Newbie weekender question about starter kit!?!

[SHELK]

Since I have a house in the city and M-F job and I am saving for the future...
For now I am planning on weekending and vacationing in my Ford Flex. 

I have reflectix cut for the windows, a 12V fantastic fan, 12V lights, and a good sleeping set up and will go simple with food, drinks in my cooler. 

Now for the battery bank... I don't have a clue about this except for the 5-6 videos I have watched. 

Thinking this for starters:

Smart battery box pre wired with 12V plugs? 

A 12 V deep cycle lead acid 100 AH battery?

And a smart battery charger with multi stage charging? 

Eventually I will get an inverter and some solar power with charging set up for that. 

For now... Can anyone give me advice on the 3 items I should start with???

I hear Min Kota makes a great box??? Made for trolling but has fuses built in? I just think pre wired for my newbie status could be more simple. 

What's a good cost effective multi stage battery charger? I would like it to tell me the voltage? Or maybe I need a multimeter? Or voltage reader? Any advice?

What battery is a good one to start with? 12V cost effective and works with the charger I buy. 

I went to a battery store and the guy looked at me like I was from mars. 
I guess they don't get many people looking for car dwelling power. He mostly deals with car automotive stuff. Hmmmmmm... 



Thanks for your help!!!!!!!! You guys have been awesome every step of the way.

 

[SternWake]

https://www.amazon.com/IOTA-Engineering-DLS30-Converter-Battery/dp/B00A0V5HPC

Group 29/31 walmart marine battery inside that minnKota battery box

https://www.amazon.com/bayite-Digit...635334&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=Bayite+ammeter

This Ammeter's sensor slides over one battery cable and will show amps into or out of the battery, and voltage.

Seeing how many amps are flowing out of the battery gives one an idea how much they are using, along with the voltmeter.

When charging how many amps the battery is accepting at the voltage gives one a good idea as to state of charge.

Alternator charging can be quite effective too, getting a depleted battery upto 80% fairly quickly, but wiring this up usually freaks Newbies out..
Later on if you wish to upgrade to a better battery the Iota will still be a good charger for it with 30 amps available.

The 12v flooded marine 29/31 battery will easily handle the Iota's 30 amp charging rate, and it will offgass when about 85%+ charged, so ventilation is important when plugged in while charging in this range.

The Iotas square metal casing and lack of buttons and lights certainly makes it less appealing than Automotive smart chargers with their marketing teams trying to catch your eyes, but the Iota dls series of chargers is many fold more capable than anything you will find on a store shelf in an autoparts store or retail outlet.

Regular smart chargers will NOT properly charge a battery when there are still DC loads on the battery. Especially a cycling DC compressor fridge. The Iota will. It is kind of pricey but it will pay for itself in extended battery life over other 'smart' chargers that do have the sexy plastic casings and display and lights and buttons.

 

[SHELK]

Thank you very much!!!!!!

 

[SternWake]

Make sure the MinnKota battery box is at least 13 inches wide to accommodate a group 31.

Some of them only are just over 12 inches wide and then you require no larger than a group 27 battery to fit within it.

 

[SHELK]

Is there a good 12V group 27 battery that is deep cycle and 80 to 100 Ah?

 

[SternWake]

Is there a good 12V group 27 battery that is deep cycle and 80 to 100 Ah?

Most marine batteries will proudly display 'deep cycle' on the casing, but the difference of internals between a true deep cycle battery and a marine battery is Vast.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/deep_cycle_battery

That said the Best flooded marine group 27 is this;

http://www.trojanbattery.com/product/27tmx/

but will it be worth the significant proce increase over a wally world group 27?  Hard to say.  If both are recharged properly then the Trojan could likely double the total cycles of the Wally world battery.

If not recharged properly the Trojan would beat the Wally world battery by no more than 15 to 20% in total cycles accumulated.


now if you wanted AGM, there are a few which would qualify as true deep cycle, but they are spendy.

With The Iota, i would recommend Northstar:

http://buy.northstarbattery.com/p/nsb-agm-27f-battery

The Best true deep cycvle AGM battery is Lifeline, but the Iota's 14.8v absorption voltage is a smidge high for their recommendations.  i would then say get the PD9245 for the lifeline which is spendier.

https://www.amazon.com/Lifeline-GPL-27T-AGM-Battery/dp/B004OA25PU

https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dynamics-PD9245CV-Converter-Charge/dp/B000GANZZ6

There are some more middle range AGMs in the group 27 size and the Iota DSL-30 is right at the edge of their initial current limitations.

https://www.amazon.com/VMAX-MR127-Maintenance-40-100lb-Marine/dp/B0087FBT3M

and the most budget oriented AGM-27 is this.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Po...e=UTF8&qid=1485638704&sr=1-2&keywords=Ub12100

 

[SHELK]

Ahhhh... good to know!

