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Device to make the shore power converter charge the truck battery


Totem

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I know this has been discussed before but has anyone cobbled together a setup that charges both the house battery and truck battery together but isolated while including the isolator?

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http://www.ltdrvparts.com/INTELLITEC-RV-BIRD-DIESEL-CONTROLLER-00-00839-000-00-00839-000.htm

OR

Just install a 5 amp fuse across the isolator. The fuse will let the converter charge the engine battery. If you forget to remove the fuse when you need to go RVing it will blow and restore the isolator to normal operation.

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the isolator is keeping it separate, you probably will need some custom wiring to energize the isolator (perhaps with a switch and some safety considerations) as far as i can tell. surely folks have tried (or comes standard) this on other rvs, if not toys. seems like an obvious thing to me dealing with my dead optima right now.

seems like WME has the answer up there. I would have liked a dash switch or something to not have to fidget w/ a fuse.

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The thing with a switch is it is not idiot proof. Forget to flip it and you have dead batteries everywhere after a few days of dry camping. The fuse is a PIA but it least it is idiot resistant.

The BIRD is very smart.

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It will  work, simple hookup.

14 minutes ago, Totem said:

 

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Combiner, scrap the standard isolator and install. It is bidirectional and will charge both batteries from either source. Something like this--https://www.amazon.com/Victron-Cyrix-ct-24V-Battery-Combiner/dp/B00ZWLBZME/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1511970029&sr=8-2&keywords=battery+combiner  

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wow , now that is the winner, Maineah... just bought that now. will report back after install on how well it works. I will now have an isolator for someone if they  need one, though I may end up putting into my dodge ram which currently has a failing parallel setup.

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6 hours ago, Totem said:

wow , now that is the winner, Maineah... just bought that now. will report back after install on how well it works. I will now have an isolator for someone if they  need one, though I may end up putting into my dodge ram which currently has a failing parallel setup.

keep us posted. i am keeping an eye out for a similar solution too and would be helpful to know how its working out.

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13 hours ago, neubie said:

keep us posted. i am keeping an eye out for a similar solution too and would be helpful to know how its working out.

Put one in my RV years ago still going strong. Some even have a remote by pass to help charge the weak truck battery if necessary. There are many suppliers so chose one that best for you. Those of you with a solid state isolator there will be some rewiring involved.

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The combiner Maineah recommended arrived. Now just waiting on the post hole digger and weld on leveling jacks and I will have enough projects to burn a Saturday on the rig with. I may cheat an just do the combiner though along with semi perm solar panel mounts. Gotta snatch up a cheap PWM solar controller first.

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On 12/6/2017 at 9:09 AM, Totem said:

The combiner Maineah recommended arrived. Now just waiting on the post hole digger and weld on leveling jacks and I will have enough projects to burn a Saturday on the rig with. I may cheat an just do the combiner though along with semi perm solar panel mounts. Gotta snatch up a cheap PWM solar controller first.

Pick a battery for the solar it's a lot simpler that trying to integrate it to the overall system then hook the combiner up as you would with out the solar. The combiner does not identify a single battery just voltage so it will charge either/both batteries depending on their state of charge from any source. The solar panels have blocking diodes so they won't back feed.

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I thought the combiner does the thinking? in that rational i just run solar to the coach deep cycle and call it a day; the PWM box keeps from overcharge, overdischarge and i had thought the combiner would charge truck batt if it needs it ; right>?

Edited by Totem
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10 hours ago, Totem said:

I thought the combiner does the thinking? in that rational i just run solar to the coach deep cycle and call it a day; the PWM box keeps from overcharge, overdischarge and i had thought the combiner would charge truck batt if it needs it ; right>?

It does that's why it really does not matter, in your case it would be best to connect the solar to the coach battery to eliminate wiring loss but once the coach battery is charged the combiner will connect to the truck battery if it's voltages drops. The PWM regulator is only for the battery it is connected to but that's fine because the combiner reacts to both batteries and charges accordingly. What you need to do is decide what battery you find most important and wire the isolator accordingly read the instructions and theory then decide, there is a time factor involved too. If it says truck on the isolator it really does not know the difference if it's connected to coach it will treated it as truck if so wired. I one I built is kind of elaborate and the entire thing was in the coach I'll see if I can find the pictures.

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ok, understood, we are on same page then.

The truck battery for me just needs keep alive charge; something in my system brain drains it if i leave it attached. My old harbor freight solar setup a small 10a PWM controller from ebay (now with new improved onboard usb phone charging ports yay!) and i bet this thing is always ready to run.  normally i have to desulphate and charge the truck battery before trips as i always forget to disconnect it.

 I find the pwm chargers can also condition batteries and heal them also; hard to say if the combiner will work as well - which I think was your point. I supposed I could wire one 15 watter to the truck and the other 2 to the coach battery.

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On 12/8/2017 at 9:32 AM, Totem said:

ok, understood, we are on same page then.

The truck battery for me just needs keep alive charge; something in my system brain drains it if i leave it attached. My old harbor freight solar setup a small 10a PWM controller from ebay (now with new improved onboard usb phone charging ports yay!) and i bet this thing is always ready to run.  normally i have to desulphate and charge the truck battery before trips as i always forget to disconnect it.

 I find the pwm chargers can also condition batteries and heal them also; hard to say if the combiner will work as well - which I think was your point. I supposed I could wire one 15 watter to the truck and the other 2 to the coach battery.

Solar charge regulators are PWM If you have upgraded to a modern converter/charger that is all you need to deal with batteries they are a good bit more advanced than a standard PWM regulator they will desulfate and provide very good voltage/current regulation.

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