Dual Battery and Solar Panel System Questions

[wrmmt]

Thanks for all the info everyone, definitely have a lot to think over! I like the simplicity of the National Luna kit for my novice level of skill when it comes to these things, but I am second guessing that a lot more now... Some really great options. I have also heard good things about the blue sea stuff, anyone have any experience with them?

I just finished wiring up my portable solar kit today. I ended up building it into a pelican case.

That came out really well! I have considered doing a more portable set up like that, but wanting to plug in a fridge in the cab of my rig is tripping me up. What do you usually run off yours?

 

[Glenn]

That came out really well! I have considered doing a more portable set up like that, but wanting to plug in a fridge in the cab of my rig is tripping me up. What do you usually run off yours?

Nothing yet, solar is new to me but it will be for camp lights, radio and recharging devices. Field test is yet to be done but bench testing passed with flying colors for more stored power than I would ever need. It would easily run a fridge. From what I have read, guys are running ARB fridges on weekend excursions on the Yeti generators that store less than half this available power. I was thinking of buying a fridge briefly, but my coolers can store way more and after 30 years of cooler camping , I am hard to convince. ARB's and the like are just ridiculously priced in my eyes and they are small storage.

 

[1Louder]

IMHO start with solar first! and then see if you really need a dual battery setup. After trying lots of configurations including a National Luna setup I have settled on a single battery, solar (portable panels for now), and a jumpbox. I also have a ArkPak but rarely use it these days. If I travel without my trailer where I can plug my fridge in if I choose to take the load off of my vehicle I bring the ArkPak. Even then it probably isn't necessary. My next mod will be a permanent panel on the top of my flat rack on my FJ.

 

[wrmmt]

Nothing yet, solar is new to me but it will be for camp lights, radio and recharging devices. Field test is yet to be done but bench testing passed with flying colors for more stored power than I would ever need. It would easily run a fridge. From what I have read, guys are running ARB fridges on weekend excursions on the Yeti generators that store less than half this available power. I was thinking of buying a fridge briefly, but my coolers can store way more and after 30 years of cooler camping , I am hard to convince. ARB's and the like are just ridiculously priced in my eyes and they are small storage.

Yeah, amount of power will not be an issue, I was more worried about the logistics of trying to plug a fridge in inside the cab and having to move the portable system in to the cab too... I am not completely sold on a fridge yet, but trying to keep food cool for a week in Death Valley last spring really made me see the advantages to not having to deal with ice (or a little ice, mostly water as was the case then...)

 

[wrmmt]

IMHO start with solar first! and then see if you really need a dual battery setup. After trying lots of configurations including a National Luna setup I have settled on a single battery, solar (portable panels for now), and a jumpbox. I also have a ArkPak but rarely use it these days. If I travel without my trailer where I can plug my fridge in if I choose to take the load off of my vehicle I bring the ArkPak. Even then it probably isn't necessary. My next mod will be a permanent panel on the top of my flat rack on my FJ.

Interesting, so what battery do you have the panel connected to? Why did you decide to go away from the dual battery set up?

 

[1Louder]

Interesting, so what battery do you have the panel connected to? Why did you decide to go away from the dual battery set up?

My panel either plugs into my truck with a controller between the panel and the battery or to my trailer which has a built in controller. If my trailer is connected to the truck then the panel can charge the 2 batteries in the trailer and the 1 truck at the same time.

Why move away from a dual battery setup?
The questions I will ask "you" is why do you need it?
If your answer is because I use my winch a ton and a single battery isn't enough to handle the load. Cool I say go for it.

If your answer is I don't want to kill my starting battery while running lots of accessories then I say don't do it.
There are cheaper solutions and equally effective solutions.

