rick e wrote:Way to much information here for me. I read through most of the pages without nodding off. I am premature to be concerned about this but it has been in the back of my mind and recently discussed elsewhere.
My HHR has the battery in the back which is convenient. My plan has been to find a connector, preferably a 2-flat. Run about a 10 wire from the battery through the connector to the battery on the tongue of the tear. Not much distance there. This thread has told me I need a 30amp fuse near both batteries.
Am I missing anything? A switch maybe? Can I accomplish the charge with smaller gauge wire?
Rick, The ACR/VSR's that I linked above can be that switch for you. They turn on when the alternator starts to charge, and they turn off when the alternator quits charging. That removes the human factor. Personally I would put it on the TD rather than on the TV. That way any TV with with the charge connector will work and you only have one semi-expensive component instead of one on every TV or you don't have to move it if/when the TV changes.
As to the charge connector, I have seen the flat rubber two conductor polarized plugs in 10ga., but they're not all that common. Might have a look at the line of the Anderson Power products. I think a link or two was previously posted in this thread. IMO they are the better choice for the current levels involved.
capnTelescope wrote:bdosborn wrote:Just go back to page 8 of this thread.
and
ntsqd wrote:A couple links to ACR's/VSR's,
Both reference applications that
combine batteries. Now, if you are ok with charging your deep cycle battery directly from an automotive system, then you are fine. If, as in my case, you want to use an AGM deep cycle battery and you want the correct charging method for that battery, the combiner strategy is a no go. Because I will have an intelligent charger/maintainer permanently installed in my Tear anyway, why not take advantage of it while on the road?
I've said before, we have different goals. The goals require different approaches. Costs are similar, unless you plan on not buying a charger. I'm giving up some efficiency for charge cycle. Y'all are giving up charge cycle for efficiency.
As I've said here before, the alternator is the bully on the block. So long as the alternator is charging it dominates the dissimilar battery relationship and does not allow the destructive "see-saw" charge/discharge cycle to happen. Once it stops charging the ACR or VSR "uncombines" the batteries and doesn't allow the destructive "see-saw" cycle to happen either.
Combining the batteries to charge them does mean that you get a "one size fits all" charge regimen. Could this potentially result in a shorter battery life for one or the other if they are different chemistries? Absolutely, but you're down in the noise i.e. you're splitting hairs. If you had 1000's of dollars invested in multiple battery banks then it might pay off over the long run, but so far the only systems that I've found with more than one charging regimen are those on blue water boats where there is a dedicated alternator for the starting batteries and another, separate, dedicated alternator for the house batteries. It is true that the marine regulators (cubic $$$) can be set for different battery chemistries, however I have found nothing designed to switch these back and forth as the bank being charged (starting vs. house) is switched. They always go the multiple, dedicated alternators route if that is the need.
Time spent charging on the road vs. time spent charging/maintaining at home means that I see no pay-off in trying to implement multi-step charging while on the road. The total cost/total benefit doesn't balance right because of the time variable. My TV puts me in a somewhat unique position in that I could exploit one of the multi-step marine regulators with very little effort and I've considered it. The >$250 entry fee just doesn't seem worth it. With two AGM starting batteries and two 6V Trojan's on-board the TV I'm likely the most prime candidate to try this. I'd love to do it, but I just don't see it paying off. It makes much more sense for me to put solar on the TV and use a solar regulator with multi-step charging to charge one or both sets of batteries. For the cost of the marine regulator I can install a 100W panel and dedicated controller for the house Trojan's, and a smaller panel and dedicated controller for the starting batteries.