I want to charge a sealed car battery (not the main battery) as I drive around. I then remove the battery to run lights and stuff while camping/fishing/hunting. Is there an easy way to do this?
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is it a 12v batt? get a split charge relay set up as per caravan or car audio boys
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it would take alot of driving to charge one though....wouldnt a cheap argos charger at home be a better idea?
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it would take alot of driving to charge one though....wouldnt a cheap argos charger at home be a better idea?
Ha, it would be if I was near mains electricity. Where/how does a split charging thing work?
I suppose I could use an inverter and a regular charger?
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A charge splitter will allow both batteries to charge at an equal rate and prevent the alternator from being overloaded.Any caravan accessory place will have them,or try the internet.
If you use an inverter run it through a battery protector to prevent the main batt being excessively discharged,I have one called 'sure start' for running a 12v fridge,was about £5.
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yep try googling "split charge relay" for diy instructions or a caravan place will sort you out
what do intend to run off the battery and for how long?? a quick whizz around the block isnt going to recharge a flat car battery....surley you can trickle charge it from the mains before you leave for the camping trip etc?
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I had a look at those circuits. There's nothing special, the batteries are just wired in parallel with a relay to switch in the spare battery when the engine's running. Couldn't the same thing be achieved by simply plugging the spare battery into the ignition switched fag lighter (with appropriate fuse)?
I'm planning on being away for a few weeks at a time, and it will just run lights, radio, TV, shaver etc. I'll be doing about 150 mile/day so it should charge ok.
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I used to do this all the time. However I prefer to connect the secondary battery via a germanium diode ( 10 amp ) this way the car battery receives the full charge whilst what could be a fairly flat recreational battery may be quite low on charge thus the 0.3 volts drop of the diode protects the battery and aviods the car pulling power from the second battery when starting. Worked for years.
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I have a second battery for caravanning. It simply links up to the main battery, in parallel, but the live cable has a battery isolator switch. I start the car (on the main battery) then switch in the secondary. When I stop the car, I switch off the battery again.
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