1. Get a jumpbox - oh no my battery died for whatever reason. Break out the jumpbox and start the vehicle
2. I don't care if you have 16 batteries in your vehicle. How are you going to charge them? Well I say solar. Turning on your vehicle for 20 minutes doesn't do much. It does waste gas and maybe annoy people around you. Solar is free. Solar works in low light albeit it takes longer.
3. Why do you want to spend $200+ on a good battery (or two), $300 for a controller, maybe pay someone to install it, and a bunch of miscellaneous parts to just give you the comfort of protecting your starting battery? In the end when you drain your accessory battery down how are you going to charge it? Answer 1 solves the first part and answer 2 solves the second.
4. You are also adding IMHO unnecessary weight and complexity to your vehicle.

I have yet to kill my battery. I have a nice Northstar/X2 from Batteries Plus. I have a battery monitor that tells me its voltage health. I have used my jumpbox at least 6 times helping others. Makes me a "hero" for a day! I just make sure it is charged before I go on long trips. 90% of the time I am with other folks and they could bail me out if my Jumpbox didn't work. Worst case I might have to hook up my solar panel and sit around a bit for the battery to charge back up. The ArkPak was more of an experiment for me and sometimes my wife uses it at events outside of any vehicle. So that makes it a nice thing to have. Not very portable with a large battery but does the job.

Sorry for the long winded reply... I hope it helps some. Replace your regular starting battery with a good AGM Deep Cycle battery, get a solar panel and see what happens. If you are headed to the Amazon. Throw your old, charged in your garage, starting battery in the back of your rig as extra backup. Only wires required would be some jumper cables.

 

[brian daugherty]

Does anyone know a store in the SF bay area to get dual batteries set up? Thank you in advance!

 

[1Louder]

Does anyone know a store in the SF bay area to get dual batteries set up? Thank you in advance!

Can't help you with a resource. I'm sure someone will chime in. With that said you can do this as a DIY install if you read and follow the instructions. Not hard unless you have a vehicle where it might be difficult to fit a 2nd battery in.

 

[brian daugherty]

Can't help you with a resource. I'm sure someone will chime in. With that said you can do this as a DIY install if you read and follow the instructions. Not hard unless you have a vehicle where it might be difficult to fit a 2nd battery in.

I appreciate your feedback. I just don't feel comfortable enough with my 2 weeks of owning my FJ to mess up. haha but I were to do it myself I think I would like to go with the portable battery with volt meter and DCDC already attached in the back of my rig with anderson clips that could support a unsupported solar panel down the line. This way I could move the Battery "Pack" if necessary down to a beach or anywhere I want away from my rig. Any thoughts on this method?

 

[1Louder]

I appreciate your feedback. I just don't feel comfortable enough with my 2 weeks of owning my FJ to mess up. haha but I were to do it myself I think I would like to go with the portable battery with volt meter and DCDC already attached in the back of my rig with anderson clips that could support a unsupported solar panel down the line. This way I could move the Battery "Pack" if necessary down to a beach or anywhere I want away from my rig. Any thoughts on this method?

There are some very good kits specific to the FJ depending on your year. You should look at the FJ
cruise forums for advice. Commonly called the "blue forums". For a battery to be any good for most uses it needs to be at least a 55ah battery and more likely a 75-100ah battery. Good luck bringing that down to the beach. I can't keep up with all the posts but what is your specific need for a dual battery? If for light loads just buy an ArkPak or other battery box and simplify your life. Someday the higher capacity lithium ion batteries will be affordable. Double the power and weigh two thirds less. I have wired my entire FJ. I initially got some help from others but it is not difficult. All of my non-factory items are on their own fuseblock and can easily be separated from the factory electrical system. Again, I would seek a thread specific to FJ Cruisers instead of this one for more detailed advice.

