Camper Dual Battery System
Submitted: Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 at 23:07
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WillyWish
Hi all, I brought a Trak Shak camper trailer complete with Solar setup recently. The solar consists of 180 watts of panel, a 20amp plasmatronics regulator and a deep cycle battery. How would I go about installing a second battery, would it simply mean wiring the second battery in parallel or is it more complicated than that??
Reply By: Member - bungarra (WA) - Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 at 23:52
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 at 23:52
We have a PL20 controller charging two batteries in parallel. Works a treat. Two main things to remember..
the PL20 is an intelligent controller...measures amps in and out. Remember to re program the controller to reflect the total amp hr of your combined batteries. It will then treat as one battery and be correct when controlling charge / discharge and displaying SOC
secondly ..how old or in good condition is the existing battery?...always best when connecting batteries in parallel that they are of the same age / newness or within 6 months of age of each other perhaps....otherwise new battery will be pulled down by older battery and you will get a reduced life.
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274150
Reply By: Member - Mainey (wa) - Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 at 23:56
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 at 23:56
Yes it's truly that simple. :-))
However:
use exactly the same type, brand and capacity battery
use thick cable and a fuse, fusable link or resettable switch etc.
make sure the two batteries are secured and as close as possible
AnswerID:
274151