Dual Battery Setups! Let's see them! Multiple Batteries Thread!

No I don't think so.

I think you should research some more. Here is a second source
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm

And another
http://www.surplusbattery.com/batteryimg/10_facts_about_agm_batteries.html
8. A 'normal' car alternator will only charge a wet-cell type battery to around 70-80% of its capacity. Because of its higher charging rates an AGM battery will just about fully charge and at a faster rate from the same type of alternator

I think you are confused about effects of charging rate vs capacity with respect to our alternators. In fact due to the lower resistance some small car alternators might have a hard time keeping up since the battery will accept a fast rate of charge. This won't be an issue with even our standard truck alternators, if you have the towing package then even less. IT WILL fully charge in fact better and faster than a conventional battery.

Due to the lower resistance you have less heat loss. With a typical lead acid battery 20-25 percent of charging is lost to heat, with an AGM its only 12-15 percent. Thus a shorter more efficient and more complete charge.

 

There are a couple mms between the edge of the panel and the cross bars, and the glass is another 2mm or so down from the edge:


I'm still messing with the location of the crossbars, this is where it sits now. Slightly tilted forward to line up with the existing holes on the prinsu:


Drilled some holes in the edge of the panel and bolted through twice on each side, and the back just rests on a piece of marine door sealant foam on the roof:

 

Just an FYI that any shade on your solar will drastically reduce the output, even something small like the shade from an antenna. I'm not a solar expert but damn close, I did a 1,500 watt install on my van for traveling.

 

Depends on the panel, some are better in partial shade than others, but generally true. When I put mine on a roof rack I plan to have mine below the crossbars, but in between them. It will only be covered when there's items on the rack.

 

Do you have a link to support this? I have never seen a panel that doesn't decline fairly drastically with partial shade. This is just based on the design of electrical circuits and I would assume rather universal.

 

There are several factors that can impact how a pannel reacts to different lighting.

Here is a link for you that explaines some of the differences.
http://energyinformative.org/best-solar-panel-monocrystalline-polycrystalline-thin-film/

 

Installing OGE side-by-side this weekend, any last minute suggestions?

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Tagging to follow for my build .. great stuff

 

AGMs like a much higher absorption charge voltage (14.6-14.8V) than our alternators put out (13.2-13.6) but their ideal float charge is around 13.4-13.8V. Its probably good enough for day-to-day starting and electronics, but not after a weekend camping trip. I always plug my batteries in at least once a month to a proper charger to keep them going strong and extend life. This is especially key after a big discharge because even the 130A alternator at normal operating range of 13.2-13.6V just doesn't have the voltage to get a good absorption charge on an AGM.

 

There is nothing in that link to state that some panels do better with partial shade. Panels do respond differently to angles and so on but no panel does better when partially shaded. There is A LOT of misinformation online about solar, feel free to ask me anything you would like if you run into a snag. Here's a photo of my last solar install on a vehicle of mine. I ran EVERYTHING with this, chest freezer to fridge conversion, toaster oven, angle grinder, microwave, even an AC for a few hours on occasion.

 

When I get a chance I'll get some data from various shading on my panel. I have an inline watt-amp-volt meter.

 

Actual data, proposterous. Who would Deomonstrate an effect using real world data?

 

This is an exact quote from that site stating a disadvantage of one type of pannel, monocrystalline silicon to be specific, "If the solar panel is partially covered with shade, dirt or snow, the entire circuit can break down."

And here is another quote stating an advantage of another, Thin-Film, "High temperatures and shading have less impact on solar panel performance."

There are many types of solar pannels these days and many advantages and disadvantages of each. There are also ways to mitigage some of the disadvantages.
I completely agree that shading the pannel is not good. Any shade will reduce output on any pannel and it happens quickly but some types deal with it better than others. How they are wired up will also make a difference.

 

Ok, gentlemen I need some help please. I have dual batteries mounted in the bed of my truck. I have both batteries wired to a blue sea battery switch. I also have a charge cable from the alternator through a 150 amp breaker then into my batteries.

This is my first time wiring all this crap up. I'm lost when it comes to how to run the positive cable from the alt to recharge my batteries. As it is now, and how I believe I've found it from the 'big 3' threads, I should run a power cable from my alt straight to the positive of my batteries, and a larger wire goes from the alternator to the fuse box under the hood. But with it run like that, I can still crank my truck over with my battery switch in the off position. How am I supposed to run it??

 

Is this an ML-ACR? The 7622 model?

Run the alt power wire only to the starting battery. The ML-ACR will keep the 2nd battery charged.

With that long of a run you probably should use a bigger gauge wire like 1/0 gauge.

You do not need to upgrade the stock fuse panel wiring.

 

Which Blue Sea switch? Are you using this switch to manually isolate the batteries?

Assuming you have the 6007 or similar connections ... Alt wire goes to the switch, then to the fuse box where the original alt wire connected. There should be a wire from fuse box to the battery. Then a fused wire goes from switch to aux battery. If switch has an off position, I would never set it to that because power will be cut off to both batteries and you'll never charge the primary battery. When you want to charge both batteries, switch is set at 1+2, but it should be set to 1 when car is turned off, isolating the aux battery.

 

I would like a side by side dual battery set but am concerned about the core support cracking...I see lots of people with this set up so is this a legitimate concern?

I have a MY15 so there is not much extra room in the engine bay for an extra battery. There is some room where the power steering reservoir is but I'm not sure where that could then be moved to if the battery went there.

 

I have the 6007 Blue Sea switch, and this isolator I just got from Amazon, but have not installed yet:

$54 Stinger SGP32 200 AMP Battery Relay Isolator and Relay

https://www.amazon.com/Stinger-SGP3...d=1497849499&sr=8-3&keywords=battery+isolator

The way I have it set up is that the 6007 switch controls the power cable.
My battery switch is at the back of the truck where the batteries are. Positive from each of those goes to the switch, then one cable to the front of the truck.

I think my issue is from when the previous owner originally did the rear battery set up. He had installed a battery post that bolts on to sheetmetal in the engine bay, with the positive wire from the battery run to that.

Picture for reference. White wire at 10 o'clock is from the fuse box under hood. There is a wire of similar gauge going from the alternator into the fuse box. Wire at 2 o'clock is positive from the batteries. Wire at 4 o'clock is going to the starter.

 

It depends on how you drive and where you live. I don't think I've seen any reports of cracked core supports from anyone besides those living in the southwest United States. I'm sure there are people in other areas that have cracked supports but I haven't seen those reports. Outside of the desert southwest there isn't much opportunity for driving fast off-road over long distances, I think this is what causes a lot of stress on the supports.

For reference, I live in Socal, drive like an asshole, and my driver side is cracking and my passenger side is folding in on itself. I'm at 47000mi-ish. I am currently finishing up a battery relocate to the bed.