 

[brian daugherty]

There are some very good kits specific to the FJ depending on your year. You should look at the FJ
cruise forums for advice. Commonly called the "blue forums". For a battery to be any good for most uses it needs to be at least a 55ah battery and more likely a 75-100ah battery. Good luck bringing that down to the beach. I can't keep up with all the posts but what is your specific need for a dual battery? If for light loads just buy an ArkPak or other battery box and simplify your life. Someday the higher capacity lithium ion batteries will be affordable. Double the power and weigh two thirds less. I have wired my entire FJ. I initially got some help from others but it is not difficult. All of my non-factory items are on their own fuseblock and can easily be separated from the factory electrical system. Again, I would seek a thread specific to FJ Cruisers instead of this one for more detailed advice.

Thank You so Much! just started looking at the ArkPak and now I see what you are talking about. This option seems to be miles better than the other for my application of just running a fridge and possible TV monitor and Fan. Now I am just going to research a little more about recharging in an extended stay scenario. Much appreciated 1Louder.

 

[1Louder]

Thank You so Much! just started looking at the ArkPak and now I see what you are talking about. This option seems to be miles better than the other for my application of just running a fridge and possible TV monitor and Fan. Now I am just going to research a little more about recharging in an extended stay scenario. Much appreciated 1Louder.

There are plenty of others. Just search for Power Box. A few news ones have the lithium ion batteries. They are also around $1000.00! Be skeptical of anything that is small and lightweight which says it can run a fridge for days. Ain't gonna happen unless it has at least a 55ah battery and that's pushing it. The best example would be the Yeti/Goal Zero models. I don't think they have enough juice to run a fridge greater than about 12 hours.

If you get back on the DIY kick. ARB makes a wiring harness that is easy to run into the back of your FJ. You run it along the the trim on the drivers side. Then through the firewall and then hookup to the battery. Just need to get a deep cycle battery vs factory starter battery. It's a 2 hour project tops.

Here are a few pics from my original install.

 

[brian daugherty]

I see that... so does it have a DCDC battery charger to keep the battery at 14.8? or a Voltage Sensitive Switch to connect auxilluary and start battery together to charge when the vehicle is turned on? How do you keep it charged to full capacity due to the smart charging system on the post 2006 FJ's that only charge the start battery to 12.8 or 13.8 range when a AGM deep cycle or a Power Pack has a maximum charge range of about 14.8.

 

[1Louder]

I see that... so does it have a DCDC battery charger to keep the battery at 14.8? or a Voltage Sensitive Switch to connect auxilluary and start battery together to charge when the vehicle is turned on? How do you keep it charged to full capacity due to the smart charging system on the post 2006 FJ's that only charge the start battery to 12.8 or 13.8 range when a AGM deep cycle or a Power Pack has a maximum charge range of about 14.8.

Not sure what you are referring to. The ARB wiring harness is dumb. All it does is provide an easy way to put a plug in the back of your vehicle that is always on. While I hate to bounce out to another forum or thread I think this is a good time to do so. We are getting too specific to one type of vehicle. Not sure where you are getting all of your voltage info from. Odyssey batteries tend to have very specific charging profiles. Other than that brand I'm not sure what you are referring to. Not all AGM batteries need to be charged up to 14.8.

 

[wrmmt]

My panel either plugs into my truck with a controller between the panel and the battery or to my trailer which has a built in controller. If my trailer is connected to the truck then the panel can charge the 2 batteries in the trailer and the 1 truck at the same time.

Why move away from a dual battery setup?
The questions I will ask "you" is why do you need it?
If your answer is because I use my winch a ton and a single battery isn't enough to handle the load. Cool I say go for it.

If your answer is I don't want to kill my starting battery while running lots of accessories then I say don't do it.
There are cheaper solutions and equally effective solutions.

1. Get a jumpbox - oh no my battery died for whatever reason. Break out the jumpbox and start the vehicle
2. I don't care if you have 16 batteries in your vehicle. How are you going to charge them? Well I say solar. Turning on your vehicle for 20 minutes doesn't do much. It does waste gas and maybe annoy people around you. Solar is free. Solar works in low light albeit it takes longer.
3. Why do you want to spend $200+ on a good battery (or two), $300 for a controller, maybe pay someone to install it, and a bunch of miscellaneous parts to just give you the comfort of protecting your starting battery? In the end when you drain your accessory battery down how are you going to charge it? Answer 1 solves the first part and answer 2 solves the second.
4. You are also adding IMHO unnecessary weight and complexity to your vehicle.

