[fjacky]

Hey there,

Looking to daisy chain 2 batteries together for some extra power for when I go camping at a chunk of land I purchased.

This is what I have.

Battery Charger (see attachment)
Generator
Looking to purchase 2 deep cycle batteries (Group 24 Starting Battery, 650 MCA for $75) from Canadian Tire. (unsure if this is ideal battery) I don't want to spend crazy amounts if I don't have to.

I would like to daisy chain the 2 batteries together to lengthen the amount of power time. Once drained I am planning to hook my charger up to my generator to recharge throughout the day.

Ideas/thoughts?

 

[md2lgyk]

What you are calling a "daisy chain" is connecting the two batteries in parallel. Still 12 volts but twice the capacity. Is this setup for some sort of RV? What do you intend to power with it?

 

[fjacky]

What you are calling a "daisy chain" is connecting the two batteries in parallel. Still 12 volts but twice the capacity. Is this setup for some sort of RV? What do you intend to power with it?

Yes, keeping the 12V with twice the power.

Only for basic lighting, maybe a fan, tv, charging ipods for kids. If more power is needed, I would likely add more batteries as we go.

And yes, for my camper. So will have to figure a way to hook it into my camper. Won't have to be permanent though, so maybe just plug camper into an inverter that is hooked to batteries.

Again, a beginner here, so if I get terms wrong feel free to let me know.

Thanks

 

[Dave632]

Our trailer (Prime Time Tracer) has the RV battery mounted on the tongue. There's actually a space next to it where a second battery could be mounted. For best results, the second battery should match (in terms of AHr, CCA, etc.) the existing battery.

Be sure you connect positive to positive and negative to negative, in order to put the batteries in parallel. Otherwise, you'll have 24V going to your camper, which will probably blow out things designed for 12V.

 

[fjacky]

Our trailer (Prime Time Tracer) has the RV battery mounted on the tongue. There's actually a space next to it where a second battery could be mounted. For best results, the second battery should match (in terms of AHr, CCA, etc.) the existing battery.

Be sure you connect positive to positive and negative to negative, in order to put the batteries in parallel. Otherwise, you'll have 24V going to your camper, which will probably blow out things designed for 12V.

My trailer currently has a small cubby hole for a battery, that is directly hooked into camper. I guess I could just extend that wiring so I can set up the multiple batteries outside of the cubby and maybe on the tongue. I'm guessing this would mean I do not need an inverter?

(Used to use single battery for basic lighting but battery went dead on me, so I do know it worked at one time)

 

[Dave632]

My trailer currently has a small cubby hole for a battery, that is directly hooked into camper. I guess I could just extend that wiring so I can set up the multiple batteries outside of the cubby and maybe on the tongue. I'm guessing this would mean I do not need an inverter?

(Used to use single battery for basic lighting but battery went dead on me, so I do know it worked at one time)

Does the camper have a built-in charger/converter? So that when you plug into 120V AC it charges the battery? If so, you can just parallel to the existing battery, either temporarily with jumper cables or more permanently if you build a mount on the tongue. (Ours has the LP tanks just in front of the front wall of the trailer; in front of that, as the tongue narrows, is a metal bracket with hold-downs for the battery.) With two batteries, of course, it will take twice as long to charge than if you have a single battery.

 

[md2lgyk]

Does the camper have a power cable for plugging in to 120VAC? If so, why not just run it off the generator?

 

[fjacky]

Does the camper have a power cable for plugging in to 120VAC? If so, why not just run it off the generator?

I don't want the generator running all day/night. Too noisy

And to above, yes I am able to plug the camper in and charge the battery. I do not know where the charger/inverter is located but there is a unit inside the camper that shows low/full charge of battery.

 

[md2lgyk]

But you're going to run the generator all day to recharge the batteries?? Doesn't make any sense to me, and is far less efficient. Do you plan to run the furnace or air conditioner in this RV? Or even a coffee pot? If so, you're planned battery setup is not going to work. We have a travel trailer, and have lived in it for days at a time when we have lost power in the winter. I bought a a 30 amp RV extension cord so I could place our generator farther away from the trailer. Works fine, and after a few minutes we don't even notice the sound.

 

[Dave632]

I don't want the generator running all day/night. Too noisy

And to above, yes I am able to plug the camper in and charge the battery. I do not know where the charger/inverter is located but there is a unit inside the camper that shows low/full charge of battery.

Hook up your 2nd battery to the first, then when you run the generator it will charge both, using the charger/converter that's already built into the camper. You don't need to find the charger inside, by wiring the two batteries together you'll be connected to it.

 

[ddawg16]

Unless you need the current....I would run only one battery at a time. When both batteries are new....not a big deal running them in parallel (us jeepers do it all the time)....but, if one of them developes a problem (bad cell), it will drag the other one down.

This way you can be charging one while using the other one....you want to avoid using a 'typical' battery charger with stuff plugged in.

One other thing.....changing your lighting to all LED will do wonders for the battery life.....on average, an LED bulb will use 20% or less current...translation...5x or more operating time.