Hi,

I have just bought a 12000i winch for my 90 hardtop and was wondering if i will need to get a second battery to help run it, i know that you can get a deep cycle battery but will this be enough on it's own or will i need 2No batt's and a duel charging cuircuit?

If so, does anybody know of reliable but cheap charger (if there is such a thing)

Hope you can help

Cheers
M

i dont know a huge amount about duel batts but if your going to use your 12,000lb winch often then i suggest you run a second batt on a simple dual charge system. there are a few around and should cost no more than £40. as for deep cycle/leisure batt as your 2nd im unsure.

X-eng High Performance Off-Road Engineering

http://www.oec4x4.com/index.php?pag...facturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=54

be interesting to know what other people are doing as im prob going to get a winch setup myself soon.

G

why not just set up a second battery as a slave, it will trickle charge its self off the main battery as your engine is running

yella said:

why not just set up a second battery as a slave, it will trickle charge its self off the main battery as your engine is running

Click to expand...

Yup that's what I've got. Works fine.

only problem with running 2nd battery as slave is the 2 battery are not seperated, so when 1 battery goes flat, the other will be flat too....

split charge system will seperate the 2 batteries once the voltage drops to around 13.3v...so that your 'starting' battery remain unaffected..

anyone found a cheap system capable of running a winch? x eng want £40 as do devon 4x4. cheap kits on ebay but they only have a 30a relay, dont i need a higher amp for quicker charging?

G

Griffdowg......me personally think 30A relay is good enough as you will have 2 batteries capacity. When the winch battery's voltage/charge decreases, it will 'draw' voltage/charge from the main battery till main battery's voltage drops below 13.3v, then the relay will disconnect the winch battery from the main battery to prevent the main battery going flat.....at this point, your winch battery will get no charge at all, so it doesn't really matters.

Hi guys.....this is what I have about to go into the classic.....pricey i know, but me think its worththe investment....

4wd Dual battery controller and equipment timer on eBay, 4x4 Accessories, Car Accessories Tuning, Cars, Bikes Boats (item 200075630307 end time 01-Sep-07 04:38:24 BST)

the seller also has cheaper version with 70A relay

Other wise, just connect up both the batteries with a switch in between.....switch off (seperate the 2 batteries) when the vehicle is not in use and switch it back on (connect) after vehicle started.......downside is, often forgot to swich off or on......

Surely something as simple as a diode would make the current flow into the slave battery but not back out into the master? Or am I missing something too simple here...

would need to be a feckin big diode!

what's wrong with the current flowing back to the main batt.....key point is to prevent the slave batt draining the main (starting) batt when vehicle is not in use.....

Well, turn the diode round so that current can only flow into main from spare.

ahha...thats so much simpler.....

Was looking through forum for ideas about dual batteries ect, and I wondered with the OZ dual setup what batteries did you use? My point being that if you were winching with the engine running then batteries are linked for more power ect which is fine for starting/winching, but if you have a long drain or camping battery fitted it will not like the strain from heavy current draw, if you have the normal starter type battery as an auxilary then they are no good for fridges and camp lights ect. Can you enlighten me (no pun intended)...........oh all right it was intended.

regards

Dave

Dave 2000 said:

Was looking through forum for ideas about dual batteries ect, and I wondered with the OZ dual setup what batteries did you use? My point being that if you were winching with the engine running then batteries are linked for more power ect which is fine for starting/winching, but if you have a long drain or camping battery fitted it will not like the strain from heavy current draw, if you have the normal starter type battery as an auxilary then they are no good for fridges and camp lights ect. Can you enlighten me (no pun intended)...........oh all right it was intended.

regards

Dave

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Hi Dave,

I currently uses bot normal batteries. Will change the main to deep cycle batteries if and when finance permits. However, it is absolutely alright if both are normal batteries.

Yes, during winching you will be draining both the batteries as they are linked, however if the engine is still running, the alternator will continue the charging. If you are winching without the engine running, it will only drain the aux if thats where you connect your winch.

I use my aux for lights, 12v heating blankets, fans and sometimes multimedia player and portable TV during camp and i had noticed that the 2 batteries are remained seperated. At some stage where the aux gets below 11.5v but the main still remains at 12.5v, untouched. Then on startup, the device will allow the aux to be charged.

Basically, the device is just a tool for people who are getting lazy and forgetful. You can achieve the exact same effect by connect up the batteries in parallel and add either a switch or diode in between them to seperate the batteries during camp.

Cheers!

Kingson

Forgot to mention that I also connect up a 15W solar panel to assist the 're-charge' of the battery while at camp.

The thing is, you can actually calculate how much electricity draw you'll be doing and therefore allocating sufficient capacity for your usage. For example, a normal starter type battery with 75AH.

eg. 12v 18w light for 5 hours = (18w/12v) x 5 hours = 1.5A x 5hrs = 7.5 AH
eg. 12v 40w blanket for 7 hrs = 3.33A x 7hrs = 23.33 AH
eg. 12v 70w player + TV for 2 hrs = 5.83A x 2 = 11.67 AH

For example, a normal starter type battery with 75AH. 75 - 7.5 - 23.33 - 11.67 = 32.5 AH

So, I had lost 42.5 AH over the first night, but during the day, the 15W solar panel will (technically) recharge the battery in around 34 hrs. Hence, take a drive daily even if to recharge the battery, unless you uses a large solar panel.

** all above figures are estimates and can not be held true. At less than half the charge, a battery will function differently to when it has full charge. Also, by draining the battery too much, permanent damages to the battery will occur and can not be fixed.

OK thanks, I have looked at the Optima gumpf (technical term) and it would seem that two yellow batteries would be OK.

Let me know what you decide,

regards

Dave

generally, if winch is not fitted or used, deep sysle batteries are a waste of money. As only winch requires fast discharges during winching that deep cycle battery can offer. Almost all other camping electrics could suffice with normal batteries.

Cheers!

Kingson

Now I'm confused! I thought the 'normal' battery is designed to give out short burst of heavy current and then be recharged and so held generally at as near fully charged as practical. The camping type is designed to tolerate long periods of discharge but from small fridges i.e at a reduced rate.

God, why are things so bloody confusing?

I will be fitting a winch and two heavy duty 'normal' batteries with a split charger, I cannot justify the cost of the Optima type batteries.

regards

Dave

Dave 2000 said:

Now I'm confused! I thought the 'normal' battery is designed to give out short burst of heavy current and then be recharged and so held generally at as near fully charged as practical. The camping type is designed to tolerate long periods of discharge but from small fridges i.e at a reduced rate.

Click to expand...

Hi Dave, to my understanding, all batteries are designed the same and function the same.

(1) However, deep cycle batteries like optima's are able to say discharge/drain to 90% without permanent damage, while the normal batteries could only sustain 60% drain and any more than that they are dead.

(2) Also, the deep cycle batteries can discharges faster, needed during winching. Faster discharge = faster the voltage being sent to the winch motor = higher efficiency the winch motor function = somehow, the winch motor runs cooler too

We had tested 2 vehicles, 1 with optima yellow top and the other with a big normal battery, both on the same warn 9.5ti winch. the winch with optima works faster and smoother.

I have not install deep cycle battery as I dont use a winch currently. When my winch is up, you bet I'll use deep cycle battery.

Thanks for the reply, makes more sense. I can understad the winch staying cooler if it is faster then the amount of time to recover a vehicle ect is shorter.

Thanks again

regards

Dave