2nd battery - works great!

[caseyc]

I recently installed a 2nd auxilary battery to my van, and it's working out great, should have done this earlier! &nbsp;I can now power all types of devices that I couldn't really do before. &nbsp;The 2nd battery is hidden underneath the seat, and is attached to a 1000 watt inverter. &nbsp;The 2nd battery is now powering the DVD player, a Dometic fridge, a Sony PS3 Playstation, car stereo, bass amplifier subwoofer, a laptop, Viper alarm system, and more. &nbsp;I just went to Sears to buy a new coffee maker, a rice cooker, and a percolator for boiling water. &nbsp;All these appliances plug into the 2nd battery and make for easy cooking! &nbsp;I can now easily make coffee, hot tea, noodle soup, etc. &nbsp;I used to have to rely on the main battery for 12 volt power, which was slow to power devices such as a 12 volt coffee maker, and the single main battery would sometimes die if watching DVD movies for too long. &nbsp;Now with the 2nd battery, these prior problems have disappeared! &nbsp;I sometimes wish the inverter was a larger 2000 watt model to power a microwave oven, but I'm pretty content for what my 1000 watts are able to power at this time. &nbsp;I'm even able to use my very compact hair dryer plugged into the inverter, works well too! &nbsp;Never thought I could plug in a hair dryer in my van! &nbsp;I don't even need to use my multiple portable jumper batteries anymore to power my devices, but I do still keep these around for if all else fails, just in case. &nbsp;I now have more than enough power, which has been working out great! &nbsp;Just want to share this experience if any of you is considering adding a 2nd battery. &nbsp;It's well worth the cost.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[Les H]

Cool, good for you Casey.

 

[PYSCHOWard]

I'm sure Life is so much Better when you're able to use the Luxuries, and NOT have to worry about running out of Power.

 

[caseyc]

By the way, I tried in vain looking for an electric kettle for boiling water using low wattage power. But all the kettles I found in local stores all used a high 1500 watts of power. I happened to notice the Presto 6 Cup Stainless Steel Coffee Maker (coffee percolator) and wondered if this low 500 watt device could be used for boiling water instead of making coffee. Sure enough, this coffee percolator works great for simply boiling water while plugged into my 2nd battery inverter, fantastic! Got this percolator at Sears for $39.99. I was very happy!

 

[Thoreau]

Caseyc: Thanks for the idea of using a small coffee maker to heat water. I, too, was wondering how to get hot water with relatively low electricity drain.

 

[caseyc]

Hi Thoreau, you're welcome. Do a search for Sears store online for the coffee percolator to simply boil water. The device actually looks just like a tall teapot kettle instead of a coffee maker.

 

[caseyc]

Hi Blkjak. What does AGM mean? The second battery is rated at 35 hours and is connected to a 1000 watt inverter. There is an LED digital volt meter attached to the inverter that tells me how much battery life is left. I believe full charge shows a reading of 14.0 or thereabouts. If battery life gets low, there is also a beeping sound. The only way to recharge the battery that I know of is to simply turn on the engine. I can either drive the van or sit idle. Both ways will charge the second battery. Quite easy, a no brainer!

 

[Nemo]

is there a shutoff between the house and van batteries? &nbsp;if you pull to much and there isnt, it could drain the van battery.<br /><br />generally a fully charged battery will read 12.7 volts when it's at rest(turn off all loads and let it sit 15 minutes or so).. checking while the engine is running wont work because it is reading the voltage put in by the charger. &nbsp;try not to run it down below 12.2, or it could be damaging the battery.<br /><br /><br />

Hi Blkjak. What does AGM mean? The second battery is rated at 35 hours and is connected to a 1000 watt inverter. There is an LED digital volt meter attached to the inverter that tells me how much battery life is left. I believe full charge shows a reading of 14.0 or thereabouts. If battery life gets low, there is also a beeping sound. The only way to recharge the battery that I know of is to simply turn on the engine. I can either drive the van or sit idle. Both ways will charge the second battery. Quite easy, a no brainer!