I have yet to kill my battery. I have a nice Northstar/X2 from Batteries Plus. I have a battery monitor that tells me its voltage health. I have used my jumpbox at least 6 times helping others. Makes me a "hero" for a day! I just make sure it is charged before I go on long trips. 90% of the time I am with other folks and they could bail me out if my Jumpbox didn't work. Worst case I might have to hook up my solar panel and sit around a bit for the battery to charge back up. The ArkPak was more of an experiment for me and sometimes my wife uses it at events outside of any vehicle. So that makes it a nice thing to have. Not very portable with a large battery but does the job.

Sorry for the long winded reply... I hope it helps some. Replace your regular starting battery with a good AGM Deep Cycle battery, get a solar panel and see what happens. If you are headed to the Amazon. Throw your old, charged in your garage, starting battery in the back of your rig as extra backup. Only wires required would be some jumper cables.

Thanks for the reply, that's what I'm looking for, thoughts and ideas! So do you have the panel hooked into the main battery I'm assuming?

 

[1Louder]

Thanks for the reply, that's what I'm looking for, thoughts and ideas! So do you have the panel hooked into the main battery I'm assuming?

Panel? My solar is portable as I mentioned in my post.

This is an old photo with my dual battery setup. Now removed. I built this diy controller box so my setup could be portable. It was originally used with a panel that didn't have a built in controller.

If you mean fuse block it is mounted by my brake pedal in the FJ with large gauge wires going through the firewall to may battery. I only have one battery these days.

 

[Flipper]

I have a dual batt system, I used to do high end marine electrical and electronic installs before I retired.
1st I have a ACR battery link between the truck battery and my aux batts, what this does is when I start the truck the link senses the charge from the alt. and connects the batteries so when I am on the road all the batts are charging. When you turn the truck off it disconnects the start and aux batts so you don't have to worry about a dead start batt
2nd. I have a 125W solar panel with a Morningstar controller, this regulates the charge from the panel and also prevents the batts from back feeding into the panel at night, it brings a 10A charge to either or both of my 2 group 31 AGM deep cycles on a batt select switch, the solar output out of the controller is connected to the output side of the ACR batt link, the cables for the ACR system are 2ga.
3rd on the 2 group 31s I have a Xanterx 20A marine charger, that plugs into 120V AC or my Yamaha gen/ inverter
I also had a heavy duty alt. Installed on the truck, so I can bring in a charge 3 ways, while driving down the road, sitting in the sun, or plugging in.
You can buy all the material thru West Marine , or Defender catalogs, Blue Seas makes great fuse holders and the Battery link, if you need help just let me know, I'll send you a block diagram and parts list and part numbers
The 2 31s run a 2000W pure sine wave inverter for all my AC needs, DC accessories and 2M, CB, and marine VHF radios


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[Rolasolar]

Thanks, I will have to send him a message! Id love to see pictures when you get them up. Do you have a controller for the isolator in the cab/trailer, or do you manually switch the mode on the isolator if needed?

Sorry just reading through your post again and noted I missed a question from you. Yes I do have a switch with a status light in the cab to change modes.

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[RyanC]

I have an off the wall question. If I don't have a dual battery setup but i have a second battery with a solar charge controller, could i connect the charge controller to my truck like it was a solar panel and have it top up my second battery?

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[Rolasolar]

I have an off the wall question. If I don't have a dual battery setup but i have a second battery with a solar charge controller, could i connect the charge controller to my truck like it was a solar panel and have it top up my second battery?

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Hi Ryan,
It wouldn't work as you need a higher voltage to charge the battery, if you connected a charged battery to an uncharged it would equalise if both batteries are the same capacity.