EdgeStar Fridge/Freezer 43 qt

[Tch2fly]

Originally Posted by nakman

but the idea is run the main one as dead as you want, then flip the switch and always get home.

That's like taking a shower with the door open because you have a mop
(don't get me started on "self-jumping" )



Need more fridge room occasionally? get one of these Twozone unit

[nakman]

Originally Posted by Tch2fly

That's like taking a shower with the door open because you have a mop
(don't get me started on "self-jumping" )



Need more fridge room occasionally? get one of these Twozone unit

Oooo, that is cool! If only I hadn't done the mod that made my lid open sideways..

[MDH33]

Sorry to hijack, but regarding dual batteries: I want to add a second battery to power the fridge, but I'm not sure what would be needed to connect a second 12volt cigarette lighter style plug. Would I be able to wire it direct to the second battery, or would it require a second fuse panel as well? How do you dual battery folks have yours wired and where did you get the parts?

Thanks

[DaveInDenver]

Originally Posted by Tch2fly

That's like taking a shower with the door open because you have a mop
(don't get me started on "self-jumping"

I've considered this approach and honestly to me it makes sense. Even proper batteries lose capacity with deep discharges, so if you beat up one battery only, over time your replacement cost should be lower. IOW, if running one battery brutally eats it up 30% faster but the secondary battery lasts 100% longer, you spend less over time. I suppose the key is how much wear and tear running deep trickle discharges has on the main and how floating the second without ever discharging will ruin it. The reasoning behind this is that the second battery is essentially a UPS battery and they can go very long before needing replacement, depending on how good your float charger is.

[corsair23]

Originally Posted by nakman

Chris I just admitted to logging battery voltage over a three-day period, you're in good company man!

That seriously made me

[nakman]

Martin all my additional 12v plugs are wired off of additional fuse panels from Summit Racing, I've got one under the hood and one in the cargo area. So it's just one big wire to the battery of choice, a nice solid ground, then the little stuff runs off the fuse block.

As for wiring the dual setup, there are several ways to slice it, as you've already seen in this thread. Plug & Play fans like Romer & myself went for the hellroaring setup, and their basic backup system. http://www.hellroaring.com/

, OTOH, is more of a dual-battery approach, in that some stuff draws from each battery. There's still a switch involved so just one of the batteries can be isolated. I know Christo & crew have done several of these, however not sure the specifics...

For pretty comprehensive research, check out some of the options put together by the 80 collective.. http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...y-set-ups.html

edit: and I will admit, of all the mods I've done this one was one of the more enjoyable, and most satisfying. Not sure why other than at the end it really felt like I "did" something.

[Jacket]

^Same here. I've got one of those Blue Sea fuse blocks that I ran from the battery into the cab, and then the accessories all link to the fuse block. To me, it's easier and cleaner that way. That being said, you can certainly run wires off your 2nd battery, and connect them to a 12 volt receptacle - just make sure you put an in-line fuse on the power lead near the battery at something just above the power draw of the accessory (the 12 volt plug will probably have another fuse in it).

[Tch2fly]

Originally Posted by DaveInDenver

I've considered this approach and honestly to me it makes sense. Even proper batteries lose capacity with deep discharges, so if you beat up one battery only, over time your replacement cost should be lower. IOW, if running one battery brutally eats it up 30% faster but the secondary battery lasts 100% longer, you spend less over time. I suppose the key is how much wear and tear running deep trickle discharges has on the main and how floating the second without ever discharging will ruin it. The reasoning behind this is that the second battery is essentially a UPS battery and they can go very long before needing replacement, depending on how good your float charger is.

I don't believe I "beat up" either of my batteries. I run the truck from the normal battery and use the aux for all accessories that I may want or need to run with the ign off. I can isolate that system from the starting system and if I did run something until the battery was "dead" the truck will start normally. I guess we can see what happens long term cost-wise but frankly that isn't a concern for me; reliability and simplicity are the driving factors in my decision.
My system is fully automatic, no switches to fuss with or leave in the wrong position.


Different methods of isolating batteries is separate from my comment about self jump capability.
I tend to pick on folks who tout the self-jump capabilities as being important in selecting a dual battery set-up. It is an interesting bit of whiz-bang, techno stuff but as I have said eslewhere .... if you have to self-jump enough to require installing that setup, then your main priority should be to figure why your main battery keeps going dead

[Uncle Ben]

Originally Posted by nakman

100% backup. Or switch to both during winching for more amps.. but the idea is run the main one as dead as you want, then flip the switch and always get home.

edit: it's a Hellroaring, thing, you wouldn't understand..

Interesting concept. I'm into the "leave the main alone and it will never leave you stranded theory while watching a movie, blending frozen drinks and having cold or frozen stuff within reach of the back window and "don't worry....be happy..." school of thought." Has served me well so far....and NO, I don't have a Latte' maker in the 80! I can but it's a principal thang...

[DaveInDenver]

Originally Posted by Tch2fly

I don't believe I "beat up" either of my batteries.

You are using up battery life just using them. A charge-discharge cycle is taking a battery from fully charged to defined discharge and returning it. By 'beating up', I mean that all the partial discharges are cumulative and starting and winching are harsh on any battery and a slow discharge is not trivial to the second battery's life. So might as well not use the second battery at all since you are being hard already on one battery. The slow fridge discharge, if kept within the nominal range and you avoid running below normal discharge, will probably end up minimally effecting the main battery life of how we use our batteries.

This is my point, all batteries have some number of cycles in them. Say that cycle life is 200. If you do a partial discharge each day just starting the truck, you might use a cycle-equivalent each week, so the life in your car will be 200 weeks. If you utilize the battery for starting as well as running a fridge in a deeper discharge you do use up more life. Say that mean it will only last 150 weeks in your truck in this harsher scenario.

But let's say the second battery in float uses 1 cycle per month, it might last 200 months. But using it in a deep discharge will use a full cycle every 2 weeks, now it only lasts 100 months. So by holding the second battery in float-only I might increase the life expected from the reserve-only battery by 100% and use up the main battery only 25% faster. The replacement cost will be lower over the life term since you are replacing the main battery periodically anyway while the reserve/second battery life increases.

These are all just back of napkin theories, like I say I am still just running one battery and so it's just me working through the what-ifs. Part of this is why I have not bought a second battery, too. It is still cheaper for me to buy a new battery every 4 years instead of 5 than to spend the money on a second battery, building an isolator and dealing with installing it. It costs me about $10 per year more (so I expect $40/year instead of $30) to budget for replacing a battery sooner than spending $200 for a second battery of less utility. So I have 7 more years to worry about a second battery before I start to negatively impact my budget. Hopefully by then we are back with positive cash flow and I might be able to afford to put something other than ramen noddles in my fridge.