12/15/2023 0 Comments Installing battery isolatorBut I just couldn’t really get my head around it.Īmps, grounding, various gauge wires, wiring, voltage, solenoids, blah, blah, blah. I would read and read about the dual batteries and how to do isolator setups on the Internet from various websites and on Expedition Portal. But you don’t ever really want to kill your starter battery–it’s not good for them in the long run and they aren’t built to be drained down to zero and then charged back up. Of course, you can buy portable emergency jumper batteries, they also sell batteries with a special jumper built right into it. I now picture Walter White in Breaking Bad rigging up sponges and various metal components to jumpstart their RV battery… Although I could never do that! Alternatives to a Dual Battery Setup I can think of few things worse than getting stuck out in the middle of Grand-Staircase Escalante’s Hole in the Rock road, or some other remote area and being unable to start your vehicle and being stuck without cell service. Thus allowing you to connect your accessories and electronics up to this secondary battery to use while camping without ever worrying about killing your main battery and being unable to start your vehicle the following morning. In practice, this system means that while you are driving around all day you are charging both batteries like normal, but when the vehicle is off the batteries are not connected and cannot see one another. A dual battery with an isolator, for those who don’t know, is pretty much what it sounds like: connecting two car batteries to your vehicle’s alternator while adding in an isolator of some sort to keep the batteries separate (isolated!). Up until now, my answer had always been, “I don’t know, but that’s something I really wanted to do before leaving!”īefore we get into how to install a second battery in your car or truck, maybe we should talk about WHY. There are tons of reasonable options out there though - and without knowing your specific plans, it is hard to recommend anything.One of my most frequently asked questions about my truck camping setup was always in regards to a dual battery setup and adding an isolator. Redarc makes top-of-the-line stuff and is a good place to look to see how the best stuff looks and operates. This limits the extra load on the alternator and allows you to choose a different battery chemistry if you want (lithium, etc.) to power the house side of the systemĪ battery management system is the top of the line - multiple inputs (alternator, solar, AC, etc) that all can be used to keep the battery charged up, sometimes with inverters built in for AC power, etc. If the house battery is highly discharged, this puts a very large strain on the alternator to charge it - but it is very simple to setup.Ī battery charger is the next step up - it will use a signal from the ignition to turn on and charge the house battery at whatever rate you chose (based on the device you choose and how you set it up). There are two things going on here - you need to figure out how much power reserve you are going to need between power/charging sessions, and you need to figure out how you are going to do that charging.Ī battery isolator is the cheapest way - it just directly connects the vehicle battery to the house battery whenever the ignition is turned on. Click to expand.Unless you add another way to charge (solar, generator, AC charger, etc.), the alternator is the source of all electrical power in the vehicle.
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