 

[sl1966]

In short AGM = Absorbed Glass Mat batteries are more expensive, but don't require the kind of maintenance the traditional flooded wet cell batteries do. They're superior in every way, if you can afford them.<br /><br /><br />

 

[caseyc]

Sorry guys, I'm new to this, so don't understand the fine details of the second battery. My car stereo guy who installed the battery told me the battery is able to withstand being drained completely dead 1000 times! Obviously I'm not going to do that, but he told me there is really no maintenance required other than recharging before it gets too low. I do not know what would happen if there was more drain than the battery can handle, whether it would draw from the primary battery. My guess is that there is no draw from the primary battery once the engine is shut off. which is the way this setup is meant to be. When I turn off the engine, the 2nd battery is still partially running unless I both turn off the inverter, plus turn off the radio. When the radio is on, which is drawing from the 2nd battery, this will cause the voltage meter to show how much battery life is left. Actually I think a full charge is more like 13.0, and I have seen it go down to around 12.0 to 10.0 after playing the Sony PS3 playstation hooked up to the DVD player for couple hours. This is also the reason I don't leave my Dometic fridge on indefinitely, I only turn on when I am travelling in the van.

 

[sl1966]

Here's a site that does a decent job of explaining batteries.<br /><br /><a href="http://rvroadtrip.us/library/12v_system.php#batteries">http://rvroadtrip.us/library/12v_system.php#batteries<br /><br /></a>

 

[fredcdobbs]

Hi Blkjak. What does AGM mean? The second battery is rated at 35 hours and is connected to a 1000 watt inverter. There is an LED digital volt meter attached to the inverter that tells me how much battery life is left. I believe full charge shows a reading of 14.0 or thereabouts. If battery life gets low, there is also a beeping sound. The only way to recharge the battery that I know of is to simply turn on the engine. I can either drive the van or sit idle. Both ways will charge the second battery. Quite easy, a no brainer!

How long do have to have the engine running to charge the auxillary batteries? I've read that doing it that way is extremely inefficient because it would take so many hours of engine idling or driving.

 

[caseyc]

Hi Nemo,<br /><br />Can you explain more in detail about what you mean by don't let the battery drain below 12.2 or it will damage the battery? &nbsp;I think a full charge on my battery is either 13.0 or 14.0. &nbsp;Lately, my battery has been beeping when below 11.0, which I think means the battery is getting low. &nbsp;When it got below 9.0, the battery then soon read "LO", and then my DVD player started getting dimmer and dimmer. &nbsp;Shouldn't a true low reading be a number around 1.0 or 2.0 or thereabouts as opposed to around 9.0 to 12.0? &nbsp;Just recently today, my 2nd battery didn't seem to recharge even while the engine was running and driving. &nbsp;I don't know if it's because my mechanic who recently replaced the ignition module and spark plugs might have inadvertently tinkered with the battery and messed up the connection to the 2nd battery. &nbsp;<br /><br />Thanks! Casey<br /><br /><br /><br /><table class="tables" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #ffffff; font-size: 13px; text-align: left; background-color: #6a7487;" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tbody id="main_posts_table"><tr id="tr_1274493002" class="table_row"><td id="td1_9" style="border: 1px solid #df8809; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 6px;" align="left" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap" width="19%"><span class="status_offline" style="background-image: url('/skins/mb/night_shade/images/offline.png'); display: inline-block; height: 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 18px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;" title="Offline"><a style="color: #000000;" href="/profile/1638510">Nemo</a></span><br /><br />Super Moderators<br />Registered: 02/12/11<br />Posts: 101<p>&nbsp;</p></td><td id="td2_9" style="border: 1px solid #df8809; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 6px;" valign="top" height="100%"><table class="nested_invisible_table" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="border: none; padding: 2px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline;" name="9"></a><a style="text-decoration: underline;" name="post1274493002"></a>&nbsp;<span class="desc post_date">Posted 08/01/12 at 12:09 PM</span></td><td style="border: none; padding: 2px;" align="right"><a id="quote_post" style="color: #000000; background-image: url('/skins/mb/night_shade/images/quote.gif'); display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;" title="Reply with quote" href="/post/printadd?id=5946435&amp;pid=1274493002"></a>&nbsp;<a id="postcount_9" style="color: #000000;" title="Show single post." href="/post/show_single_post?pid=1274493002&amp;postcount=9" target="_blank">#9</a>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td style="border: none; padding: 2px;" colspan="2" valign="top"><hr class="post_date_divider" size="1" /></td></tr><tr><td style="border: none; padding: 2px;" colspan="2" valign="top" height="100%"><span><span>is there a shutoff between the house and van batteries? &nbsp;if you pull to much and there isnt, it could drain the van battery.<br /><br />generally a fully charged battery will read 12.7 volts when it's at rest(turn off all loads and let it sit 15 minutes or so).. checking while the engine is running wont work because it is reading the voltage put in by the charger. &nbsp;try not to run it down below 12.2, or it could be damaging the battery.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><div align="center"><div style="width: 869.4000244140625px; text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 2px;">Quote:</div><div style="border-width: 1px; border-style: inset solid solid inset; border-right-color: #e8e8e8; border-bottom-color: #e8e8e8; padding: 6px;">Originally Posted by&nbsp;<strong>caseyc</strong><br />Hi Blkjak. What does AGM mean? The second battery is rated at 35 hours and is connected to a 1000 watt inverter. There is an LED digital volt meter attached to the inverter that tells me how much battery life is left. I believe full charge shows a reading of 14.0 or thereabouts. If battery life gets low, there is also a beeping sound. The only way to recharge the battery that I know of is to simply turn on the engine. I can either drive the van or sit idle. Both ways will charge the second battery. Quite easy, a no brainer!</div></div></div><br />__________________<br />2002 Ford E 450, 7.3L Diesel box van&nbsp;<br />2006 Ford Ranger Stx&nbsp;<br />2007 Kawasaki Vulcan 900cc Cruiser&nbsp;<br /><a style="color: #000000;" href="http://www.arizonaexplorations.com/" target="_blank">http://www.arizonaexplorations.com</a>&nbsp;<br />Twitter Azexplorations</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[caseyc]

