New Power System Opinions
- Thread starter jkarow08
- Start date
Even something like the Dakota 130ah dual purpose? I had read they were making dual battery setups obsolete.
Hegear
Active member
Maybe, I tried one in a motorcycle once and it lasted about 6months. It was a different brand though. I would think the heat would be the most limiting factor.
It would be great if it works though!
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On the kind of trip you are thinking about, simple is better (and imho more important) than options. I would stick with your group 31 and solar plan, although if you can roof mount your solar for full time use you might be happier. I’ve had a similar system on my daily driver Jeep for years and it keeps the fridge running 24/7 in the desert with no worries. All I do is top off the battery water occasionally, as it does tend to cook them off.
A visible volt meter for when the vehicle isn’t running could be useful as a monitoring tool and will help you know if you need to start the rig to charge the batteries.
I also stick with basic FLA batteries after a very expensive AGM learning curve. All your Lithium and AGM requires much more love and attention and costs 3-10x what FLA does. I used a dual purpose marine battery from one of the stores that starts with a vowel. Basically it can be replaced for $125 in any town in America, so when performance slips I get a new one (every 2-3 years), meaning my $1000 equivalency is 16-24 years of battery…. Math is on your side unless you need one of the other features… or you can’t talk to your friends without dropping brand names everywhere ?
A visible volt meter for when the vehicle isn’t running could be useful as a monitoring tool and will help you know if you need to start the rig to charge the batteries.
I also stick with basic FLA batteries after a very expensive AGM learning curve. All your Lithium and AGM requires much more love and attention and costs 3-10x what FLA does. I used a dual purpose marine battery from one of the stores that starts with a vowel. Basically it can be replaced for $125 in any town in America, so when performance slips I get a new one (every 2-3 years), meaning my $1000 equivalency is 16-24 years of battery…. Math is on your side unless you need one of the other features… or you can’t talk to your friends without dropping brand names everywhere ?
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Thanks, great to hear some feedback from someone who has done something similar. While a dual battery system may be the ultimate, for a lot of situations like mine I think a big single setup with a solar panel and jump pack is more than sufficient.
I did look into a g31 FLA but I've got a 5.3l v8 to start in my Savana so I need more CCAs than I can find in any FLA dual purpose. The interstate AGM I mentioned earlier in the thread has 925cca which I think should be sufficient even half depleted or so. I may bite the bullet for the odyssey odx-agm31m not for the name (although it is good?) but because it has an additional 225cca which should let me run it down further and still be able to start the van. Choices, choices... I'm hoping between the victron/solar and the on board 110v charger plugged in at camp sites with power, I give the AGM enough love and avoid some of the issues you encountered. I'm definitely going to have a visible gauge with am alarm, will just have to do some experimenting to see how low I can run it safely. My panel will also be roof mounted and I have an adjustable tilt mount for when we are stationary.
Thanks for the great feedback!
Without doing a bit of research, I can’t directly equate CCA Ratings and actual short term cold-weather power draw, but I would be really surprised if a 5.3 with proper cold weather lubrication, a good ignition system, and a gear reduction starter drew more than 300 amps to start. Maybe 350. I think you might be money ahead to make sure you have a gear reduction starter, really big cables, and sure that you know what your cranking requirements are. I’m far from an expert, but I do not believe that CCA (instantaneous output) and reserve capacity (output over time) are always directly linked. Someone here will no doubt correct me if I’m wrong. I’m sure there is some general direction of bigger=more=longer, but there can be a lot of $$$ consumed in those equal signs with very little real return, especially if constantly charged by solar.
I'm far from an expert in this topic either. I'm mostly going on the fact that my current battery is adequate at 800cca so I've been looking for something with a little more than that to account for being drawn down at times. I can't seem to find it now but I read a post where someone looked at their cranking amps at various stages of draw down on a big single agm (I believe) setup. It wasn't a perfect relationship from what I remember but it looked like I can expect some sort of relationship between the level of draw down and my available cranking amps, yet to be determined exactly what that is. I'll look into a gear reduction starter...for the couple hundred dollars more for a capable AGM it'll probably be less hassle to upgrade the battery than the starter though. Thanks for the advice!