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    I started looking closer at the Renogy unit, and the installation instructions clearly state to keep away from wet and dusty environments. that pretty much rules it out.
    -With the Blue Sea ACR, my deep cycle battery won't ever reach 100% without plugging in to a trickle charger when I'm home, or adding solar.
    -With the Redarc BCDC charger, I'm forking out a lot more money up front, but it seems that I'll have a more healthy system once its all together.
    -The Ironman 40a DCDC charger looks solid too, but its damn near the same costs of the Redarc unit, and doesn't handle solar input.
     
  3. Aug 30, 2021 at 2:51 PM
    #33
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    Alright guys, thank you for the help with this! I pulled the trigger on the Redarc BCDC1225D. It was quite a bit more than I wanted to spend, but as I was adding up the costs of building a system that still didn't charge my AGM house battery completely, and adding a separate solar controller down the road, I was getting closer and closer to the cost of the Redarc.
    Question about setting these up on our Tundra's, do I need to run the blue wire to an ignition source, or cap it off?
     
  4. Aug 30, 2021 at 3:06 PM
    #34
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    You would cap off the BLUE as in not connected to anything.

    On my setup the ORANGE wire is also capped off to (using profile A per Redarc instructions) set the maximum charge voltage at 14.6v, which is what my AGM battery is spec'd out to by the battery manufacturer.
     
  5. Aug 30, 2021 at 3:34 PM
    #35
    dittothat

    dittothat New Member

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    Dc to dc is fhe way to go. Redarc is a great choice but I couldn’t pass up the 30a renogy unit during their sale. Working great for me so far. Skimmed through the thread, so not sure if you have decided on a battery yet. I saw you talking about agm. The 100ah SOK lifepo4 batteries are hard to beat. I have a renogy battery and I’m kicking myself for not going SOK. Good luck with your setup!
     
  6. Aug 30, 2021 at 3:48 PM
    #36
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    Okay cool. thanks for the input! are you running the GM diode to boost alternator output, or is it all stock on that end?
     
  7. Aug 30, 2021 at 3:50 PM
    #37
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    I haven't purchased a house battery yet, but was planning on an AGM battery, simply because the cost is so high on LiPo batteries.
     
  8. Aug 30, 2021 at 5:06 PM
    #38
    dittothat

    dittothat New Member

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    Gotcha. Yeah, it’s what like $600 for a 100ah lipo and $350 for an agm? Agm has 5yr warranty or lipo with 10. Guess it all kinda comes out in the wash. Real benefit to lithium is the weight savings. Are you planning on adding more to your electrical system than what’s listed to warrant the 100ah? Planning to stay off grid for extended periods without moving? 100ah is quite a bit.
     
  9. Aug 30, 2021 at 5:16 PM
    #39
    Cruzer

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    Nope, all stock.
     
  10. Aug 30, 2021 at 6:05 PM
    #40
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    I work a six day on, six day off schedule. when I get off the ocean I want to be able to turn my refrigerator on, and leave it on until I go back to sea. I drive a little around town most days when I'm off, and regularly dip out for a night of two. So I'd like to build a system that works reliably with my schedule. Hopefully a fairly large battery, good quality charging system, some daily driving, and possibly a solar panel if necessary will do what I'm looking for.
     
    dittothat[QUOTED] likes this.
  11. Sep 2, 2021 at 9:54 AM
    #41
    VWTim

    VWTim Mid-Travel Crew

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    DC to DC is really the way to go, but posting my setup incase others are looking. Running an X3 AGM starting battery under the hood, thru a smart isolator, to a 75 AH AGM "deep cycle" in the bed toolbox. I found a Ford AC diode that does the same thing as the GM and doesn't require the notch to be trimmed. No issues using this on any of our trips, when in the woods, the house battery is ran to our RTT and powers lights and our CPAPs plus some bed and area lighting.

    I do occasionally hook up an AGM chemistry Battery minder to the house battery to make sure it's 100% topped up, but haven't found it to be necessary.
     
  12. Sep 7, 2021 at 12:34 PM
    #42
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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  13. Sep 7, 2021 at 1:00 PM
    #43
    dittothat

    dittothat New Member

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    Download ebates and get an additional 3% cash back right now. Every cent counts..
    and no it’s not a scam. I use it pretty frequently and did so when I bought my x2 from batteries +
     
  14. Sep 7, 2021 at 1:31 PM
    #44
    VWTim

    VWTim Mid-Travel Crew

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  15. Sep 7, 2021 at 1:44 PM
    #45
    Occidentalis

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    I used these 202ah eneramp cells in a group 24 box, I was going through heavy agms every 3-4 years so a lighter smaller battery with a 10 year warranty was appealing to me. I will end up saving money in the long run with lithium.

    https://www.currentconnected.com/product/ea-raw/
     
  16. Sep 7, 2021 at 2:43 PM
    #46
    Cruzer

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    Interesting. So these are 3.2 volts each - do you connect 4 of them in series to get 12.8 volts?
     
  17. Sep 7, 2021 at 3:01 PM
    #47
    Occidentalis

    Occidentalis Out Snakin'

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    Yep, they are matched voltage sets. You just tape them together with VHB tape and connect the supplied bus bars and you're good to go. If your DC/DC charger has a battery manager with a cell balancer all the better. Since I was using just four matched cells I didn't really need a balancer. Make sure any batter manager you get, even if you use AGM or lead acid, has either a lithium ion setting or the ability to change the voltage cutoffs and you can always upgrade to lithium in the future.
     
