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

I was simply addressing that I didn’t know if you were wiring a parallel or series circuit. I assumed your math was wrong since this is a Dual Battery Thread for trucks and didn’t realize you were powering a grid.

Sounds like you got it all figured out...good for you.

 

For @Digiratus it sounds like it's a surge high amp use circuit, connecting 2 batteries with an ML-ACR during starting. Any other use of the ACR and that wire will see much lower loads.

 

The same vehicle config can be done with dual sets of 6v batteries; that would be 4 batteries, connected in series/parallel.

I do have it figured out; I'm trying to help you figure it out.

 

I certainly hope no one is doing 200 amp constant loads in a dual battery configuration in a Tacoma.

The original question was about how much does the starter motor draw. Is it a 100 amps, probably, could it be more, perhaps, could it be 300 amps, possibly. A winch can easily draw 300 amps and the winch manufactures seem to think that 4 gauge wire is plenty for the job.

The point here is, with an ML-ACR you can link the house battery to assist with starting if necessary. Is starting a constant load? Seems unlikely that the demand for amps will go on for more than a few seconds at a time. This makes the circuit breaker I linked, a pretty good solution for protecting that 1/0 wire.

 

Question for you all since this seems like the thread with the most battery know how...

I'm running an AGM house battery to a blue seas fuse box for accessories in my camper. For about two months this powered a led light on a dimmer and maxxair fan with no problems. I just wired in a 400w inverter with 10 gauge and 30 amp fuse. When I switched it on everything on that fuse box lost power. If I remove the inverter, the light and fan are fine again without any other changes, no blown fuses or anything. Is the inverter pulling too much power? Bad ground? What am I missing?

 

A 30A fuse is not enough for a 400W inverter. Sort of - let me walk through it.

Power = Voltage*Icurrent, so what you've got going on is:

400 = 12 * I
I = 400/12
I = 33.3 (amps)​

OK, so right there, you can see that when you're drawing the full 400W, you're going to need a larger fuse. 40A or 50A likely, just to cover spikes. However, just wiring in the inverter shouldn't draw 400W, assuming the inverter isn't spiking on power-up for some reason.

So you might just throw a 40A in there to see if that solves your problem. Now, if you generally think you'll only be pulling 150W from the inverter, then the smaller fuse should be just fine...assuming no power-up spike.

If you want to stick with the smaller fuse, I would check is to see if the inverter is misbehaving and spiking when it is powered on. You can do this by putting a multimeter in series in the circuit and watching what happens just before the fuse blows. If there is a current spike, then that's your problem and the only way to solve it is a different inverter (with no spike) or larger fuse.

 

What is the state of charge of that house battery? Is it fully charged? What is its voltage without any load?

How is the inverter connected? To the house battery direct? Or is it connected to the bluesea fuse block?

 

What gauge wire is running from the battery to fuse block? How long of a run?
Is the battery full?
Is the inverted throwing any error codes?

 

K, tried the bigger fuse but the problem persists.

It's pretty new and usually sits a bit over 12v. It also holds the charge pretty well after a night of running the led light and fan.

Inverter is connected through the fuse block. I can run the inverter just fine if I wire it directly to the battery so it has to be something after the battery.

4awg for about two feet.

 

Suppose I could skip the fuse block and run the inverter straight to the battery, especially since the inverter has its own fuses built in.

 

Sounds to me like you need to throw a multimeter into the circuit to see what's actually going on, and start eliminating other variables as well (like the light and fan). Heck, even just try a different set of terminals in the fuse block...

 

While those fuse blocks are rated for more than 30 amps total. Each individual circuit is rated for 30 amps max. It may be that you are exceeding what the fuse block circuit is rated for. Verify what Bluesea states about this in their documentation.

 

Has anyone mounted a second battery in the rear? I'm considering getting a box like this https://www.etrailer.com/Battery-Bo...MIkc-cnLyU5QIVlBWBCh05kgMWEAEYASADEgIgIfD_BwE
and mounting it near the rear bumper outside the frame. Cables to the engine bay where controller would be. One of my reasons is I have a winch in a cradle with QD cables and having a battery in the rear would help when running it off the rear receiver, not to mention cubby mounted compressor and such.

 

I'm almost done with my group 35 AGM aux, on-board CTEK charger, jump-start solenoid install. Full thread at:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-dual-battery-with-on-board-charger.636037/

 

Who has done lithium as their house battery? What brand model did you go with?

I’m liking the idea of it charging faster off my solar and the lighter weight.
The price though

 

Battle born has regular sales. 100ah 12V with MIPP solar charger/inverter and 300W of solar panels.

 

I'd like to do a LiFePO from Bioenno.

I removed all the plastic behind the rear seats of my DCLB. Replaced the plastic with a sheet of aluminum where I have my two way radios mounted among other things. I considered mounting a SLA but they outgas while charging.

I can't seem to find an acceptable method of charging a LiFePO while its under load (radio in transmit). All chargers I can find are current limited.

 

I though the Redarc wild work for charging lithium batteries??

 

The MIPP is about half the price and can be programmed for wet, agm or custom built settings.

 

Might keep in mind lithiums dont like extreme temperatures and will go bad faster especially in the cold