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

Bump this question; thanks!!!

 

One of the nice things about your Redarc BCDC is that the stock battery isn't a factor for choosing your house battery. I ran a Duralast Platinum AGM group 35 on my passenger side as a house battery pretty successfully. Also know that when you add the LiFePo the Redarc won't be able to charge both it and an AGM at the same time, it can only be set for one charging profile at a time.

 

Awesome. That 20A Renogy sounds like it should do the trick for me just fine as all I plan on doing is running the fridge.

So just to confirm, running this Renogy with my aux deep cycle battery should be all that I need to keep it safely charged, right? Are these units usually mounted in the cab or are they safe to keep in the engine bay? And with this hooked up, it will not drain my starter battery. Just making sure it covers all the things I'm looking for. Sounds like it hits the mark, just want to double check with the pros on here, lol.

 

you should look at the description on the Renogy website and, in particular, the protection circuits. I think you have to have a wire connected to the ignition in order to detect when the alternator is running so it can turn itself on or off, depending upon the status. Maybe someone who owns one can elaborate. (UPDATE: this has been confirmed)

I don’t think it is waterproof, so a cab location would be preferable. That being said, it should also be located as close to the auxiliary battery as possible.

Take a look at this video for a good review of the Renogy 20A charger. It should answer most of your questions.

 

The bluesea mlacr isolator has a remote that allows you to isolate at any time. That being said, I've never really used it and never had issues. My accessories battery (yellow top) was manufactured in 2015 and is still chugging along. Been fully drained many times.

 

Thanks for the information. I understood that about sharing one profile; yes. I'd probably just add a Victron system or more extensive RedVision setup in the back, grabbing power from the AGM (and solar), or something like that with two somewhat independent circuits.

 

I am by no means an expert on wiring, but I would be concerned that the 4AWG wire is undersized due to the distance and size of the inverter. This is because 4AWG wire has a rated ampacity of 85 amps at 75°C. A 2500w inverter can draw over 200 amps, so the wire could overheat if it isn't sized appropriately and you are running high loads for long periods of time.

Another issue is fuse size. If your fuse is sized for 4AWG wire, it may trip too often. Typically, a 250A fuse is recommended with a 2500w inverter.

 

I have

I have the Renogy DCC50S charge controller and you don't have to use the ignition wire for the Tacoma and it is a good idea to mount the controller in the cab or somewhere dry.

 

Thanks for chiming in. You have the DC-DC charger with MPPT. Like the Victron and Redarc chargers, your model is voltage sensitive. I just confirmed on the Will Prowse video that the ignition wire is required (4:15 mark) for the 20A charger.

 

What do you use the tan colored battery for? Cool setup BTW.

 

Thanks, It's a 115ah AGM telecom battery. I use it for my Diesel heater, fridge, tent fan, camp lights, air compressor, and other miscellaneous things.

 

I'm back with another question..and going deeper down the rabbit hole.

I previously ordered a Renogy 12V 20A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger to top my aux battery off that will only be running my portable fridge. I've since decided I want a 100w solar panel mounted on the roof rack and have ordered one along with a Renogy Solar Charge Controller 12V/24V Auto MPPT (Rover Elite 20A)

Can I run these two things together? I'm just wondering if it's gonna cause issues when the truck is on and both are charging the aux battery? If I decided to return the DC to DC battery charger, would the 100w solar be enough to sufficiently keep the aux battery charged?

 

How it started...


How it's going...



I was running the OGE dual battery set up under the hood for two years and was fairly happy with it. Unfortunately I'm dealing with a cracked core support from a combination of off roading and the ever popular Energy Suspension polyurethane radiator support bushings...don't do it.

New set-up has the starting battery relocated to the passenger side OGE tray and all of the house power stuff behind the back seat. I stepped up from a 55 amp hour AGM to a 50 amp hour Battle Born, I hope it's worth the hype. House battery is being charged by a Redarc BCDC 1225D via the alternator and a 100 watt solar panel on my roof rack. The house battery powers a ham radio, GMRS radio, and 2 always hot USB's in the cab. In the bed it feeds the fridge, 2 USB ports, and a total of 5 LED lamps inside he canopy. I also added an extension to the OEM invertor plug to my power panel for shits and giggles, I haven't used it since I bought the truck but you never know. Two big improvements I've made with these changes is I've mitigated some stress off of the core support up front and now none of my aux power wiring is running under the truck.

 

Yes, it's fairly sunny where I live so it may be different where you are but with a 65qt dual zone fridge my battery stays charged.

The chargers read battery voltage to determine charge state so it doesn't matter if both are hooked up.

 

You can charge your battery from multiple sources simultaneously without any issues. However, for a cleaner setup, why don’t you run something like the Renogy DC-DC charger with the built in MPPT charge controller? Check out a review of the DCC50S here. It’s pretty impressive.

 

Thanks. I will actually order that and have one fewer thing to mount/wire!

 

That's what I use and I really like it.

 

Renogy makes a 30A and 50A model. Lowe’s has the 30A DCC30S on sale for $199. Sale ends 5/14.

 

I have a single battery - stock, and the bushings. Pretty sure the core support was cracked before I even had that thought.

 

I only had a single group 27 AGM battery and my BCDC on in the stock location, second battery was on the passenger side near the firewall. Now the only battery under the hood is on the passenger side and I have new OEM rubber bushings, and soon I'll have a $1200 bill at ye old body shop getting my core support fixed.