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  18. Oct 16, 2021 at 6:38 PM
    #48
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    Hey guys, just a little follow up.. Ended up going with the Redarc BCDC1225 Charger, and a 100ah Renogy AGM battery. through bolted her down to the bed, and built a little fuse distribution thing. Also added a cheap bluetooth battery monitor from Amazon.. I couldn't be happier with this setup! It allows for continuous operation of my IceCo VL60 refrigerator with only minimal driving every couple days. So far solar doesn't seem necessary, but will continue to be open minded about adding a panel or two if it seems like I need it.
    45ADDF3D-8DC0-4EDF-B946-D57E635617CC.jpg
     
  19. Oct 16, 2021 at 6:54 PM
    #49
    dittothat

    dittothat New Member

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    Looks good. Very nice simple setup. What’s the coiled tubing / water pump circuit for?
     
  20. Oct 16, 2021 at 7:09 PM
    #50
    sea_weathered

    sea_weathered [OP] New Member

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    Yeah it’s water supply to my hot water heater that’s mounted on my slide out. You can see it on the left side here. 675A7E91-140D-43DA-9446-9AA4880A7C5C.jpg
     
  21. May 16, 2022 at 7:37 AM
    #51
    Mrf1987

    Mrf1987 New Member

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    Hey Guys sorry to bring up and old thread but looking for advice/opinions. I just picked up a Dakota 100ah lifepo4 and am ordering a redarc bcdc1240d to handle the charging of the lithium. My question for you all is this, I was thinking of mounting the battery and redarc inside the cab behind the passenger seat. As the battery is sealed and the charger is also I was thinking to keep the battery away from high heat and extreme cold this would be the best option. I do have an are camper shell so there is room for the battery in the bed.I also have a dometic 95 with drawers and lights but I feel in the winter here in VA the battery would be too cold in the bed to charge and would be damaged. Has anyone mounted this setup in the cab and seen any issues? Also I have an XS power 31agm up front with the gm diode. Will this setup interfere with he redarc as the voltage to it will now be boosted? Thanks guys!
     
  22. May 16, 2022 at 7:42 AM
    #52
    Cruzer

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    I can comment on the Redarc as I have one. The Redarc is smart and will adjust voltage as it needs it. I have an AGM and the diode as well. I am constantly watching my voltages when I drive and can see the primary and secondary voltage differences. Sometimes my primary drops down to 14.2 but the secondary will stay at 14.5... sometimes it's reverse.
     
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  23. May 16, 2022 at 7:44 AM
    #53
    Mrf1987

    Mrf1987 New Member

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    Thanks Cruzer, Would you have any opinion on putting the lithium in the cab versus in the bed? Im trying to setup the lithium to be in the best ambient temp it can and the cab seems to be the best for summer and winter.
     
  24. May 16, 2022 at 7:47 AM
    #54
    Cruzer

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    I actually think it's a good idea cuz the Lipo4 batteries hate the cold. You always want the Redarc in the same place as the battery. I stuck my secondary AGM underneath the truck where my spare tire used to be. It's very cool under the truck even during the summer.
     
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  25. May 16, 2022 at 7:52 AM
    #55
    Mrf1987

    Mrf1987 New Member

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    Yea being that the lithium is sealed I thought it would be a better place to mount it. The redarc and the battery shouldn't get hot or cause any issues
     
  26. May 16, 2022 at 8:51 AM
    #56
    Occidentalis

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    There's no problem keeping the battery inside and there is a lot of space back there, but make sure it fits first. I'm not sure that big of a rectangular prism would fit. You could take individual cells and pack them in there definitely.

    Some of the newest revisions of the lifepo batteries are coming with heaters. I was going to use a little 75w heat mat on a thermostat if I ever spent much time in the cold.
     
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  27. May 16, 2022 at 9:51 AM
    #57
    Mrf1987

    Mrf1987 New Member

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    that sounds cool, where do you look for those at?
     
  28. May 16, 2022 at 11:58 AM
    #58
    Occidentalis

    Occidentalis Out Snakin'

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  29. May 16, 2022 at 12:42 PM
    #59
    dittothat

    dittothat New Member

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    I think a lot of this depends on where you live. I keep my battery in a black toolbox and it’s content pretty much year round, but I also live in San Diego. Planning on taking a trip to Palm Springs in a couple weeks and will probably have to pull the battery. Planning on putting it in a battery box in the bed behind the fridge; just haven’t gotten around to doing so. Then I could leave it in, even during trips to the desert during the summer. Also planning on adding heaters to the battery box with a thermostat like @Occidentalis said for winter trips to the mountains. Had I know about this issue, probably would have bought a SOK battery with the heaters built in.
     
  30. May 16, 2022 at 6:56 PM
    #60
    Occidentalis

    Occidentalis Out Snakin'

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    They JUST released these so don't feel too bad! I only got it because I fried my last battery in less than a year because I didn't install a top balancer. I thought a set of matched cells with a BMS set to regulate the LiFePO voltage would be enough. I read three places that it "should be fine". Alas, I am the proud owner of a busted open battery box holding 206ah of 12v regret.

    I'm in Florida and I'm using the truck a lot of the time for finding snakes so like you I didn't really worry about cold. I would at least, though, make sure there were low temp cutoffs on the battery or BMS. And top balance your cells if you're building a battery. Uhg.
     
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