Battery helped needed!- I tried really hard not to post this...

[bagelsjustbagels]

Hey guys,
I just searched for the past four hours but this these threads all get lost in discussion.

I am installing a dual battery set up tomorrow, and I need to get the battery!

It is going into my 2005 4runner which appears to have the capacity for a Group 34 Battery, but that may be a little tight so the next size down would be ok too.

I already have the the blue sea systems ML-ACR auto isolator, so matching up with my stock battery is not a problem.

I plan to run an inverter off of this second battery, along with a fridge, lights, and USB chargers. I am 99% sure deep cycle is the way to go. Obviously I want the most capcity and power for my money.

I can go to Oreilly's, Costco, or whever else really but i need to decide today.

Costco has a group 27 Deep cycle battery, Only 80 bucks!

Amazon has the optima blue top 34M for $175, so i would need to find a place nearby to price match. Or is there something else out there that is better suited?

I want to be able to run my fridge for 3-5 days without having to drive, will the costco one accomplish this, or will the ARB fridge draw be too much?

Should I do an optima yellow top instead of blue? I'd rather not because it looks like it costs more...

Thank you!

 

[4x4junkie]

That Costco battery should be quite plenty to satisfy the needs of your camping gear (including inverters up to 1500W or so), and is probably one of the best bang for buck values to be had in batteries period (the Deka Marine Master #DP27 is another, a slight bit more $$$, but may last a little longer too if history is any indicator about East Penn (Deka's parent co) batteries). Running a fridge for 3-5 days straight however might be pushing right at the limits of ANY single battery (other than maybe a 8D) if it is not supplemented with solar charging (especially an Optima, they actually have less capacity for a given size than flat-plate batteries due to all the wasted space between it's round cells. Optimas are very poor values IMO).

Have you looked into solar at all yet?

 

[dwh]

Agree. Just make sure it's deep cycle and run the biggest you can fit.

And the cheaper one is better for you since you'll probably run it deep into the red and have to replace it in a couple of years anyway.

Edit: And that wasn't an insult...I know what I'm doing and that's how I choose to do it. Buy cheap deep cycle batteries, use em up and replace often.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I want to be able to run my fridge for 3-5 days without having to drive, will the costco one accomplish this, or will the ARB fridge draw be too much?

Without solar, that's not going to happen with a G34 from any manufacturer. When it's warm, that won't happen with anybody's G31 either. The Optima Yellow and the Optima Blue dual purpose are electrically the same, with the only difference being the case color and the extra studs on the Blue. Those studs will be handy for your use. Don't make the mistake of buying a Blue starting battery (electrically the same as the Optima Red). I put a fresh pair of house batteries in my truck last year and I went with two Blue dual purpose G34s, and they work just fine. My starting battery is an Odyssey G31. In the SoCal/AZ summer I can get maybe 30 hours on my pair of G34s before they drop to 11.0 volts. Battery brand is not as important as battery size, but you are probably physically limited to a pair of 34s in a FourRunner, unless you mount batteries on the frame or behind the seats. In any given size, Odyssey will generally have a little more capacity than Optima, and Northstar will sometimes have more capacity than Odyssey.

 

[bagelsjustbagels]

Alright guys, I ended up with a costco Group 24 with around 75-80 amp hours. :wings: thanks!

Now It looks like this needs to be supplemented with solar?

I've got the two batteries, the ML-ACR, and a fuse block. Space for solar is minimal, so what is the recommended watt panel to keep me running a hypothetical eternity.

 

[dwh]

Couple hundred watts oughta do it. Fit the most you can on the roof and get a portable to go with it.

 

[Robert Bills]

Don't know what fridge you have, its amp draw, or how many hours of sun you would get where you would locate a solar panel, but my Renogy 100 watt solar panel has been sufficient keep my Engel MT-45 running for a week without my Group 29 battery ever being run down even to the suggested 50% limit. On a sunny day the panel fully charges the battery, suggesting that I could probably run my fridge indefinitely with my 100w panel. [Several years ago Martyn from Adventure Trailers helped me calculate my energy consumption and solar power needs and concluded that an 80 watt panel would allow one week+ stays with my fridge and that a 60 watt panel would only allow 4-5 days before my trailer battery would need a recharge with shore power.]

