dirtfan85
Newark, Ohio
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Joined: 06/29/2008
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So, I have 1 battery for my trailer & want to add a 2nd battery for my trailer. Should it be + to + or how should it be wired. The first battery is on the tongue & I have enough room for a second one beside it. Am I going to get enough reserve power not to run my generator as long when I am boondocking at the races.
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choffman41
Mokelumne Hill, CA
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Joined: 10/05/2007
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Definitely + to +. If you wire it in series, you're going to put 24 volts into your system.
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webslave
Clearville, PA
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Joined: 04/14/2008
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The way I was taught... Battery #1 + to battery #2 +, battery #1 - to battery #2 -. Then TT + to Battery #1 + and TT - to battery #2 -. Kind of deep, but, has to do with wire resistance and charging balance for the bank.
Don
DW
3 Cats 
2008 FunFinder X 210WBS
2008 Jeep Hemi Commander Limited
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dirtfan85
Newark, Ohio
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Thanks for the help. I am sure it will help on the chilly days not to run the generator as much
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smkettner
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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If you store the old and new together the resting voltage of the old will pull the new one down. While in use they will both provide what ever capacity they have in proportion to what exists. Once you get below the old battery resing voltage there is no more "dragging down". That is if they are at 12.4 and the one rests full at 12.5 and the new at 12.65 then they still stay at 12.4 because that is where they are. The new battery will work a bit harder and will probably age and wear out when the old one does. So don't keep buying one at a time. Do it once but next time replace them all.
You can run them separate but you lose the Peukert effect of slower discharge and that could cost you more amp hours than any dragging down.
2001 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 Lariat Offroad 4x4 Tow Package 4.10 Truetrac
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
12K SuperGlide, KGE3000Ti 2.3kw rated 2.6kw max
Frank's voltage booster, Prosine 1800 powered by 4 GC2 batteries
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LarryJM
NoVa
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Joined: 11/09/2007
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TexasBorn wrote:If you put a new and an older battery together you will only get the amount of power the that the weakest one has right?
Does that make since?
I wouldn't recommend that since the better battery will try and charge the lesser battery and you could end up in an never ending spiral where you get really bad battery performance. With the Ford Diesels that use two batteries the standard procedure is when you replace one you do both for this very reason. I went thru this for like 10 years and my solution was having a system that only used one battery at a time and could switch between batteries and even put them in parallel by a simple switch system. My charge system also charged one battery at a time and never in parallel. I doubled by battery life doing this and could use a new battery and one that was on it's last leg w/o effectiving either battery's life.
Larry
2001 standard box 7.3L E-350 PSD Van with 4.10 rear and 2007 Holiday Rambler Aluma-Lite 8306S Been RV'ing since 1974. TRAILER MODS
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