Aux battery

Looking for options for 12v source of power for my fridge Iceco VL60DZ (45w) with cover, and Diesel heater. both will run on 12v, and could see hooking up a USB plug to charge my phone/tablet, and various other items via USB (flashlights, and headlamps are all USB rechargeable). I am looking for something that could run for at least 2 days without recharging, or at a minimum solar input only)

I thought for a while i wanted a Aux battery setup.. then i began looking into "solar generators" and am having mixed opinions on them so far as a mixed bag of capacities, and capabilities.. I have even looked at trolling motor type boxes.. and almost bought one of those and could get a decent 100-120AH AGM battery to go in it.. my tacoma is my daily driver. so the option of jumping the truck with the aux (via cables) was a selling point, and I wanted to keep the battery isolated so the BCDC/AUX battery tray from offgrid 4x4 was a potential option. although $850 is a bit pricey, and even then I would need a decent AGM battery. not to mention toyotas smart charging alternator.. but i have heard OVtune allows this to be changed if doing a simple solenoid setup with 2 AGM's..

So I started looking at solar generators Jackery 500 (518Wh 28aH? tiny would run fridge/heater for maybe 5 hours..) the jackery 1000 a bit pricey, and bites hard into the AUX battery setup costs before even adding solar.. other units are promising, but most show large capacities, but at a cost of weight, or charge cycles under 500...

any help?

 

Scott,

Look long and hard at your budget. This will help you decide. I would recommend getting away from an AGM for a couple of reasons:
1.) they are heavy for the size. I have probably spent too much time on this forum but I have see sheet metal ripped away from sidewalls from the force of the heavy battery placed in an area not meant for a battery
2.) The performance of an AGM is just ok. Don’t think your going to get more than 50% of your discharge out of your AMG and if you do know that damage could occur. So your 120a/h battery is really only going to give you 60a/h before it needs a charge.
3.) The number of cycles you are going to get after deep discharge is limited and if you deeply discharge your battery frequently it won’t last as long.

All this being said LiFePo4 is expensive. But I think the value is there. There are some quirks you need to consider; they don’t like to charge/discharge in temps just below freezing and they don’t like extreme heat, but they are a better way to do what you want to do. I plan on going this route I am just pinching my pennies until I can buy everything I need at once.

DC/DC charger, Solar MPPT controller, Solar panel, Battery monitor, wiring, fuses and battery.

I have seen plenty of people making it work with AGM batteries but think it would be worth it to look into lithium.


Here are some links to look into
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/advice-needed-damage-remediation-from-genesis-dual-battery-kit.704142/

https://battlebornbatteries.com/lead-is-dead-white-paper-study/

Lastly I carry one of these in my truck and it works great. My OEM battery died on a camping trip (before I had any powered accessories) and it got me home. To me it’s like $100 worth of cheap insurance.

NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp 12-Volt UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter Box, Car Battery Booster Pack, Portable Power Bank Charger, and Jumper Cables For 6-Liter Gasoline and 3-Liter Diesel Engines

$100 NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines, Gray

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015TKUPIC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VYX461PQKW6JCEX1BF0H

Hope this helps. At the end of the day you need to figure out how many AH’s you need and from there build a system.

-M

 

yes the drawbacks from the liFepo batteries is a possible no-go situation, being as they dont like Cold temps (I live in Midcoast Maine, temps consistantly drop below freezing from September-April.. although I don't do much camping at those times. I do plan to run a diesel heater when i do camp in these temps 8A startup, 3A running. not that I think this would drain down much, but has potential to do so when/if the fridge kicks on at the same time.. I do have a 12v jumper pack, not a NOCO (I've been looking at getting the HD version), I have the stanley fatmax one (its HUGE!- thus why I want to replace it, but it was a christmas present from my father, so i use it for now.)

 

I know it gets really cold in Maine but this one can charge down to -4°f

https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/100ah-12v-lifepo4-heated-battery-kit/

-M

 

I’m a fan of Blue Sea products. They’ve never failed me so I take that as a good sign. If your looking for a simple ACR for maintaining the house battery that also will under voltage disconnect their 7610 ACR is simple and only about $75. But you have to supply all the wiring. I’ve been using EWCS welding wire purchased from Amazon for my larger cable needs. It’s a very flexible pure fine copper wire that’s rated to 105*C so it can handle engine bay temperatures. Blue Sea has a calculator app and a tool on their website to help you select the correct wire gauge for amp draw and length. EWCS has a chart to help as well IIRC.

