RedArc dual Battery system

[Pradopolous Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pradopolous]

Now before i get flamed burnt and sent to the depths of deep dark hell, i have used the search function and ill put a caveat on this thread. When it comes to auto elec stuff, im a complete NOOB, so take it easy, lol.

So going away shortly for a 2 week fishing trip and would like a redarc system installed into my 2008 D4D auto prado (engine bay install)

Want to run a 40 ltr engel and possibly a 14 ltr engel during the day if the system allows me

Ill attached a fold out solar panel round the 100/120 watt range i think ( my brothers) so i can trickle charge during the day when im fishing

So, Im looking at either the BCDC 1225 or the BCDC 1225D as im quite sure i dont need a aux battery of more than 200 amps. Ill need two plugs installed for the engel and a plug for the solar panels ( or do i hook onto the 2nd battery).

And a decent dual battery voltage gauge please.

In regards to the 2 above systems is one better than the other for what i need, what sort of price should i expect to pay and who can recommend a decent auto lacky NOR or east, in Perth who will install it properly.

Perhaps an estimate without the battery and fully installed as i can source a battery via an amigo...Thanks

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Where to start...

is this a one off or a permanent installation? What is your budget? Are you running permanent wiring inside the car? What you suggest is probably a $1500 install.

[Pradopolous Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pradopolous]

Permanent install with permanent wiring, yes to both

And i was quoted about that figure buy a installer, but making sure im quoted fairly

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Assume auxiliary battery and charging system under the bonnet as per your comment (engine bay install)? So you are limited to an N70 sized battery and about 110AH capacity in a heavy duty wet cell. Some will suggest buying an Optima and I will leave that to them, I don't like them, that is just my opinion. Do not put a conventional AGM under the bonnet of a TD. You won't need a BCDC if you are using a wet cell battery and would be better off with a charging diode and something like an SBi12 voltage sensitive relay. Again there will be others who recommend various charging system boxes that do this but I am not one of them having had a really bad experience in the past. Best price on line I could find for a BCDC1225D was $410. This would future proof the install for a Li battery down the track though again not under the bonnet.

The BCDC is good for different chemistry batteries and particularly if the battery is located some distance from the main battery / alternator. I use a BCDC and my auxiliary is in the back behind the second row seats.

Anyway back to your post.

If you do go for a BCDC and battery under the bonnet I would suggest the following (this again is future proofing when you have your own solar panel):

6B&S cable to manual circuit breaker to normally open terminal (87) on the changeover relay. Normally closed terminal (87A) to the positive side of an Anderson plug using 6mm automotive wire (4.6mm2). Location up to you. Terminal 30 of the changeover relay connected to input of the BCDC. Earth, trigger wire and battery detector wired as required. Output of the BCDC to ANL fuse to battery positive. Negatives all commoned.

Depending what you are doing in the back and the number of fridges etc I would suggest running (again 6B&S) to another ANL fuse and then to a 6 outlet fuse block like Narva make. This allows you multiple takeoffs up to 30A. Wire one or two to a suitable plug for you fridge (s). I use Anderson powerpoles and Anderson plugs because I like them, they self wipe, are sturdy and do not fall apart. The powerpoles can be ganged together in a nice block arrangement and my NL fridge uses powerpoles as the 12V connector... Location of all this is up to you but if you look in the build section there are lots of ideas showing fuse blocks hidden in the jack compartment etc. There is a lot of space available down there.

As to cost (this is a good install not minimalistic scrimping on wire sizes and cheap parts):

BCDC1225D $400
Changeover relay $40 (buy the bits not the kit from Redarc)
10m 6 B&S twin core $90
Battery and battery box $300 - 600 depending on what you choose and where it will be fitted
6m 6mm automotive cable $25
40A manual circuit breaker $75
40A ANL fuse $40 x 2 = $80
Fuse block $40
Plugs $30 - 50 (depends if you wire all 6 straight away)
Crimps etc $50

$1150 - $1450 plus labour.