I now use this suitcase style solar kit: http://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-foldable-solar-suitcase/

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah 100W should be enough to keep your fridge going... Since you also mentioned lights, chargers and an inverter, it probably couldn't hurt to go a little above that even (maybe 120-140W).

Renogy has some nice kits for sure, though if you get one of their pre-made suitcase kits, I suggest getting the one without the controller and use a good quality one of your own (a controller attached to the back of a (hot) panel dozens of feet from your battery just doesn't seem like that great of a place for it). I made my own kit with two individual panels and some inexpensive cabinet door hinges. A pair of 60 or 70W panels like these should do nicely. The panels fold flat so finding space to store them shouldn't be too difficult (I secure mine to the roof when under way).

For a controller, a couple good not-too-expensive units are the Morningstar SS-10, and the PS-15. A little higher up is the Morningstar SunSaver MPPT-15 (what I use). The MPPT circuit allows wiring the two panels in series, allowing use of a lighter-weight gauge wire from the controller out to the panels to save a little weight. MPPT also can harvest a bit more energy when solar conditions are less than ideal (cloudy, very early/late in the day, etc.).

Put about 3 feet or so of #10 or #12 wire & fuse on the controller with a set of battery clips, add a connector to plug your panel(s) into, and then 50 feet of #12 or so landscape light wire to the panels.

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[Hilldweller]

Those batteries should work as long as you charge them all the way up after depleting them or maintain their charge while depleting them.
No matter how much you spend on a car battery, it has to get topped off as soon as possible to last. Some batteries recharge faster and easier, some are more resistant to vibration --- that's where the extra money for premium batteries matters.

I kept two Walmart marine batteries fed with the Renogy 100w suitcase that Robert posted and had about the same load you're going to have. It should work for you as long as you get at least 4 hours of direct sun on them a day.

 

[nycgags]

FWIW I purchased the National Luna Intelligent Solenoid system without doing my "fair share" of research, I think your "blue sea systems ML-ACR auto isolator" is probably a better decision.

I decided to upgrade my starting battery since I run a winch and wanted the additional CCA. This allowed me to take my stock Jeep Wrangler battery (from 2016) and use it as my Deep Cycle for now. People talk about not letting your battery get below 50% etc... and they are probably right but considering I don't intend to resell my OEM battery since I wouldn't get much value out of it, I might as well run it into the ground while I save up for a quality Deep Cycle.

My OEM has a surprising 70Ah capacity which should be fine to run my Fridge and using the solenoid to charge the battery between drives. I also picked up the 100W suitcase hilldweller mentioned in a previous post and a solid charge controller for when I go camping. My intention for Deep Cycle is go with either an 8D AGM ~320Ah battery or perhaps a much lighter LIFEPO4 (of about half the capacity) if I can find a model I like at a price I can live with, recently came across this 12v-150Ah Relion which may be a good contender for me.

 

[bagelsjustbagels]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I like the idea of the suitcase for protection sake. How do we feel about mounting a 125 watt on top of a hardshell roof top tent, something like a flexible panel mounted to a james baroud RTT?

 

[rayra]

Seems like a fine idea, except for keeping the panel at an optimal angle to the sun. Be a fine way though for some passive collection if your power margins are wide / if you don't need every bit you can get out of your panels.
You could even semi-permanently mount a suitcase type setup and use the other side as your angled panel, while the other side is fixed flat. Sort of a half and half. Not really the best deployment, but a good compromise.

 

[dwh]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I like the idea of the suitcase for protection sake. How do we feel about mounting a 125 watt on top of a hardshell roof top tent, something like a flexible panel mounted to a james baroud RTT?

Good for keeping the batteries topped up even when not at camp.

The more the merrier.

 

[RedRoamer]

Fwiw...i have 2 6volt costco cheepies and 200 watts flat on the roof of my class b. My fridge has been running 24/7 for about 5 months now. With just the fridge, i drop about 10% overnite and am full by noon.