Dual Battery

[rahvin2j3]

Hi Guys,

Since an NV has a long nose in the front, can I install a dual battery under the hood? I've seen a dual battery set-up in a Titan and he just connected the two in parallel. 

Has anyone tried this? The goal is just to power a fridge, lights, and a propex heater.

Thanks.

 

[Weight]

I had a Ford with two batteries mounted under the hood. Starter and house. They were connected through a automatic disconnect that only connected when charging. There was a emergency switch to manually combine is starter was dead.

 

[rahvin2j3]

Thanks for the info. Will this set-up have enough power to keep a dometic cf18 fridge, a propex heater (1.9AH), and some lights (fairy and led lights)?

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Hi Rahvin,
We have two NVs, but chose to install larger battery banks in the rear. But plenty of NV people have gotten a larger battery tray, flipped the orientation of the current battery and then added another battery. Same type, age, condition (unless you don't mind dragging the new battery down to the current battery's condition. You might want to replace the current battery with a marine, or even better, a deep cycle.

If you haven't already been there, the Nissan NV owners forum is out there. A bit on the quiet side, but plenty of posts on NV conversions and modifications.

That should be plenty of power to run that as long as the heater is 1.9ah in 12volt. If that's 120v, then you'll need to take a look at all the numbers. Will you be driving enough to get them fully recharged every day?
Ted

 

[Trebor English]

I've seen a dual battery set-up in a Titan and he just connected the two in parallel. 

Two starter batteries parallel connected is not too unusual for hard to start diesels that need lots of cranking amps.  

While it is possible to use starter batteries for very light deep cycle use, a fridge or a furnace fan won't work for long.  You could have battery life of just a month or two using starter batteries like that.  

According to the Dometic web page the CF18 takes .64 amp hours per hour.  Times 24 that's about 15 amp hours per day.  That is quite low but, it is in the realm of deep cycle.  

A fridge and a furnace can work from an alternator powered system only if you drive many hours every day.  Consider shore power, generator, or solar.

 

[DLTooley]

You’d want to seperate the starter from the deep cycle. A good battery place should be able to do all for a reasonable charge.