I am not in the west so no idea on who to use so hopefully some locals will help out there. I do all my own installs and if you have a friend or a fellow PPer will help for a beer or 6 then DIY is definitely better because you know what you have got.

Oh and if you do the SBi12 (or equivalent) and booster diode that would be roughly $850 with a wet cell battery.

The solar infeed as I have suggested means you do not use the solar panel regulator as the BCDC has an mppt built in. If you are using a mate's with regulator then just alligator clip this directly onto the battery and you can omit the changeover relay and wire direct to the BCDC but as I said this is a future proof install.

Hope that helps. Redarc have some excellent wiring diagrams on their site and this will be similar to what they suggest for solar and alternator in feed for a BCDC.

https://www.redarc.com.au/wiring-diagrams

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

First thing: Power Consumption:

A 40Litre Engel uses about 2 Amps per hour during the day, and maybe half that at night (depending on how cold the evening gets).
A 14 Litre Engel probably uses 1 Amp per hour by day, and half that at night.

So - per 24 hour period, you will be consuming 2 x 12 + 1 x 12 = 36Amps for the 40 Litre,
and 1 x 12 + 0.5 x 12 = 18 Amps for the 14 Litre.

I'll assume your lights (LED) use next to nothing.

Total = 50 Amps consumed per day.


Next: Solar Input:

A solar panel of 100W will bring in about 5 Amps per hour. Unless you have a very sunny location, you will probably only get 4 hours of full sunlight on it, so giving 20 Amps in for the day.


Next: Batteries:

If you use an AGM or other Lead-acid battery, normally you get about a 100 AmpHour battery, as ones bigger than that don't easily fit into a car.
These can only be discharged down to 50%, otherwise they don't last as long, which means you actually only get 50 AmpHours use from them.
Cost: About $300

If you use a Lithium Iron Phosphate 100AmpHour battery, (same physical size as a Lead Acid Battery), then these can be discharged down to about 80% used, safely, which gives you effectively 80 Amp Hours use from them. Additionally they recharge much quicker than a Lead Acid battery does, and are half the weight.
Cost: About $1100


Total Usage:

So your net use is 50 - 20 = 30 Amps per day.

With AGM/Lead Acid: 50Ah ... you would run out of power 50/30 = 1.6 days later.
With Lithium Iron Phosphate: ... you would run out of power 80/30 = 2.6 days later.


Redarc systems:

These will allow up to 25 Amps per hour to be drawn from the car's alternator, to send to the battery.
Remember that the current is "drawn" by the battery, it is not "pushed" to the battery.

1225 vs 1225D ? Not sure how different these are, other than the 1225D can work with Lithium batteries, and it can cope with lower voltage alternators.
Note that the battery can potentially be able to draw MORE than 25 amps, but the Redarc limits the draw to just 25Amps.
This is what the advocates of not using a DC DC charger say is the problem with them: If you have decent wiring from the alternator/main battery to the Aux battery, then you can let the aux battery draw whatever it wants to...

Redarc are a huge amount cheaper on Ebay: $410 is the cheapest I've seen:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/REDARC-B...53.m1438.l2649

Total Costs:

Wiring: About $150 for decent cabling and connectors.
Redarc: $410
Battery: your choice!
Battery Box: $300
Labour: Maybe 4 hours @$100/hour...

Well - I'd do it for you for about $1500 But I'm in Brisbane!

Cheers,
Rob

[Pradopolous Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pradopolous]

lads, thanks very much for those response, fantastic, appreciate the time effort n detail u put in there

Will have a chat to my mechanic and might have a crack my self. Want to try doing it, but not guffing it up either

Cheers

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

You need the right crimping tool for the 6B&S otherwise straight forward. Finding a location for the BCDC and circuit breakers and making the brackets is a pita but easy enough. The rest is very easy.

Grab a wiring diagram off the Redarc site and follow it.