Battery Rigging/Charging Question

[Nisswaguy]

So I purchased a new Ice Castle 17RV and I have a battery rigging question. I had them put two battery boxes in so I will have plenty of power. When hooking them in parallel, do I have to do anything special in order for the charger to charge them both when plugged into a power source such as a generator or shore power? Or do I simply hook the two batteries in parallel and the charging takes care of itself?

Also, is it ok to use a standard electrical cord when sitting in the driveway and just charging the batteries with nothing on inside? Or do I need the heavy duty cord that I would use when plugging into power at an RV park. I have the super heavy duty cable but it's only 25 feet and won't run from the fish house to the outlet in the garage.

Oh, and one more question while I'm at it. Are there any load issues by the time I have the 30A adapter that plugs into the house and goes to a 30A cord (the 25' that I previously mentioned) and then into a 15A plug adapter?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

You shouldn't need a heavy duty cord or plug to run anything in there. Maybe for an air conditioner, but anything else should be fine with a standard extension cord.

[hovermn]

I'll address the battery question. When hooking batteries up together, whether in parallel or in series, you always ALWAYS want to use batteries of the same model and age. You do not want to mix battery types, sizes or brands, and you don't want to mix batteries of different ages (charge cycles), even if they're the same batteries.

When charging batteries that are hooked together, you can hook the charger into the system or on the batteries and charge them together as one. A consideration you'll want to think about is the charger size. Generally, you want your charger to put out roughly 10-15 % of the total amp/hrs your batteries have combined. If you have a couple of 150 amp/hr batteries hooked in parallel totaling 300 amp/hrs, you'l want a charger that puts out around 30 to 45 amps. Doing so will greatly reduce the amount of sulfite that will build up on the plates of the batteries over time. Using a charger too small won't "blast" the sulfite off. Using one too large may cook them.

K, off my soap box

[Nisswaguy]

Thanks for the info. What is the correct way to hook the charger into a 2 battery system?

[B-man715]

Thanks for the info. What is the correct way to hook the charger into a 2 battery system?

Nothing special.

Red to red, black to black for a 12 volt system.

[gamberc]

Ok here i go...... If your wanting to charge both batteries with a standard charger (not an onboard charger) and you want to bring them up together with one charge then you want to hook the charger up with the black lead on the neg on one battery and the red lead on the postive side of the battery on the other battery. It will look something like this.

Now you can hook the charger up to each battery seperatley to get a good full charge on them but it is more inconvient because you have to charge two batteries.

I'd recommend and onboard charger like many people use for a boat. I have this in my 8x16 ice castle and love it. I use a minnkota 210 its a 2 banks charger (charges two batteries) at the same time and you get a full charge on both batteries. Plus it maintains the batteries once there at full charge. basically plug it in and forget it until the next time you go out.

this is what i have and its been great. http://www.amazon.com/MinnKota-On-Board-...s=minnkota+210d

[hovermn]

Another tip for long lasting batteries. Once the batteries are purchased, charge them seperately. Once both are charged, wire them together like they will be in the house, then use them. This will equalize them allowing an equal charge when charged together.

[Nisswaguy]

Thanks for all the great advice! I really appreciate it. Since I'm not at home and can't run out to take a look, does anyone know what kind of a charger they are putting into the new Ice Castles? I believe the house comes with one pre-installed. Would it be able to handle charging two batteries or am I better off purchasing a 2-bank charger and putting that in?

[hovermn]

I may be wrong, but I believe a 2 bank charger is more for charging 2 batteries not tied together, like tolling and starting batteries. If you want to run your batteries together, you're prob. Better off with a single smart charger/maintainer. I've had great luck with Iota products. If I had to guess, I'd say there's prob a 45 amp charger in your ice castle.

Be sure to use a charger that is multi staged. Bulk, absorption, maintain. The Iotas IQ4's have a 4th stage that, after 7 days of uninterrupted maintaining, it'll hit the batteries with an amp burst. This knocks off Sulfates.

[Nisswaguy]

I found out its a WFCO WF-8955 55 Amp Power Center and should be able to power all my needs.

I also found how to best hook them in parallel.

http://www.jackdanmayer.com/images/Electrical/Battery%20Connections%20-%20ParallelSerial.jpg

Great advice on getting the same batteries at the same time. Thanks for all the great advice!!