Question about wiring/charging trailer battery

[HenryJ]

An Optima battery is an Absorbed Glass Mat Spiral cell battery.

The YellowTop® high-performance AGM battery is one of the only true dual-purpose automotive batteries available.

The OPTIMA® RedTop® high-performance AGM battery is the ultimate high-CCA starting battery designed to deliver the strongest 5-second ignition power for a reliable start-up every time.

Installing an OPTIMA® BlueTop® high-performance AGM battery in your boat or RV means more running time and up to 3 times more recharges than what you’d get out of a traditional battery.

There are very few gel batteries available.

 

[Toolman]

Thank you Henry J for backing me up .. In my TJ I have a RED TOP for the engine etc.... with a yellow top in parallel. My plan is to put a solenoid between them activated when I turn the key for full cranking power but when I shut the engine down I will keep the RED TOP isolated from the YELLOW TOP running the ARB Fridge and night lights for in camp use..

I want to ADD an isolator to the YELLOW TOP side of the switch and run one side of the isolator to the trailer and the other side to the yellow.

Therefore. I will be charging everything while driving. BUT if I need to use winch it won't use the 2 BLUE TOP's I have in the trailer.. and the things in the trailer won't be drawing from the engine battery when parked.

Not sure what solar trickle charger I will use but I'm hoping someone has an opinion on which one will work. I'm going to contact OPTIMA with that question when I get to that fork in the road. I may add a Marine "PERKO" (1 or 2 or ALL)------switch between the 2 BLUE TOPs I put in the trailer.. just for fun. :chef:

for now I have RED and YELLOW in Parallel and it is working fine. NO SWITCH. yet.

Thanks for any input on the solar trickle charger.. only necessary when I put ARB fridge in trailer. Night lights and other Acc. will run fine with out it for now. :sunny:

 

[adventurebuddies]

Toolman, HenryJ - Thanks for clearing that up for me. Also, I'll need to investigate the charger that came with my trailer - looks like a cheapie and may not be correct for the BlueTops.

 

[jdholder]

Toolman, HenryJ - Thanks for clearing that up for me. Also, I'll need to investigate the charger that came with my trailer - looks like a cheapie and may not be correct for the BlueTops.

It probably isn't as I had NO idea there was this much complexity in batteries!!

 

[adventurebuddies]

Just bought a new trickle charger called Battery Tender Plus. It says it's made to be used with AGM batteries. Also finished the trailer wiring. Brakes work great and I hooked up the charge wire with an ign powered relay. Trailers backup lights are powered when the vehicle is in reverse.

 

[Toolman]

That's a great tender.. I didn't want to recommend it because I wasn't' sure if it was right for AGM batteries or not. Nice job on the reverse lights.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

An alternator is a constant voltage devise. It is not good at achiving a full charge to a crank battery (where it does not matter much), but it is worse at charging a secondary battery that is subject to voltage drop from the length of the feed wire.
The best way to fix this is with a voltage boosted system.
http://redarc.com.au/products-and-services/smart-start/smart-start-bcdc
This is one of the best.
It will accept power from the alternator , even with lots of voltage drop, and deliver a full 3 stage programmable charge to your aux. battery.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[fyrfytr1717]

Wow, they've got some nice gear on that site that I never even knew existed! Expensive, but nice if you want to do it right. I wonder if there is a distributor for any of those products here in the states...

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Wow, they've got some nice gear on that site that I never even knew existed! Expensive, but nice if you want to do it right. I wonder if there is a distributor for any of those products here in the states...

No US agent, but they will deal direct.
They make good gear and provide excellent back-up.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Hilldweller]

An Optima battery is an Absorbed Glass Mat Spiral cell battery.

There are very few gel batteries available.

You are correct, sir.

Our BlueTops are identical internally to their YellowTop counterparts, but BlueTops do offer additional threaded top posts for marine applications. Unless you are selecting Group 31 batteries or really like the extra terminals, I would suggest using YellowTops instead, as there is an extra year on the YellowTop warranty. There is no difference in the quality of YellowTops versus BlueTops, but marine users seem to be a very hit and miss group on battery maintenance. Some guys will plug in as soon as they get home and others will wait until the day before their next trip (if ever) to recharge their batteries, which could be months later.

Our Group 34M BlueTop is not a dual-purpose battery, but the marine equivalent of our Group 34 RedTop and should not be used in deep-cycling applications. The hardest part of what I do on the Internet is explaining the difference between starting batteries and batteries designed for deep-cycle use to off-road guys. Many seem to select RedTops for winching applications, based on cranking amps, the price of a RedTop versus a YellowTop, the color of their vehicle or some other consideration other than that of a battery designed for deep-cycle use.