New deep cycle battery?

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Originally Posted by OffTrack

You really should think about one of the Traxide isolators if you don't have one installed. They are seriously good bit of kit.

Because they run off both batteries down to about 50% SOC it really boosts your run time. The other advantage is you tend not to discharge the aux nearly as far so it doesn't take as long to recharge to full.

cheers
Paul

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And I thought only 1 person in this thread worked for Traxide... You're doing a good job of selling me one! ;)

It does look like a good product. What would be the recommended way to wire a solar panel into a Traxide isolator? Same as the alternator?

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Originally Posted by Hoges

Supercharge batteries have a product called an "All rounder" ...it's a deep cycle (105AH) and starting battery. standard terminals for big lugs plus separate threaded terminals for aux. stuff. I bought 2 for a Cape trip a couple of years ago as deep cells for camper trailer connected to a Traxide magic box. One now sits up front (P38) as the starting battery. They've been very good. Best news is that I got a 'very' sizeable discount on the RRP because I told the bloke I was an AULRO forum member. One of our number who was/is in Sales at Supercharge managed to put this 'benefit' in place three or 4 yrs ago! It's worth checking. Also don't forget that any 100AH deep cell in reality has only 50% of that capacity before it needs a recharge....

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I'm pretty sure that deal only extended to orders placed via the Brisbane Supercharge warehouse.

That said I've got a Allrounder MRV48 (60ah @ C20) as the aux battery in my D2 and it's been good so far. I recently replaced the starter battery with an E-NEX DC31MF (100Ah @ C20) Battery: E-NEX DC31MF, E-ENEX Dual Purpose Batteries, DC31MF. The E-Nex has a rated life of about 100 x 50% discharge cycles or 250 x 30% discharge cycles which is pretty reasonable considering the price.

With the above combination and the traxide usi-160 we've never run into issues with battery capacity, although we rarely stay put for longer than 24hrs without driving the d2 somewhere :)

cheers
Paul

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Originally Posted by Judo

And I thought only 1 person in this thread worked for Traxide... You're doing a good job of selling me one! ;)

It does look like a good product. What would be the recommended way to wire a solar panel into a Traxide isolator? Same as the alternator?

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I reckon anyone who owns one of Tim's products would tell you they are the business. :D

The only setup that would tempt me away from the USI-160 is CTEK's SmartPass + Dual 250S setup but at around $600 for the two units there is no way I can justify.

I'm sure Tim can advise the best way to install with solar panels. :)

ADD: CJT discussed with Drivesafe and came up with this über-system which includes solar panel for top up http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...ml#post1748983

cheers
Paul

Thanks for all the info Paul. It's been a great help - making decisions through discussion. :)

Read through CJT's thread. Nice setup. Wish I could afford all those batteries! :eek: Maybe next xmas. :angel:

I've got the charger on my battery, so I'll report back in a few days on that.

Unless the battery comes up like new from the charge (I'm sceptical) then I reckon my immediate plan is a new 100AH battery and maybe keep the old as a backup. Looking at the options I realise I'm limited to cranking capable batteries like Marine or the All Rounder as my winch is wired to the aux battery. I might price up an All Rounder. Or something like:

Battery: Century Marine Pro 720, Century Deep Cycle, EB-N70ZM

Great price and has twin terminals (like I have now for straight swap). Store is close so I can pickup. Can't go wrong?!

Traxide isolators look fantastic, but even if I outlaid the cash for it now, I'm unlikely to find time to wire it up before camping. So it's going to have to go on the back burner...

No Problems, I've been looking at rewiring my setup for a winch so had done a bit of research for myself.

I thought CJT's diagram was a pretty good reference of general layout with the solar panel hooked to the starter battery via a regulator. I personally wouldn't use his exact specs for batteries/cables as his requirements aren't even remotely close to mine.

Not much point embarking on a complete dual battery system rewire when you are about to head off on a trip. Those last minute improvements are often what fail when you're away. :angel:

The century/allrounder/e-nex deep cycle batteries seem to be the most cost effective choice. To improve on those you need to substantially up the budget - Odyssey and Lifeline make batteries that fit the bill on CCA/Ah but the outlay moves from $200 to $5-600.

cheers
Paul

Well, I left the battery on the charger for 2 days and it measured a good voltage and appeared charged, so I turned the fridge on again. 24 hours of fridge running and it was still good.......until I noticed my starter battery was no longer at 100%. :eek: *shakes fist* Obviously after I moved the separator and disconnected/connected all the various cables it had left the batteries joined. So the 24 fridge test was fairly pointless. I started the vehicle, ran it for a minute, then turned it off again. Checked and the separator worked fine after a few minutes once the voltage dropped. I'll keep an eye on it, but I think it's fine. It's a solenoid type.

Anyway.... My dad has kindly offered to buy me a new aux battery for xmas! So I'll put the new one in the engine bay and keep my current one in the back as a spare for the upcoming trip and see how we go. Time to stop playing with everything before I break more stuff!

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Originally Posted by OffTrack

Not much point embarking on a complete dual battery system rewire when you are about to head off on a trip. Those last minute improvements are often what fail when you're away. :angel:

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If it ain't broken - upgrade the night before! :wasntme: ;)