AGM battery can go all the way down to 20% charge? VS a about a 50% before needing a recharge for a lead acid? So i could get AGM with less Amp hours correct?

In the long run that may be best... but again, don't know if charging those are way different then charging the lead acid.

Also that charger that you pointed out... the IOTA, it looks pretty confusing for someone who has never wired stuff.

The one i was eye balling but really have no idea was the one bank Genius.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GEN1-Wa...=8-1&keywords=genius+one+bank+battery+charger

Looks so much more simple to use????

 

[SternWake]

I would not recommend regularly discharging to 20% whether flooded or AGM. Either would be much happier if kept above 50%. Either can be taken to 20%. It is highly debateable if AGMS tolerate 20% any better than flooded. Beware of marketing. Marketing is basically lying, to get the consumer to spend their money with confidence.

The Iota does require one hook up DC cables from Iota to battery with ring terminals over the proper gauge cable for the distance between charger and battery. It is VERY simple to do, and one can order Top quality cables custom from here:
http://www.genuinedealz.com/custom-cables

Alligator clamps are no Good for being left on the battery long term.
The battery cables sold in Autoparts stores are Junk. They use steel ring terminals and shold be considered temporary/ emergency conveninet cables. not a choice for a person in the planning stages.

The Noco/ Ctek, and whizz bang charger sexy shiny charger brand A thoutgh X are simply well marketed products for the occassional garage use. The person who regularly deeply cycles their battery would be much better off with the Iota, ProgressiveDynamics converters.

The Iota will take better care of the battery, and after it is wired up, all one need's to do is plug it in. No buttons to press.

The 1 bank Noco is only 10 amps, and would not meet the higher amp charge requirements that AGM's prefer.

Even the lesser AGMS would want upto 33 amps per 100AH of capacity, and will be more appreciative of currents upto these levels, rather than the trickle charge low and slow is always best mentality.

The Higher$$ AGMS have no upper limits on charging amps, and Lifeline says no LESS than 20 amps per 100Ah capacity. Odyssey say NO LESS THAn 40 amps per 100Ah of capacity in deep cycle service, so the 10 amp Noco on a Lifeline or an Odyssey and perhaps Northstar that are deeply cycled regularly, would be a bad choice for a charger.

One needs to get past the square ugly aluminum casing of an RV converter. They are much higher quality products with much higher capabilities, and are not meant to be seen and admired. Its about function, not fashion. If it is about fashion then i am not the guy to take recommendations from.

 

[SHELK]

Thank you so much for all this information! I really had no idea about any of this.

 

[John61CT]

Personally I think AGM's only worth the extra money when you need to install sideways, or in a spot where you won't want to ever check electrolyte.

Flooded same size and capacity in true deep cycle will be much better value for money, and compatible with cheaper just as good electronics, chargers etc.

Plus then you can refill if/when you need to, accurately calibrate SoC with a cheap hydrometer.

I suppose the higher acceptance rate may be enough advantage but only in super rare contexts. . .

 

[SHELK]

Okay the battery, box and the charger is all set to order... I have looked into all of them deeper and everything said is exactly right on, these are seriously great items via all reviews everywhere. I think i can learn to use them easily, or at least i hope i can!

Thanks again for the help!!!!

However the volt meter thing seems confusing to me.
So the positive and negative are wired to battery and the round o ring thing is around a battery cable inside the Minn Kota box?
So basically it is getting its power from the battery, but it is reading the volts with the ring?
Also that means it doesn't turn off? So it would always be drawing some power from the battery?

Sorry if these are way stupid questions, i am seriously have never done this stuff ever... ha.

I keep thinking maybe a 12 Volt plug in volt meter would be the most simple to just check on the battery via the box from time to time.
However, maybe they are terrible... i really don't know.

Thanks again for all the help!!!

 

[SternWake]

Your questions are good
I did not mean for my lastpost to sound as it did on the second reading.
  Thank you for not being offended. 
I will measure the current of the Ammeter/voltmeter hall effectt sensor combo, but i suspect it will be quite low, and I am not sure my tools are accurate enough to put a stamp upon it one way or the other.
The round O ring thing is only for counting amperage + or -, and it can only do so with 0.2 amps of sensitivity/precision.
There are more precise and accurate products but they generally require a mechanical Shunt be placed within the (-) circuit, and their readings still need some interpretation to make sense, but members  on this forum can talk you through that too, if that is the level of precison you desire.

 

[John61CT]

If you want an accurate State of Charge %, Merlin/Balmar Smartgauge is $$ but IMO the way to go.

Reading voltage from resting is a rough guide, need to get a feel for it with your setup.

Hydrometer is accurate, need FLA not AGM.