Wes, Can't say that I'm the battery expert here. but I live aboard a sailboat half the year and I have done away with my "starting" battery and rely on my 6x6v golf cart bank to do the job. However, I live in Mexico and it never gets really cold here... so if you're in a climate that freezes, the high discharge rate of the starter battery might be needed. I think it may be that you would need more than one battery to handle the load, as well. My system on my Westy will be a bank of two 6v deep cycle batteries (about 100 amp) with an isolation diode (a big one) under the back seat and the normal starter battery. I like to read in bed and listen to the stereo, have a dvd player, too. I would run the fridge on propane. Another option might be a small Honda generator... anybody out there using a genset? Jim C 71 Bayview 86 Westy 2.1 On Sep 24, 2008, at 8:31 PM, pickle vanagon wrote: > Rather than adding an aux deep cycle battery to a westy, how about > just > replacing the starter with a deep cycle? > > As I see it, the advantages over adding a second battery are: > Usually when you add an aux battery, only the fridge is hooked up to > it. I > don't really care to run the fridge off a battery. What I mostly > care about > is extended capacity for the 12v dc ports, all of the interior > lights, the > stereo, etc. It seems like changing over all the wiring for this > stuff > could be a pain. > Won't take up any extra space. > Maybe I need to replace my starter battery now anyways (hint hint.) > > Disadvantages: > You can still run down your battery. > > But I figure the point is that it will take longer to run down your > battery > this way. And I always travel with a little jump-start battery > anyways > (just in case), so if need be, the deep cycle could just be jumped. > > > > So, what's up with this idea? Worth doing? Or should I just bite > the bullet > and rewire all the lights/power ports/etc to an auxiliary deep-cycle? > > Thanks, > Wes |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.