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Martinjmpr
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Mine is an 04.
My dual battery writeup...
- Thread starter Martinjmpr
- Start date
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Mine is an 04.
JonnyTahoe
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Cattivo
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Great write up brother. I'm doing something similar to the back of my hoe...wouldn't it have been a lot easier to just install an inverter?
BigDaddy13440
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Cattivo
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I just bought this inverter, i'll install it once it gets warmer out along with a new battery
5000 Watt Power Inverter 12 volt DC by AIMS
Product Finder | OPTIMA Batteries
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Martinjmpr
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Oh hell no. First of all, an inverter would not add any electrical capacity - the problem I had was that running a fridge was draining my battery of power when the truck wasn't running (like when we were at a campsite for 3 days.)
Second, an inverter is a TERRIBLE way of using power. Wasteful and inefficient. Trying to run 120v AC appliances on a 12v DC system sucks enormous amounts of power, way more than is needed. Much better to use dedicated 12v appliances (my fridge actually has a built in AC-to-DC inverter and will run on either 12vDC or 120vAC.)
My setup adds 68 amp hours of power (given that you generally don't want to discharge a battery - even a deep cycle battery - more than 50%, that means that effectively I have 34AH of usable power.) My fridge has a max draw of about 4.5ah but that's only while the compressor is running at max capacity - realistically 1ah or less is probably the average load.
Even better, since the "house" battery (i.e. the added battery) is not connected to the starter battery, then even in a worse-case scenario where my house battery discharges completely, I can still start the truck with the starter battery.
Inverters are OK if you are only using them while the engine is running, but they are absolutely useless if you intend to run high-draw components when the engine is off.
I should also point out that I have a 100 watt solar panel that I will be connecting to the house battery to keep it "topped off" when we are camping. I'm still working on that setup (though I've used it successfully to keep the starter battery topped off as well as the 12v deep cycle battery in our trailer, so I know it works.)
mals
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What @Martinjmpr said, plus be aware that the the inverter you linked to is a modified sine wave inverter. These are fine for running motors, lights, and other similar tools, but should not be used with sensitive electronics like computers or anything that charges batteries.
Cattivo
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I'll most likely only use it for power tools if there's no power nearby and need to work on the truck...and of course my favorite use for it will be for tailgating
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Martinjmpr
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I'll most likely only use it for power tools if there's no power nearby and need to work on the truck...and of course my favorite use for it will be for tailgating
Just make sure you know how many amps you are drawing, either that or keep your engine running while you're using it. Also anything that makes heat will draw an enormous amount of power.
BigDaddy13440
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I learned the hard way that I can't even leave my inverter ON without the truck running. I can run my stereo for about 5 hours straight (as long as I turn off the subs), and it'll start up with no problem. I mistakenly left the inverter on while working for about 3 hrs, not enough juice left in the battery to crank over. So I had to go to AutoZone and buy a second pair of jumper cables (main pair at home, in the garage
). Now have a pair in the wife's truck, and in mine.
I primarily use it to plug in the chargers for my Ryobi 18V Lithium batteries. 30 minutes for a full charge, turn it on when I'm done at the jobsite for the day, fully charged by the time I get home - never have to worry about not having a fresh battery! Of course, I have seven of them....
). Now have a pair in the wife's truck, and in mine.I primarily use it to plug in the chargers for my Ryobi 18V Lithium batteries. 30 minutes for a full charge, turn it on when I'm done at the jobsite for the day, fully charged by the time I get home - never have to worry about not having a fresh battery! Of course, I have seven of them....
