Adding extra Battery power

[John h]

Back in the mists of time I mentioned that I had a power socket in the load area of my Surf, Vince kindly identified which plug to get and we have used a number of chargers and r/c kit when parked up at the airfield .However since its got colder we nearly fattened the Battery ! is there a way to convert to a twin battery system ?

cheers in anticipation

[hiroler]

If you have a chainsaw handy you can use that to charge the battery !!!

[cataclysm]

If you just need more juice, then you can wire two (or more) batteries up in parallel (Don't do it in series or you'll get a 24v system!). However, if you drain this you won't be able to start.

Caravan suppliers often have kits to convert to an Main/Aux system, but doing it nicely will need some electrical skill.

My surf has a twin-battery, and if I'm running equipement, I unhook the driver-side battery. Everything still runs, and if you drain the one battery, you've still got the other to start the truck with.

[nero279]

there's not that much work involved in installing a twin battery system, you could probably do it on a budget for around £25 + the cost of the battery using just relays, then add switches and monitors to monitor each battery and switch which one you wanna charge / use, as you see fit, or you can spend as much as you want (upto around £200) on intelligent battery systems and split charge kits which automatically detect and display the state of charge of each battery and charge accordingly.

[sv1000spilot]

Back in the mists of time I mentioned that I had a power socket in the load area of my Surf, Vince kindly identified which plug to get and we have used a number of chargers and r/c kit when parked up at the airfield .However since its got colder we nearly fattened the Battery ! is there a way to convert to a twin battery system ?

cheers in anticipation

What did you feed it?

Does a fat battery work better in the cold with the added layers of insulation?

[John h]

Look stop picking on me Just because my mobile Hair Salon has a less than 1% fat Battery ! What I mean't to say was FLAT ok ?

We did a lot of quick charging of fuel cells and Futaba 7.2v battery packs for the r/c cars and planes .The back load area converts to a virtual workshop Rear swing away wheel acts as a wind break and rear door acts as a rain awning, its just that everybody came to us to use our chargers ! nearly had to use the old jump leads to get re-started ! e

[cataclysm]

I miss the hand-crank on my old Range Rover... but I'm not sure I could turn a diesel over by hand. Auto also is a problem. Anyone got any good solutions for flat battery starting (excluding jump leads...)?

[BUSHWHACKER]

Back in the mists of time I mentioned that I had a power socket in the load area of my Surf, Vince kindly identified which plug to get and we have used a number of chargers and r/c kit when parked up at the airfield .However since its got colder we nearly fattened the Battery ! is there a way to convert to a twin battery system ?

cheers in anticipation

For the relay switching supply,(Terminal number 86) I tapped into the wiper motor wiring as it's close by and easier. Switch on ignition and check which wire is 'Live' with a multimeter.

[dillypad]

On the subject of flat batteries. I left my lights on at work and flattened mine (both of them). I had been taking the pi55 out of a workmate for years about his landy disco. Unfortunately I had to get him to give me a jump start. Couldn't get it started from the landy and had to get the RAC. The simple solution was much bigger jump leads so I would recommend everyone with a surf to get some just in case. By the way it takes a long time to recharge a two battery system. Great if you need the extra capacity but a real bummer if you drain it.

[Albannach]

I miss the hand-crank on my old Range Rover... but I'm not sure I could turn a diesel over by hand. Auto also is a problem. Anyone got any good solutions for flat battery starting (excluding jump leads...)?

If you have an Auto, the only solutions are changing the batteries or jump starting. You can tow start a manual, but not if the batteries are completely dead.

[John h]

For the relay switching supply,(Terminal number 86) I tapped into the wiper motor wiring as it's close by and easier. Switch on ignition and check which wire is 'Live' with a multimeter.

As always the Font of all Surf Knowledge strikes again !

cheers Vince, mind you with all this rain we may go into radio controlled boats at this rate

[captain_chaos]

I've got a leasure battery on mine, but instead of automatically charging through relays and stuff. I made up a manual switch inside the cab to turn on/off charging.

[nero279]

I'd be tempted to use a bigger relay and nice fat cable, it will allow you to draw more current off both batteries whilst the engines running, but when switched off you'll only be drawing from the leisure battery for your new aux items. It will also allow the leisure battery to charge faster.

http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/177
http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/752

[Fordy]

What sort of Ah would you suggest for a leisure battery?

Any bright ideas where to fit the leisure battery other than in the engine bay?

ATM I'm only thinking of CB and rear power socket for a worklight or electric coolbox but may get bigger ideas

[captain_chaos]

What sort of Ah would you suggest for a leisure battery?

Any bright ideas where to fit the leisure battery other than in the engine bay?

ATM I'm only thinking of CB and rear power socket for a worklight or electric coolbox but may get bigger ideas

currently got a 75amp/hour unit. Runs coolbox, light and a few spare sockets. Housed it in the rear load area as building a camper thingy in the back. Going to re-build the layout though as some off roading has broken it. A thought occurred to me though as to wether I could fit the battery in the cubby hole under the rear seats wher the bottle jack lives.