The biggest thing about a dual battery system that I can stress is what is it’s intended purpose. If it’s just to power/maintain house circuits a 120amp ACR is more than adequate. You can use jumper cables between the batteries if needed to jumpstart in an emergency.

If you want to be able to combine the batteries for winching or when running an air compressor in my opinion then the only option is the Blue Sea 7622 as it’s rated for 500 amps continuous duty. It’s about $200 plus you have to buy 1/0 or larger cable to handle the amperage or the draw. Because of this heavy draw (and at the recommendation of Blue Sea Systems) I do not have fuses between my batteries and the ACR. I am running inline 120amp MIDI fuses from the house battery to the new circuit box and the run to the rear of the truck. I choose the MIDI fusesover circuit breakers for in the engine compartment since they don’t suffer the same thermal degradation that breakers do.

As for batteries a cheap Marine/RV lead acid can be purchased from Costco or Sams Club. Sams also has affordable AGM batteries. Also it’s pretty easy to find 20% coupon for Batteries Plus if you choose to go that route.

 

AT $800... yeah.... not in my budget...

 

I've liked these setups, but have reservations about going to AGM on a smart alternator setup (OV tune can change the voltage to better suit an AGM charging voltage/cycle). and I would have no issues using a jumper cable to start the truck (also plan to carry a NOCO HD jumper pack).

this is also why i liked the REDARC BCDC, expensive, yes... but with the BCDC I dont have to have matched batteries, i can get one AGM/LiPo/LiFe, and keep my stock battery until I decide to upgrade (or it dies), Not to mention the built in mppt charge controller, so when/if I decide to add a solar panel all I have to do is hook it up. the mppt controller is basically a given $100 add on, and is integrated to the bcdc (less/simplified wiring). and at 25A charge rate it should top up the house battery with sufficeint speed (with the fridge only drawing 4A, and no other devices other than "scene"/work lights at light, or charging phones/tablet while sitting at camp.).

 

Renorgy makes an all in one Dc/Dc with MPPT as well but as a counterpoint;
If one side fails your whole system is down. If you have separate Dc/Dc and MPPT, if one goes down the other still works.

I am a fan of Victron products. Check out their smart line, they all have Bluetooth integration.
-M

 

I am currently looking at the Jackery 1000, Eco Flow Delta, and Zerobreeze Elechive (pre-order). In my opinion the Jackery seems a little outdated compared to the competition. The biggest selling point is that the eco flow delta can get an 80% charge in 1hr. As for the Elechive, it offers way more wh at the price point as well as a compact size.

Solar generators have the benefit that you can use them for so many other applications, if the power goes out etc. You can also move them away from the car if the campsite dictates that.

As far as charge cycles go, even if a battery has 500 charge cycles, it would take 10 years completely discharging it once per week and you are still left with 80% of the original capacity. I have a feeling 10 years from now, everything we know about batteries will be very outdated and we will have much better options available.

Additionally with a solar generator you only have to keep that additional weight in your car when you know you are going on trips.

 

Redarc BCDC all the way! I use everything else blue sea systems from switch panels to fuse blocks and even MIDI fuses on the bcdc but this redarc is sealed and can take a beating plus everything mentioned above and great customer support and service along with nice guaranteed warranty

 

My only gripe with the jackery units is that the Ah capacity is kinda low.. the jackery 500 is 24ah... the 1000 only has 46.4ah... which is a far cry from a battery that can hold upwards of 100ah (60ah of which us useable 60% drain) for about 2/3 the cost.... the media hype about wh to ah can be confusing, and the marketing to the amount of power it can supply 100w, or 2000w @120v, not its actual capacity is a bit of marketing BS that I just can't stand... not to mention, most of my uses 90% will be 12v... I dont need an inverter (or its inefficiencies)....

 

WHERE DID YOU MOUNT THE AUX BATTERY?? and where is the BCDC mounted?

 

In between the radiator and the grille and battery is mounted beside it

 

Blue sea systems midi fuse holder is behind the grille

 

I just made a DIY battery station with my original truck battery, a control panel, 750 watt inverter, and a Noco 2amp charger/maintainer which can charge off the bed inverter while driving or any wall outlet. You can easily set it up to charge on solar if you wanted to. It ran the box fan on high for 3 hours until the voltage started to get low and I called it quits.

I highly recommend the Everstart Maxx batteries from Walmart made by Johnson Control, the warranty is unbeatable especially for $98 for a 24F.

 

That’s cool!