Hi Bljak,<br /><br />Sorry for the noobie question. &nbsp;But does the below paragraph also apply to the 2nd battery when it says that 11.89v is at 0% ?<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Casey<br /><br /><br /><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">A fully charged battery should read about 12.6 volts. If the battery reads 12.4 volts or less, it is low (discharged) and needs to be recharged.</p><strong style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Battery Voltage and State of Charge:<br /><br />12.68v . . . . . . . . . . 100%<br />12.45v . . . . . . . . . . 75%<br />12.24v . . . . . . . . . . 50%<br />12.06v . . . . . . . . . . 25%<br />11.89v . . . . . . . . . . 0%</strong>&nbsp;

 

[sl1966]

Sorry in advance if I'm speaking out of turn on this. Everything I've read and heard on (deep cycle) batteries is that going below a 50% charge will damage them. Presumably the damage is greater if you do this frequently.<br /><br />

 

[caseyc]

Hi Steve / Blkjak,

Bad news. This morning I started up the van, but the 2nd battery is completely drained with no power, ugh! Not even a voltage reading whatsoever. Worse, the primary engine battery doesn't seem to be recharging the second battery. I hope it's not the fault of my mechanic who recently replaced the ignition module and spark plugs, maybe he inadvertently messed with the 2nd battery connection. Oh well, another trip to the car stereo guy who installed the 2nd battery.

Casey

 

[sl1966]

<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>we were not talking about deep cycle .... blkjak</strong></span>

<br /><br />The 2nd battery is deep cycle. Casey told me in chat after my post.<br /><br />

 

[sl1966]

<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>well he should have posted it ....</strong></span>

<br /><br />agreed ... I just got lucky seeing him on chat and jumped at the chance to confirm it.<br /><br />

 

[caseyc]

Sorry, i dont know if 2nd battery is deep cell or not. My car stereo guy who installed the second battery told me the battery is rated at 35 hours, and said there is no maintenance required, other than starting the car engine to recharge the 2nd battery. The 2nd battery is installed underneath the seat, and i took a cell phone picture of the 2nd battery if that helps. Thanks, Casey

 

[caseyc]

Here is the pic of 2nd battery. Even my stereo won't turn on because the stereo is connected to 2nd battery.