Adding Second Battery

[08crd]

I have a second battery mounted in the the rear they are used a lot in Australia to enable the running of a car fridge. With the hot weather over here you need the fridge when you go camping as you end up in some fairly remote areas and a long way from towns or shops. i run a Redarc battery isolator solenoid, this is fitted between the start battery and the second battery. The batteries are connected together when driving however when stopped the solenoid seperates the batteries when the start battery voltage drops to 12.5v. When the car is started the solenoid stays open untill the start battery voltage reaches 13.2v then the solenoid closes and starts charging the second (deep cycle)battery. There is quite a good write up on it here http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/dual_bat.htm

[Sal-XK]

I think for running stuff like games music and such a generator would be pretty cool if you could mount it and run it off the the fuel tank like an RV now that would be pretty bad ass. Lets not forget about solar power as well, I used these in Afghanistan for charging and running small things like Ipods and stuff like that not sure if its even practicable for larger things but a thought. Although it wouldn't of helped us any the last two trips to Flag Pole LOL.

[08crd]

Running a generator for small current draw items seems like a huge waste of money. The second battery is charged while you are driving and makes no noise while you are stopped. Generators are noisy, smelly pieces of crap that really only need to be used when running high load appliances like airconditioners in R.V's.

[Adondo]

The XK has a 160 amp alternator, so generator power is a non issue. but, if you want to run a 'fridge, high power stereo, etc. without running the engine, then a 2nd battery makes sense. That way, battery two runs down, and you still have a starting battery.

A lot of cop cars have a 2nd battery in the trunk to run radio equipment and lights. We use one of these to connect the 2nd battery. This device will allow the 2nd battery to go dead, yet you start with an untouched main battery. Or... if the main goes dead, you have an auxiliary to help start up with.

[08crd]

Hi Adondo, I like the smart relay you have used, I don't think they are available in Australia. The 200amp rating is much better than the 100amp rating of the Redarc relay I used. That is the one down side of Australia it is such a small market that a lot of the gear available to you guys never make it here.

[NeilSmith]

I've been interested in the solar option. Sal, what kind of set-up did you guys use ? I've seen the small solar sets in catalogs like Cheaper Than Dirt. Are these any good for cell phone and Ipod charging, or just a gimmic ?

[superacerc]

Some actually work pretty well but it really depends on how you mean to use it. It would definitely keep up with cell phones and ipods as long as the sun's out. You can charge a car battery at a trickle charge rate 2-5amp with the Coleman solar cell.

[Sal-XK]

I've been interested in the solar option. Sal, what kind of set-up did you guys use ? I've seen the small solar sets in catalogs like Cheaper Than Dirt. Are these any good for cell phone and Ipod charging, or just a gimmic ?

It all depend on what and how many you hook up to the solar panel. They do cell phones and Ipods just fine for the most part. The bigger the panel the more power it can generate. The sun don't need to be out for them to work they do work with cloud cover just not as well. The brand makes a diff as well my buddies one took all day to charge an Ipod and mine did not the panels were about the same size. I can't remember which brand I had I sold it to one of the guys coming in as I was going out. Just shop for one like you would a generator the more amps it pushes out the better it will do.