Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 18:09:08 -0700
Reply-To: Craig Oda - Personal email <craigoda@COMMUNITYBUILDERS.INFO>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Craig Oda - Personal email <craigoda@COMMUNITYBUILDERS.INFO>
Subject: Re: Overwhelmed: Second Battery
In-Reply-To: <002201c1efe0$c8a45450$0b01a8c0@uwithinkpad>
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William,
http://www.geocities.com/harald_nancy/dualbattery.htm
and
http://members.fortunecity.com/davebaker1/westy/westy.htm
The part that is most relevant to you is
http://members.fortunecity.com/davebaker1/westy/id20.htm
Did you get deep-cycle batteries?
BTW, I don't have dual-batteries installed myself, I'm just
researching it right now. There's a bunch of other stuff I have to
fix on my Westy first.
However, from my inexperienced perspective, you should be able to
charge the secondary from the alternator and run power from it when
parked if you wire the fixtures to the secondary battery. I think
that the refridgertor will suck your battery dry pretty quick, so you
might want to use propane.
-- Craig
On Mon, 29 Apr 2002, Russell, William wrote:
> I've been considering and researching a second battery for my 1980
> Westfalia since before I even bought it last September. Unfortunately,
> with lots of research, sometimes comes lots of confusion. So, I'm
> looking for advice. Here's the situation:
>
>
>
> I like music. I like it a lot. After purchasing my Westfalia, I
> installed an aftermarket stereo system. I installed 4 - 5" Pioneer
> speakers, a Pioneer AM/FM/CD Player (low end model), and a Pioneer power
> amp driving a nice big sub-woofer in one of those carpeted boxes at the
> end of 6' of speaker wire so that I can move it to wherever is most
> convenient at any given time. The sound is excellent! I think I need
> to fine tune the EQ because the stereo seems to have to be so loud that
> it hurts my ears when I'm driving. But, when I am parked it sounds
> superb.
>
>
>
> After reading through the archives at westfalia.org, I was under the
> impression that my best option was to install a second battery that was
> exactly the same as my primary battery. Since I needed a new primary
> battery anyway, I purchased two GR41/60 MM72 batteries which seemed to
> be the largest ones that would fit in the van. I immediately installed
> the primary but the secondary is still sitting idle under the driver's
> seat. They have actually been rotated a couple of times already because
> I was having problems with the starting system.
>
>
>
> As I continued my research during the Canadian winter, I realized that
> for the type of camping I like to do (long weekend festivals with no
> power hook-ups and plenty of need for loud music and cold beer); I would
> probably need an alternate power source to ensure that I could live to
> my expectations. I think that I have decided on installing a solar
> panel lying flat in the luggage rack over the passenger compartment.
> However, I don't have the money right now to make the purchase or the
> time to perform the installation.
>
>
>
> What I would like to do right now is hook-up the second battery. I want
> it to charge from the alternator when the engine is running, yet be
> isolated from the primary batter when the engine is shut off. I figure
> that I should hook the stereo, the sub-woofer, some lighting, and the
> fridge to the second battery. In another few months, I would like to
> install the solar panel and connect it to the secondary battery as well.
> At that time, I would like the solar panel to charge the second battery
> when the van is off, but I would still like to make use of the
> alternator for charging the second battery when the van is running.
>
>
>
> So, first of all, can I do all this? Am I missing any important facts?
> Secondly, how should I isolate the batteries? I've read that a relay is
> enough, and then I read that a relay isn't enough and I should use an
> isolator. Will either or both of these work with my planned solar panel
> setup? Where can I order the required parts and is this a task that I
> can really do myself?
>
>
>
> Any assistance or input is GREATLY appreciated. I want to do this right
> and only do it once.
>
>
>
> \/\/i!!y
>
>
>
> 1980 Vanagon "Jazzy"
>
--
Craig Oda craigoda@communitybuilders.info
VW Info: 1983 VW Westfalia, water-cooled, automatic
http://communitybuilders.dhs.org/craigoda/vw/
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