Thread: Traxide vs. Redarc

Originally Posted by Kandy

Please explain?
I leave my caravan battery (Supercharge Allrounder on constant charge "float' with a smart charger - 240v power- as Ive always believed a battery is happier with a "full belly" and Im always topping up my vehicles batteries if not in use ( Ctek smart charger)

Read this: Lead–acid battery - Wikipedia
Then re-read what Tim wrote above.

I have no real opinion / allegiance one way or the other. I have a Blue sea systems ML-ACR. I don't tow or have any other demanding battery requirements, but chose this due to:
1) IP66 rated (essentially water and dust resistant)- because defender.
2) It can handle a full 500A current without popping- I run my winch thru this.

Other than an ID 10 T error which happened when I left something plugged into the vehicle for 2 weeks and completely flattened a starting battery, I have no other issues with it keeping a charge on the batteries. The ability to self jump start is very handy in these situations.

Originally Posted by Toxic_Avenger

I have no real opinion / allegiance one way or the other. I have a Blue sea systems ML-ACR. I don't tow or have any other demanding battery requirements, but chose this due to:
1) IP66 rated (essentially water and dust resistant)- because defender.
2) It can handle a full 500A current without popping- I run my winch thru this.

Other than an ID 10 T error which happened when I left something plugged into the vehicle for 2 weeks and completely flattened a starting battery, I have no other issues with it keeping a charge on the batteries. The ability to self jump start is very handy in these situations.

The C-TEK smart charger will know when to turn off.

Originally Posted by Nicky

The C-TEK smart charger will know when to turn off.

Till it loses the plot..

I have had two that consistently overcharged​ batteries...

I won't leave my current c-tek on for more than a couple of days..

Learn't my lesson the hard way...

Hi, just out of interest I spoke to our local LR Service Centre (Bris) about installing a dual battery sytem, they suggested Redarc and when I said I was interested in Traxide they tried to steer me away. They gave the same reasons, low voltage issues in crank battery...

I'm glad I saw this thread.

Cheers

John

Unless people have much smaller batteries or have engines that are a lot harder to start than my 300Tdi, I don't quite understand why they think 12.7v or even 12v is a problem.

Six and a half years ago when my previous battery was on its last legs and overdue for replacement, I checked the voltage a couple of mornings before I tried to start it. The battery had 10.5 volts and it started the Defender - just.

I'm not suggesting that you could depend on a battery with that voltage, but 10.5v is a heck of a lot less than 12v.

While I don't own a Traxide or even a dual battery setup, I am prepared to believe that taking the main battery down to 12.7v or 12v is a benefit, not a problem.

Over a month of the D4 being mainly used as a shopping trolley, the battery voltage drops to around 12volts. I plug in my c-tek 7amp charger into the anderson plug at the rear and leave it over night as many do and takes it back up to 12.7volts. This is not only necessary but it also will hopefully prolong the life of the batteries. I don't see this as a "PITA" or a problem. I think anyone who has a problem with the Traxide set up hasn't read the instructions or are just bloody lazy and can't be bothered plugging in a charger. I plan to go one step further as Tim has suggetsed and install a small solar charging set up, "one day".
Just my two cents!
Cheers
Scott.

Hi John, and sorry this is so long winded but that sort of response is typical from people who may be great mechanics but also try to pass themselves off as auto electricians when they really haven’t got a clue or are attempting to sell you something that just does not have the advantages my isolators offer but they make a good profit on.


I’ve been supplying these isolators, operating with a cutout voltage of 12.0v, for 27 years now, and no one has ever had a problem with my systems, unless there was already a problem in the vehicle in the first place.


In fact, in many cases, my system actually fixes problems that would otherwise continue to cause grief for the owner, and in quite a few cases, for the dealerships trying to solve the problem.


And the most common problem is Shopping Trolley Syndrome, where the vehicle is continually driven for short drives, and because the cranking battery never gets enough charge time to replace the energy use while starting the motor, progressively, the cranking battery is slowly discharged.


The very thing Scott just posted about.


Something else that most people are unaware of, is when your battery is continually undercharged through short drives, it not only slowly discharges, but over time it also looses the amount of battery capacity that can actually be charged.


This then causes a problem in that even if you do go for the occasional long drive, the battery can no longer be charge to it’s original capacity.


My isolators resolve these potential problems, in MOST cases.


With extreme cases of very short driving situations, nothing will help ( again see Scott’s real world solution ).


But in many other cases, because my isolators keep the batteries linked, first off, when you start your motor, you will be drawing current from two batteries, and this has a number of advantages.


The starter motor current load is shared so the cranking battery does not have to discharge as much energy as it would by itself, so you will be able to replace the energy used to start the motor in a shorter drive time.


Short driving habits will eventually cause messages like “Low Battery, Start Motor” to appear. This unfortunately is usually misinterpreted as an indication that the battery is getting dangerously low.


In most cases, this is not the case. Depending on the make of vehicle, these messages are actually generated by the Infotainment unit and have nothing to do with the BMS ( Battery Management System ) and do not indicate the true state of the cranking battery.


Cranking batteries are rated by CCA and the CCA of any cranking battery is maintained by the battery down to 40% of the State of Charge of the battery, and this is at 0 degrees.


So even at 11.9v, the cranking battery will still have it’s desired cranking capability.


In reality, I have tested starting numerous makes and models of NEW vehicles and as yet have not come across any new vehicle, Land Rovers included, that could not be started using a cranking battery with only 20% SoC ( 11.6v ) which means at 12.0v, there is plenty of starting power in reserve, in a cranking battery, at 50% SoC.


My isolators also give you reverse charging, allowing the AUXILIARY battery to charge and maintain the cranking battery when the motor is off.


But there is another benefit with having a cutout voltage at 12.0v.


Main people with D3s and D4s, will go camping and then when they go to start their D3 or D4, find they have a flat cranking battery, and this can happen even when these vehicles have one of my isolators installed.


The main cause of this problem is people continually opening and closing doors on their vehicles.


With vehicles without my isolator installed, the amount of times you can open and close doors before you discharge your cranking battery is a lot less than the number of times you can do the same thing when one of my isolators is fitted, and this type of situation is a perfect example of where there is a real benefit in having a low, 12.0v cutout voltage level and anything above this can actually lead to cranking battery going flat sooner.


These are just some of the real life advantages my isolators offer.