I put together a portable dual battery setup in my van early this summer and thought some campers may be interested in what I did and how I did it.
I designed a rough sketch of what I wanted and my buddy "Engineer Dan" took the idea and ran with it.
I pretty much stole the idea from the Expedition Portal. Rather than mount my battery permanently, we used SO cord with quick connects. He made sure that the "hot" wire could never accidentally be plugged into a 110 outlet by disabling it.
We built the dual battery isolator setup unit at 9 PM the night before I left for a month long camping trip. It was not poor planning, rather he was tied up with remodeling his house.
Side view of portable battery box with 12 volt cigarette sockets.
Top View Of Dual Battery Isolator.
How To Wire A Dual Battery Setup (image from Expedition Portal)
I used the CTEK D250S as the battery isolator because it's a computerized smart 5 stage battery charger with the ability to add solar now or in the future. It cost more than most solenoid battery isolators. Solenoids and relays are good for isolating the batteries. I wanted a charger/charge controller.
We ran an ARB 62 liter fridge/freezer on freezer mode for almost 1 month. It has an automatic cut-off that shuts the unit down if the battery reaches 60%.
We did not make use of the 12 volt sockets as we plugged our Macbook books, iPhones, iPads, and cameras into the cigarette lighter sockets.
I used an 80 AH LifeLine battery that I purchased at Invertors R Us.
I like the CTEK D250S because it's easy to install and has a built in 5 stage battery charger and solar charge controller built in.
I looked at a lot of different options. If I mounted the batteries under the frame, I may have gone with 3 cheap $80 Costco (Interstate deep cycle marine batteries). That was way too much work for me. I got an estimate from a local marine electrical installer and his estimate came in at $2500!
My set up saved me time and makes it easy to charge the battery with shore power via the quick connects, add solar, and it's portable. I can move my portable power source to any vehicle or even inside my tent. My entire set up cost less $500 including the deep cycle battery.
Let me know if you have any specific questions either on this post or via PM.
I designed a rough sketch of what I wanted and my buddy "Engineer Dan" took the idea and ran with it.
I pretty much stole the idea from the Expedition Portal. Rather than mount my battery permanently, we used SO cord with quick connects. He made sure that the "hot" wire could never accidentally be plugged into a 110 outlet by disabling it.
We built the dual battery isolator setup unit at 9 PM the night before I left for a month long camping trip. It was not poor planning, rather he was tied up with remodeling his house.
Side view of portable battery box with 12 volt cigarette sockets.
Top View Of Dual Battery Isolator.
How To Wire A Dual Battery Setup (image from Expedition Portal)
I used the CTEK D250S as the battery isolator because it's a computerized smart 5 stage battery charger with the ability to add solar now or in the future. It cost more than most solenoid battery isolators. Solenoids and relays are good for isolating the batteries. I wanted a charger/charge controller.
We ran an ARB 62 liter fridge/freezer on freezer mode for almost 1 month. It has an automatic cut-off that shuts the unit down if the battery reaches 60%.
We did not make use of the 12 volt sockets as we plugged our Macbook books, iPhones, iPads, and cameras into the cigarette lighter sockets.
I used an 80 AH LifeLine battery that I purchased at Invertors R Us.
I like the CTEK D250S because it's easy to install and has a built in 5 stage battery charger and solar charge controller built in.
I looked at a lot of different options. If I mounted the batteries under the frame, I may have gone with 3 cheap $80 Costco (Interstate deep cycle marine batteries). That was way too much work for me. I got an estimate from a local marine electrical installer and his estimate came in at $2500!
My set up saved me time and makes it easy to charge the battery with shore power via the quick connects, add solar, and it's portable. I can move my portable power source to any vehicle or even inside my tent. My entire set up cost less $500 including the deep cycle battery.
Let me know if you have any specific questions either on this post or via PM.
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